Overview of the 1991 APSL Season - From the American Soccer History Archives

Although 1991 would see the first interlocking schedule for the recently unified APSL, cold financial reality had set in after the 1990 season, dampening their hopes for to establishing the first nationwide professional league since the demise of the NASL in 1984. Travel costs would be exorbitant for teams that would repeatedly cross the country, and many teams were already reeling because of the salaries commanded by the best players. Although attendance was respectable, ranging as high as 5,000 per game, the revenue flow simply wasn't enough to meet existing expenses, much less the anticipated travel costs. As a result, only nine teams chose to continue into 1991. The financial woes didn't end there, as the Salt Lake Sting folded near the end of the season, despite having one of the best attendance figures, and Penn-Jersey, Albany, and Maryland (despite their stellar record) folded afterwards, leaving only five teams to continue into 1992.

What was lost in quantity was made up for in quality -- the teams remaining were generally the strongest teams, and many of the better players were concentrated on their roster. The APSL was the top professional league in the country, and would eventually be awarded division 2 status by the USSF. A number of players were already veterans of the National Team, including Tony Meola (Ft. Lauderdale), Desmond Armstrong (Maryland), Marcelo Balboa (San Francisco), Bruce Murray (Maryland), Peter Vermes (Tampa Bay), Eric Wynalda (San Francisco), Steve Trittschuh (Tampa Bay), and Jean Harbor (Maryland).

The league consisted of two conferences, with a 21-game interlocking schedule. Maryland Bays quickly took the league in the South Conference, never looking back. They would go on to set a league record for most wins (19) in taking the conference title, on the strength of goal-scoring by league leader Jean Harbor (17 goals, 55 points), Kevin Sloan (14 goals, 32 points), and Bryan Haynes (9 goals, 23 points). Meanwhile, the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers took the lead in the North Conference, winning the title by five games. Ft. Lauderdale scoring standouts included Derek Sanderson (10 goals, 23 points), and Andrew McKay (6 goals, 20 points). In the semifinals, San Francisco earned a surprise victory over Ft. Lauderdale in consecutive 1-0 overtime wins. In the North, Albany Capitals split a pair with heavily favored Maryland , 2-1 and 1-2, before winning the deciding mini-game 1-0. So the championship saw an exciting series between two underdogs. Albany took the first game 3-1, but San Francisco rallied to earn a 2-0 shutout, and take the ensuing mini-game to take home the Commissioner's Cup.