Overview of the 1989 ASL Season - From the American Soccer History Archives

The ASL, fresh off of a successful debut season, returned the same ten teams for 1989. As before, several national team players made the ASL their home during the offseason, including Tab Ramos with Miami, John Harkes, with Albany, Steve Trittschuh with Tampa Bay. The increasing success of the ASL, and the resurgent Western Soccer League, sparked merger talks and in February it was announced the leagues would merge for the 1990 season, creating a national professional soccer league for the first time since the demise of the NASL six years earlier. This came at a good time as the National team began qualifications for World Cup 1990. The league began to make serious preparations to be designated the new professional Division1 league that was required as a result of the US being awarded World Cup 1994. But they would have competition from the Major Indoor Soccer League and the rapidly growing Southwest Indoor Soccer League which had just added an outdoor division.

The big surprises in the regular season were the rise of the Boston Bolts and collapse of the new Jersey eagles in the North. The Eagles went from first to last, with the Washington Stars taking top spot, on the strength of their defense. Ft. Lauderdale and Tampa Bay battled for the Southern Division Crown, finishing in a tie, with the Rowdies winning on basis of the regular season rivalry. Tampa Bay fell to a disappointing third place, only one game behind the leaders.

In the playoffs, upsets were the order of the day. Boston defeated the Rowdies 2-0, 2-1 while the Washington Stars fell to Ft. Lauderdale 3-1, 3-1, the unstoppable offense prevailing over the impregnable defense. The championship went to Ft. Lauderdale in a harrowing series. Ft. Lauderdale shut out the bolts 1-0 in the first time, the Bolts did them one better the next time around, with a 2-0 shutout, and Ft. Lauderdale snatched the prize with a 1-0 victory in the mini-game. After the league title, Ft. Lauderdale then played the WSL champion in a "National Championship" match, which they won 3-1 before 11,000,000 cable viewers.

With the season over, unification was next on the agenda. To ease the transition, both the ASL and ASL played as separate conferences in 1990, getting together for the championship game, as they had done this season. things looked good for the future, and hopes were high that the league might eventually advance to Division 1 status.