1998 USISL D-3 Pro League

The 1998 USISL D-3 Pro League was the 12th season of third-division soccer in the United States, and was the second season of now-defunct USISL D-3 Pro League. The champions were the Chicago Stingers who beat the New Hampshire Phantoms in the final.

USISL D-3 Pro League

Season	1998
Champions	Chicago Stingers
Relegated	Central Jersey Riptide Miami Breakers NYCD Alleycats Orlando Nighthawks Vermont Voltage
← 1997 1999 →

Changes from 1996

Before the season, Western Massachusetts, Northern Virginia, and Pensacola were added. Baltimore became Eastern Shore. Dallas became Texas. Vermont became the Voltage. Miami was promoted from PDSL.

Name Changes

• Vermont Wanderers rebranded as Vermont Voltage
• Baltimore Bays rebranded as Eastern Shore Sharks
• Dallas Toros rebranded as Texas Toros

New Clubs

Team Name	Metro Area	Location	Previous Affiliation
Miami Breakers	South Florida	Miami, FL	promoted from PDSL
Northern Virginia Royals	Northern Virginia	Manassas, VA	expansion
Pensacola Barracudas	Pensacola area	Pensacola, FL	expansion
Western Mass Pioneers	Springfield area	Ludlow, MA	expansion

Folding or Moving

No teams left the league nor folded.

Teams

Head coaching changes

Season Overview

Standings

Northeast Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	SW	SL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Rhode Island Stingrays	18	11	0	0	7	39	33	+6	33	USISL Divisional Semifinals
2	New Hampshire Phantoms	18	10	2	0	6	36	24	+12	32
3	Western Mass Pioneers	18	10	0	1	7	45	34	+11	30
4	Cape Cod Crusaders	18	7	0	0	11	23	28	−5	21
5	Vermont Voltage	18	2	1	1	14	15	43	−28	6^[a]	Relegation to the 1999 PDSL

Source:^{[citation needed]}
Notes:

1. 1 point deduction

Mid-Atlantic Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	SW	SL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	South Jersey Barons	18	12	0	2	4	40	20	+20	36	USISL Divisional Semifinals
2	Reading Rage	18	10	0	0	8	41	29	+12	30
3	New Jersey Stallions	18	10	0	1	7	37	24	+13	30
4	Central Jersey Riptide	18	8	3	1	6	33	19	+14	27	USISL Divisional Semifinals Relegation to the 1999 PDSL
5	NYCD Alleycats	18	5	0	0	13	19	36	−17	15	Relegation to the 1999 PDSL

Source:^{[citation needed]}

Atlantic Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	SW	SL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Delaware Wizards	18	13	1	2	2	43	16	+27	40	USISL Divisional Finals
2	Myrtle Beach Seadawgs	18	12	1	0	5	42	26	+16	37
3	Charlotte Eagles	18	10	1	1	6	47	31	+16	31	USISL Divisional Semifinals
4	Roanoke Wrath	18	10	0	2	6	36	19	+17	30
5	South Carolina Shamrocks	18	8	1	1	8	34	32	+2	25
6	Wilmington Hammerheads	18	8	0	0	10	33	34	−1	24
7	Northern Virginia Royals	18	5	1	0	12	28	46	−18	16
8	Eastern Shore Sharks	18	0	0	0	18	16	90	−74	0

Source:^{[citation needed]}

Southeast Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	SW	SL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Miami Breakers	18	17	0	0	1	67	21	+46	51
2	Orlando Nighthawks	18	12	0	0	6	62	33	+29	36
3	Southwest Florida Manatees	18	8	0	1	9	34	57	−23	24
4	Pensacola Barracudas	18	4	1	1	12	21	57	−36	13
5	Tallahassee Tempest	18	2	0	0	16	12	41	−29	6

Source:^{[citation needed]}

North Central Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	SW	SL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Indiana Blast	18	15	0	0	3	57	24	+33	45
2	Chicago Stingers	18	13	0	1	4	37	16	+21	39
3	Rockford Raptors	28	9	1	2	16	31	25	+6	28
4	Cleveland Caps	18	9	1	0	8	33	41	−8	28

Source:^{[citation needed]}

South Central Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	SW	SL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Austin Lone Stars	18	13	0	1	4	46	20	+26	39
2	Texas Toros	18	12	1	0	5	44	24	+20	37
3	San Antonio Pumas	17	7	0	0	10	26	44	−18	21
4	Tulsa Roughnecks	18	6	1	0	11	33	44	−11	16^[a]
5	Houston Hurricanes	17	4	2	2	9	25	36	−11	14
6	Shreveport/Bossier Lions	18	4	0	0	14	24	50	−26	6^[b]

Source:^{[citation needed]}
Notes:

1. 3 point deduction
2. 6 point deduction

West Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	SW	SL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Arizona Sahuaros	18	14	0	0	4	67	28	+39	42
2	Chico Rooks	18	10	1	2	5	39	28	+11	31
3	Stanislaus County Cruisers	18	12	1	0	5	51	25	+26	37
4	Los Angeles Fireballs	18	5	1	1	11	21	37	−16	16
5	San Fernando Valley Golden Eagles	18	5	0	1	12	29	51	−22	15
6	Reno Rattlers	18	3	1	0	14	23	52	−29	10

Source: ^[1]

Playoffs

Divisional Semifinals

Higher seed/home team on the left.

Rhode Island Stingrays v Cape Cod Crusaders

	Rhode Island Stingrays	5–2	Cape Cod Crusaders	East Providence, RI
				Stadium: Pierce Memorial Field

New Hampshire Phantoms v Western Mass Pioneers

	New Hampshire Phantoms	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Western Mass Pioneers	Amherst, NH
				Stadium: Souhegan Stadium

South Jersey Barons v Central Jersey Riptide

	South Jersey Barons	2–3 (a.e.t.)	Central Jersey Riptide	West Windsor, NJ
				Stadium: MCCC Stadium

Reading Rage v New Jersey Stallions

	Reading Rage	5–2	New Jersey Stallions	Reading, PA
				Stadium: Fleetwood H.S. Stadium

Roanoke Wrath v South Carolina Shamrocks

	Roanoke Wrath	5–2	South Carolina Shamrocks	Roanoke, VA
				Stadium: Victory Stadium

Charlotte Eagles v Wilmington Hammerheads

	Charlotte Eagles	4–0	Wilmington Hammerheads	Charlotte, NC
				Stadium: Patten Stadium

Orlando Nighthawks v Southwest Florida Manatees

	Orlando Nighthawks	6–2	Southwest Florida Manatees	Orlando, FL
				Stadium: Edgewater H.S. Stadium

Chicago Stingers v Rockford Raptors

	Chicago Stingers	3–0	Rockford Raptors	Schaumburg, IL
				Stadium: Olympic Park

Austin Lone Stars v Houston Hurricanes

	Austin Lone Stars	4–2	Houston Hurricanes	Austin, TX
				Stadium: House Park

Texas Toros v San Antonio Pumas

	Texas Toros	3–4	San Antonio Pumas	Bedford, TX
				Stadium: Pennington Field

Arizona Sahuaros v Los Angeles Fireballs

	Arizona Sahuaros	3–0	Los Angeles Fireballs	Phoenix
				Stadium: GCU Stadium

Chico Rooks v Stanislaus County Cruisers

	Chico Rooks	2–3	Stanislaus County Cruisers	Chico, CA
				Stadium: University Soccer Stadium

Division Finals

• Austin defeated Texas 1-0
• Charlotte defeated Myrtle Beach, 8-3
• Delaware defeated Roanoke, 2-1
• New Hampshire defeated Rhode Island, 3-2
• Chicago defeated Indiana, 3-0
• Central Jersey defeated Reading, 3-0
• Arizona defeated Stanislaus County 2-1

Quarterfinals

• New Hampshire defeated Central Jersey, 3-0
• Chicago defeated Delaware 1-0
• Orlando defeated Charlotte, 3-2
• Austin defeated Arizona 1-0

Semifinals

• Chicago defeated Orlando, 2-0
• New Hampshire defeated Austin, 3-2 (OT)

Championship

Chicago defeated New Hampshire, 3-2 (OT)

Top goalscorers

Statistics

References

Footnotes

A ^ : Deducted one point due to fielding ineligible players.^[2]

General References

1. United Soccer Leagues (RSSSF)
2. . The American Soccer History Archives. April 11, 2010. Archived from the original on November 5, 2015. Retrieved October 17, 2011.