1990 American Professional Soccer League

Overview of the 1990 American Professional Soccer League season. Although the Western Soccer League and the American Soccer League merged to form the American Professional Soccer League in 1990, the two leagues remained essentially independent leagues, linked by name alone. During this season, they ran separate regular season schedules with two different points systems. They each had their own playoff formats, had separate league MVPs and had their own All-League teams. The first game between the two leagues came in September when the Maryland Bays of the American Soccer League defeated the San Francisco Bay Blackhawks of the Western Soccer League for the American Professional Soccer League championship.

History
On September 9, 1989, the champions of the west coast-based Western Soccer Alliance and the east coast-based American Soccer League played each other for the national championship. This was the first meeting between teams from the two leagues but was part of a larger effort to merge the two leagues. This effort resulted in the creation of the American Professional Soccer League on February 22, 1990. The merger remained one of name only as the two leagues played separate schedules and named separate MVPs and All-League teams. However, it allowed the teams to market themselves as members of a national league. During the playoffs, except for the West semifinals and the APSL finals, teams played a home and away series. However, they needed to win two games, so in the case of a tie after two games, the teams played a thirty-minute mini-game. If the game remained tied, the two teams would enter a shoot out. A shoot out pitted a field player against the opposing team's goalkeeper. The field player had five seconds to take a shot on goal beginning 35 yards from the goal.

East (American Soccer League) Conference
Points:
 * Win: 3
 * Shoot out win: 2
 * Shoot out loss: 1

West (Western Soccer League) Conference
Points:
 * Win: 6
 * Shoot out win: 4
 * Shoot out loss: 2
 * 1 bonus point per goal scored in regulation, maximum of 3 per game

Semifinal 1
The Fort Lauderdale Strikers advance to the East Finals.

Semifinal 2
The Maryland Bays advance to the East Finals.

Conference Finals
The Maryland Bays advance to the APSL Championship.

First Round Series 1
The Los Angeles Heat advance to the Division Finals.

First Round Series 2
The Colorado Foxes advance to the Division Finals.

Division Finals
The Los Angeles Heat advance to the Conference Finals.

The San Francisco Bay Blackhawks advance to the Conference Finals.

Conference Finals
The San Francisco Bay Blackhawks advance to the APSL Championship.

APSL Final
The Maryland Bays win the APSL Championship.

East (American Soccer League) Conference

 * MVP: Philip Gyau
 * Leading goal scorer: Mike Masters
 * Leading goalkeeper: Dale Caya
 * Rookie of the Year: Steve Pittman
 * Coach of the Year: Thomas Rongen

First Team All League
 * Goalkeeper: Dale Caya
 * Defenders: Steve Pittman, Paul Mariner, Brian Ainscough, George Gelnovatch
 * Midfielders: Chico Borja, Marcelo Carrera, David Byrne
 * Forwards: Philip Gyau, Dan Donigan, Jean Harbor

Second Team All League
 * Goalkeeper: Arnie Mausser
 * Defenders: Jimmy McGeough, Jr., Chris Reif, Thomas Rongen, Dave Smyth
 * Midfielders: Paul Dougherty, Eric Eichmann, Pat O'Kelly
 * Forwards: Mike Masters, Bruce Murray, Paul Riley

West (Western Soccer League) Conference

 * MVP: Mark Dodd
 * Leading goal scorer: Chance Fry
 * Leading goalkeeper: Mark Dodd

 First Team All League
 * Goalkeeper: Mark Dodd
 * Defenders: Marcelo Balboa, John Doyle, Robin Fraser, Danny Pena
 * Midfielders: Dominic Kinnear, Fran O'Brien, George Pastor
 * Forwards: Chance Fry, Mark Kerlin, Townsend Qin

Second Team All League
 * Goalkeeper: Anton Nistl
 * Defenders: Steve Eise, Paul Krumpe, Derek Van Rheenen, Wade Webber
 * Midfielders: John Bain, Mike Fox, Jeff Rogers, Dzung Tran
 * Forwards: Scott Benedetti, Paul Wright