2024 National Independent Soccer Association season
Football league season
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The 2024 NISA season is the sixth season of the National Independent Soccer Association's third-division soccer competition. The 2023 champions, Flower City Union, are not defending their title, after announcing their departure from the league during the off-season.[2]
Oct. 4–27 (playoffs)
| Season | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Dates | Apr. 6 – Sep. 29 (regular season) Oct. 4–27 (playoffs) |
| Champions | Los Angeles Force |
| Matches | 84 |
| Goals | 266 (3.17 per match) |
| Top goalscorer |  Patrick Okonkwo (5 goals) |
| Best goalkeeper |  Seth Torman[1] Los Angeles Force |
| Biggest home win | 4 games by 4 goals |
| Biggest away win | Capo FC 0–5 Los Angeles Force (Sep. 7) |
| Highest scoring | Maryland Bobcats 5–3 Club de Lyon (Jul. 17) |
| Longest winning run | Maryland Bobcats (11 games) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Maryland Bobcats (17 games) |
| Longest winless run | Arizona Monsoon (16 games) |
| Longest losing run | Arizona Monsoon (18 games) |
← 2023 2025 →
All statistics correct as of October 19, 2024. | |
Teams
Of the nine teams that played in the 2023 season, five return for 2024, two (Flower City Union[3] and Chattanooga FC[4][5]) are moving on to different leagues, and two, Albion San Diego and Gold Star FC, are on hiatus, with the aim to return in 2025.
The five teams are joined by four expansion clubs: Arizona Monsoon, Capo FC, Georgia Lions FC and Irvine Zeta.[6] On April 3, NISA announced that the Georgia Lions FC had been taken over by new leadership and were being rebranded as Georgia FC to start the 2024 season.[7]
Stadiums and locations
West Conference
East Conference
- West Conference
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona Monsoon | Glendale, AZ | Matt O. Hanhila Field | 3,000 |
| Capo FC | San Juan Capistrano, CA | JSerra Catholic High School | |
| Club de Lyon | Daytona Beach, FL | Daytona Stadium | 9,601 |
| Georgia FC | Atlanta, GA | Atlanta Silverbacks Park[7] | 5,000 |
| Irvine Zeta | Irvine, CA | Championship Soccer Stadium | 5,500 |
| Los Angeles Force | Long Beach, CA | Veterans Memorial Stadium | 11,600 |
| Maryland Bobcats | Boyds, MD | Maryland SoccerPlex | 4,000 |
| Michigan Stars | Washington, MI | Romeo High School | 4,000 |
| Savannah Clovers | Savannah, GA | Memorial Stadium | 5,000 |
Personnel and sponsorship
- Note: The league has signed a deal with Hummel to be the official kit manufacturer, but it still allows clubs to find their own provider.[8]
| Team | Head coach | Captain(s) | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona Monsoon |  Carlos Padilla |
Capelli |
— | |
| Capo FC | Peter Carey |
New Balance |
DirecTV | |
| Club de Lyon |  Hector Almandoz |
 Victor Rojas |
 Adidas |
— |
| Georgia FC | Kerem Daser |
|||
| Irvine Zeta | Tyler Silva |
 Shinya Kadono |
 Kelme |
— |
| Los Angeles Force |  Dekel Keinan |
Brandon Gomez |
Xara |
— |
| Maryland Bobcats |  Alex Kao |
 Josselin Possian |
 Hummel |
Holiday Inn College Park |
| Michigan Stars |  Enis Dokovic |
 Tatenda Mkuruva |
Adidas |
HTC |
| Savannah Clovers |  David Proctor |
Shandon Wright |
Umbro |
Castro Wood Floors |
Coaching changes
| Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Force | Matt Morse |
Fired | December 8, 2023[9] | Pre-season | Dekel Keinan |
December 8, 2023[10] |
| Club de Lyon | Victor Balaguer |
Hector Almandoz |
March 4, 2024[11] |
Regular season
The teams are divided in two conferences, playing an unbalanced schedule weighted on regional play.[6] The season was scheduled to start on March 23, but was delayed until April 6 because the four expansion teams needed more time to prepare for the season.[12]
Standings
East Conference
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maryland Bobcats | 19 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 50 | 18 | +32 | 50 | Disqualified |
| 2 | Michigan Stars (Q) | 20 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 38 | 25 | +13 | 36 | Semifinals |
| 3 | Club de Lyon | 19 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 30 | 42 | −12 | 19 | |
| 4 | Savannah Clovers | 20 | 5 | 3 | 12 | 24 | 42 | −18 | 18 | |
| 5 | Georgia FC | 20 | 5 | 2 | 13 | 24 | 39 | −15 | 14 |
Rules for classification: 1) points per game; 2) goal differential; 3) goals for; 4) head-to-head; 5) goals against
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
West Conference
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles Force (Q) | 18 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 40 | 12 | +28 | 44 | Finals |
| 2 | Irvine Zeta (Q) | 18 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 33 | 12 | +21 | 37 | Semifinals |
| 3 | Capo FC | 16 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 18 | 29 | −11 | 15 | |
| 4 | Arizona Monsoon | 16 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 7 | 45 | −38 | 1 |
Rules for classification: 1) points per game; 2) goal differential; 3) goals for; 4) head-to-head; 5) goals against
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
Results
East Conference
West Conference
Playoffs
In a format change from the previous seasons, the top two clubs in each conference will advance to their respective conference championship the weekend of October 4–6. The regular season head-to-head winner between conference champions will host the NISA championship the weekend of October 25–27.[6] NISA announced that the Maryland Bobcats were ineligible for the playoffs due to noncompliance with league and USSF standards, despite having the best record in the league.[13]
| Semifinal October 12 | Final October 19 | ||||||||
| 2 | Irvine Zeta | 3 | |||||||
| 3 | Michigan Stars | 0 | |||||||
| 1 | Los Angeles Force (p) | 1 (3) | |||||||
| 2 | Irvine Zeta | 1 (2) | |||||||
| October 12 Semifinals | Irvine Zeta | 3–0 | Michigan Stars | Irvine, California |
| 7:00 pm PDT |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Championship Soccer Stadium |
| October 19 Finals | Los Angeles Force | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (3–2 p) | Irvine Zeta | Long Beach, California |
| 7:00 pm PDT |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Veterans Memorial Stadium Attendance: 1,447 |
| Penalties | ||||
|
||||
Player statistics
- As of June 9, 2024
Top goalscorers
|
Top assists
Clean sheets
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Awards
NISA Best XI
| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seth Torman, Los Angeles Force |
Luis Almeida, Maryland Bobcats FC Zack Hargreaves, Savannah Clovers FC Justin Jovel, Los Angeles Force Kyle Nelson, Savannah Clovers FC |
Edson Alvarado, Irvine Zeta FC Darwin Espinal, Maryland Bobcats FC Tyler Gabarra, Maryland Bobcats FC Josselin Possian |
 Michael Salazar, George Almeida |
[15] |
End-of-season awards
| Award | Winner (club) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Golden Glove | Seth Torman, Los Angeles Force |
[16] |