Professional Cup
| 1992 Professional Cup | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country |
United States Canada |
| Dates |
July 22, 1992 – September 19, 1992 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Colorado Foxes (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Tampa Bay Rowdies |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 11 |
| Goals scored | 37 (3.36 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |
 Jean Harbor (5 goals) |
The Professional Cup was an international soccer tournament that took place in 1992 and involved eight, second tier clubs from three different leagues in North America; the American Professional Soccer League, the Canadian Soccer League, and the National Professional Soccer League.[1] Although it was billed as "inaugural" this would be the only year that the tournament was played.
Overview
The tournament was originally scheduled to be played as a standard two-legged, aggregate format in every round, but after all three of the non-APSL teams were eliminated in the first round it was decided that the remaining rounds would be single match ties.[2][3] The winning team was to receive approximately $26,800 and the runners-up, about $13,200.[4]
Nine matches, including the Final, were played in the United States, and two matches were played in Canada. The participating teams were APSL sides: Colorado Foxes, Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Miami Freedom, San Francisco Bay Blackhawks, and Tampa Bay Rowdies; CSL sides: Montreal Supra and Vancouver 86ers, as well as the NPSL's Chicago Power. Although up to that point Chicago had been known only as an indoor team, in the summer of 1992 they formed an outdoor squad as well.[5][6][7]
Colorado won the Professional Cup Final, 4–1, over Tampa Bay. The Foxes, who had already won the 1992 APSL regular season, would also go on to win the APSL title seven days later, thus completing a minor treble.[8]
Match results
Bracket
| First round | Semifinals | Professional Cup Final | ||||||||||||
| Colorado Foxes | 3 | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Vancouver 86ers | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Colorado Foxes | 1 | |||||||||||||
| San Francisco Bay Blackhawks | 0 | |||||||||||||
| San Francisco Bay Blackhawks | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Chicago Power | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Colorado Foxes | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Miami Freedom | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 5 | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Montreal Supra | 1 | 0 | ||||||||||||
- -APSL team. -CSL team. -NPSL team.
First round
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Dates & Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 7–1 |  Montreal Supra | 5–1 | 2–0 | August 1 Tampa Stadium 600[9] August 12 Stade Claude-Robillard (???)[10] |
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 5–2 | Miami Freedom | 2–1 | 3–1 | August 8 Colts Stadium 1,152[11] August 12 Orange Bowl 85[12] |
| San Francisco Bay Blackhawks | 5–2 | Chicago Power | 2–0 | 3–2 | July 22 Buck Shaw Stadium 2,050[13] August 19[14][15] Norris Stadium (???) |
| Colorado Foxes | 5–3 | Vancouver 86ers | 3–2 | 2–1 | August 3 Englewood Stadium (???) August 11 Swangard Stadium 3,085 |
Semifinals
| September 4 | Tampa Bay Rowdies |
1–0 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers |
Tampa Stadium • Att. 356[16] |
| September 5 | Colorado Foxes |
1–0 | San Francisco Bay Blackhawks |
Englewood Stadium • Att. ??? |
Professional Cup Final
| Colorado Foxes |
4–1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies |
|---|---|---|
Hooker  Haynes Diané Eck 90' |
report | Harbor 78' |
Englewood Stadium, Englewood, Colorado Attendance: 3,507 |
1992 Professional Cup Champions: Colorado Foxes
References
- ↑ Brackman, David (June 12, 1992). "Rowdies add punch to schedule". St. Petersburg Times. p. 6D. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
- ↑ Brackman, David (August 1, 1992). "Rowdies in Professional Cup debut tonight". St. Petersburg Times. p. 4D. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
- ↑ Brackman, David (September 4, 1992). "Rowdies to find out tonight if titles are still within grasp". St. Petersburg Times. p. 8D. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
- ↑ Brousseau, Dave (August 8, 1992). "Inaugural Cup Gives Strikers A Fresh Start". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
- ↑ Knowles, Joseph (June 16, 1992). "Power Forms New Club To Play Outdoor Slate". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
- ↑ Knowles, Joseph (June 27, 1992). "Power`s 2nd Outdoor Venture Another Test For Rensink". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
- ↑ "Power Ties In Outdoor Exhibition". Chicago Tribune. June 28, 1992. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
- ↑ Pearce, Alan (September 27, 1992). "Colorado blanks Rowdies for league championship". St. Petersburg Times. p. 3C. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
- ↑ Brackman, David (August 2, 1992). "Rowdies win big, 5-1, before small crowd". St. Petersburg Times. p. 10C. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
- ↑ Epifano, Anthony (August 13, 1992). "Rowdies beat Montreal 2-0". St. Petersburg Times. p. 2C. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
- ↑ "Eichmann scores twice as Strikers top Freedom". Miami Herald. August 9, 1992. p. 7D. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
- ↑ "Strikers knock Freedom out of Pro Cup series". Miami Herald. August 13, 1992. p. 11D. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
- ↑ "Blackhawks turn out lights on Power in Professional Cup series opener". The Star-News. July 25, 1992. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
- ↑ Rosewater, Amy (August 19, 1992). "Power Battles San Francisco In Tourney". Chicago-Sun Times. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
- ↑ "Tournament Loss Closes Power's Outdoor Season". Chicago Tribune. August 20, 1992. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
- ↑ Brackman, David (September 5, 1992). "Rowdies strike back at Strikers". St. Petersburg Times. p. 7C. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
- ↑ Orazi, Deborah (September 19, 1992). "Tourney Action Precedes Start of Regular Season". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. p. 6C. Retrieved June 11, 2016.