2023 National Independent Soccer Association season

Football league season

National Independent Soccer Association
Season	2023
Dates	Mar. 31 – Oct. 25 (regular season) Oct. 28 – Nov. 11 (playoffs)
Champions	City Union
Regular season title	Chattanooga FC
Matches played	108
Goals scored	268 (2.48 per match)
Top goalscorer	Markus Naglestad (15)
← 2022 2024 → All statistics correct as of November 11, 2023.

The 2023 NISA season is the fifth season of the National Independent Soccer Association's third-division soccer competition. Michigan Stars are the defending champions, after winning the 2022 season.

Teams

Of the eight teams that finished the 2022 season, five return for 2023, two (Flower City Union and Syracuse Pulse) merge to form a new team branded City Union, and one, California United Strikers, is on hiatus, with the aim to return in 2024.

The six teams are joined by three expansion clubs: Club de Lyon, Gold Star FC and Savannah Clovers FC.

Stadiums and locations

Savannahclass=notpageimage| Locations of announced clubs

Participating club

Team	Location	Stadium	Capacity
Albion San Diego	San Diego, CA	Canyon Crest Academy Stadium	5,000
Chattanooga FC	Chattanooga, TN	Finley Stadium	20,668
City Union	Rochester, NY Auburn, NY	Marina Auto Stadium Falcon Park	13,768 2,800
Club de Lyon	Daytona Beach, FL	Daytona Stadium	9,601
Gold Star FC	Livonia, MI	Gold Star Stadium	5,000
Los Angeles Force	Irvine, CA	Championship Stadium	5,000
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.

Team	Head coach	Captain(s)	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
Albion San Diego	Diego Gómez	Tyler Gabarra	Capelli	DarkHorse
Chattanooga FC	Rod Underwood	Richard Dixon	Hummel	Volkswagen
City Union	Jordan Sullivan	Mumbi Kwesele	Hummel	—
Club de Lyon	Victor Balaguer	Victor Rojas	Adidas	—
Gold Star FC	Alex Lubyansky	Brandon Barnes	Adidas	—
Los Angeles Force	Matt Morse	Brandon Gomez	Xara	—
Maryland Bobcats	Alex Kao	Josselin Possian	Hummel	Holiday Inn College Park
Michigan Stars		Tatenda Mkuruva	Hummel	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
Albion San Diego	Jeff Korytoski	Signed by Chattanooga Red Wolves SC	December 14, 2022	Preseason	Diego Gómez	February 23, 2023
City Union	Colton Bly (interim)	End of interim period	February 10, 2023		Jordan Sullivan	February 10, 2023
Maryland Bobcats	Sylvain Rastello	Resigned	February 21, 2023		Alex Kao	March 1, 2023
Los Angeles Force	Jesus Ochoa (interim)	End of interim period	April 23, 2023	5th	Matt Morse	April 23, 2023

Regular season

The season started on March 31, with the nine teams playing an unbalanced schedule weighted on regional play.

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Chattanooga FC (X)	24	15	7	2	41	12	+29	52	Qualification for the semifinals
2	Michigan Stars	24	13	7	4	37	21	+16	46	Qualification for the semifinals
3	Los Angeles Force	24	13	5	6	33	21	+12	44	Qualification for the playoffs
4	Albion San Diego	24	11	8	5	31	21	+10	41
5	Maryland Bobcats	24	11	3	10	31	22	+9	36
6	City Union (C)	24	8	3	13	30	34	−4	27
7	Club de Lyon	24	6	5	13	23	45	−22	23
8	Savannah Clovers	24	4	7	13	19	47	−28	19
9	Gold Star FC	24	3	3	18	23	45	−22	12

Source: nisasoccer.com
Rules for classification: 1) points per game; 2) goal differential; 3) goals for; 4) head-to-head; 5) goals against
(C) Champions; (X) Regular season winner

Results

Home \ Away	ALB	CHA	FLO	CLY	GOL	LAF	MAR	MIC	SAV	ALB	CHA	FLO	CLY	GOL	LAF	MAR	MIC	SAV	ALB	CHA	FLO	CLY	GOL	LAF	MAR	MIC	SAV
Albion San Diego	—	0–5	2–0	3–1	1–0	2–0	0–0	1–1	0–0	—				3–0	0–0		2–2	4–0	—
Chattannooga	2–0	—	1–0	1–1	3–0	3–0	1–0	2–0	1–1		—	0–0	1–0	1–1	3–1			5–0		—
City Union	1–1	0–1	—	2–4	2–0	1–3	0–3	2–3	2–0		0–2	—	1–1		0–1	2–0		4–2			—
Club de Lyon	1–2		0–3	—	3–2	0–0	0–3	0–4	1–2	2–1			—				0–2	1–1				—
Gold Star FC	0–1	1–2	2–3	1–2	—	0–3	2–0	2–3	1–1			1–3		—	0–1	0–1	2–4						—
L.A. Force	1–1	2–1	2–1	1–0	3–0	—	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–0			4–0		—				2–1			1–0		—
Maryland Bobcats	0–1	1–2	1–0	5–1	3–1	2–1	—	0–2	4–1		1–1	2–0	0–1			—	0–0	0–1							—
Michigan Stars	0–1	0–0	2–0	3–1	2–1	2–1	1–2	—	2–0					0–0	1–0	0–2	—									—
Savannah Clovers	1–4	3–2	0–3	0–1	0–1		2–0	1–1	—		0–1		2–2	0–5			0–1	—									—

Source: nisasoccer.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Playoffs

The playoffs will keep the same format from last year, and feature the top six teams from the regular season. The top two teams receive a bye into the semifinals. Teams finishing third through sixth play in the quarterfinals, with the winners being re-seeded before playing in the next round.

Bracket

Quarterfinal October 29

3	Los Angeles Force	2

6	Flower City Union	4

Quarterfinal October 28

4	Albion San Diego (p)	0 (8)

5	Maryland Bobcats FC	0 (7)

Semifinals November 4/5			NISA Championship Final November 11

1	Chattanooga FC	0 (0)

6	Flower City Union (p)	0 (2)
			6	Flower City Union	1

			2	Michigan Stars FC	0
2	Michigan Stars FC	3

4	Albion San Diego	2

Schedule

Quarter-finals

Albion San Diego v Maryland Bobcats FC

October 28, 2023 (2023-10-28)	Albion San Diego	0–0 (a.e.t.) (8–7 p)	Maryland Bobcats FC	San Diego, California
5:30 PM PDT	Shibata 98'	Report	Forka 9' Richard 24' Brown 70' Espinal 96' Akinkoye 114'	Stadium: Canyon Crest Academy Stadium
	Penalties
	Gabarra Carreon Patti Mitchell Shibata Tran Carreon Gluvačević		Wivell Espinal Thiam Mansour Pritchett Akinkoye Filerman Sutton

Los Angeles Force v Flower City Union

October 29, 2023 (2023-10-29)	Los Angeles Force	2–4	Flower City Union	Whittier, California
6:00 PM PDT	Avoce 18', 51' 31' Hale 57' 85' Jovel 67' Echavarría 73'	Report	Diakhate 2', 6' Cartagena 34' Ferreira 81' Elias 84' Stewart 90+3'	Stadium: Rio Hondo College Stadium

Semi-finals

Michigan Stars FC v Albion San Diego

November 4, 2023 (2023-11-04)	Michigan Stars FC	3–2	Albion San Diego	Washington Township, Michigan
3:30 PM EST	Chalbaud 23' Bowie 27' Baranovskyi 45' Umeda 56' Olson 60' 70'	Report	Dalou 15' Kadono 82' Pineda 83'	Stadium: Romeo High School

Chattanooga FC v Flower City Union

November 5, 2023 (2023-11-05)	Chattanooga FC	0–0 (a.e.t.) (0–2 p)	Flower City Union	Chattanooga, Tennessee
5:00 PM EST	Prepeliță 45'	Report	Cartagena 52' Cavanaugh 59'	Stadium: Finley Stadium
	Penalties
	Prepeliță Naglestad Ibarra McGrath		Ferreira Cavanaugh Bolduc Diakhate

NISA Championship Final

Michigan Stars FC v Flower City Union

November 11, 2023 (2023-11-11)	Michigan Stars FC	0–1	Flower City Union	Washington Township, Michigan
	Maric 63'	Report	Ferreira 14' 75' Diakhate 35' Bolduc 52' 90' Lee 57' Cavanaugh 70' Mejia 85' Cartagena 90'	Stadium: Romeo High School

Player statistics

As of October 25, 2023

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Markus Naglestad	Chattanooga FC	15
2	Leon Maric	Michigan Stars	14
3	Darwin Espinal	Maryland Bobcats	11
4	Francis Avoce	Los Angeles Force	7
	Alioune Diakhate	Flower City Union
	Ignacio Ten López	Club de Lyon
7	Alex McGrath	Chattanooga FC	6
	Hunter Olson	Michigan Stars
	Aldo Quintanilla	Los Angeles Force
	Cyrus Tran	Michigan Stars

Clean sheets

Rank	Player	Club	Clean sheets
1	Jean Antoine	Chattanooga FC	15
2	Benjamin Roach	Albion San Diego	12
3	Tatenda Mkuruva	Michigan Stars	10
4	Brandon Gomez	Los Angeles Force	8
5	Alexander Sutton	Maryland Bobcats	7
6	Michael Mejia	City Union	5
7	Brandon Barnes	Gold Star FC	3
7	Jack Crichton	Savannah Clovers	3
9	Nick Nelson	Club de Lyon	2
10	Josue Mazon	Club de Lyon	1
	Dylan Ramos	Gold Star FC
	Joel Serrano	Los Angeles Force
	Sylvanus Thompson	Maryland Bobcats

Top assists

Rank	Player	Club	Assists
1	Andrés Chalbaud	Michigan Stars	7
1	Andrew Wivell	Maryland Bobcats	7
3	Leon Maric	Michigan Stars	6
3	Edwin Rivas	Los Angeles Force	6
5	Daniel Bedoya	Albion San Diego	5
	Darwin Espinal	Maryland Bobcats
	Luke Ferreira	Flower City Union
	Jimmy Filerman	Maryland Bobcats
	Vladimir Jokic	Gold Star FC
10	Alex McGrath	Chattanooga FC	4
	Matias Pourrain	Club de Lyon
	Victor Rojas	Club de Lyon
	Junior Rosero	Gold Star FC

Awards

Individual awards

Award	Winner	Team	Reason
Golden Boot	Markus Naglestad	Chattanooga FC	15 goals in 23 games
Golden Glove	Jean Antoine	Chattanooga FC	15 shutouts in 23 matches; 9 goals against
Coach of the Year	Diego Gomez	Albion San Diego	11-8-5 record in his debut season
Golden Ball (Most Valuable Player)	Darwin Espinal	Maryland Bobcats	11 goals, 5 assists in 22 matches

NISA Best XI

Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards	Ref.
Jean Antoine (CHA)	Aydan Bowers (CHA) Richard Dixon (CHA) Jimmy Filerman (MAR) Anatolie Prepeliță (CHA)	Daniel Bedoya (ALB) Tyler Gabarra (ALB) Alex McGrath (CHA)	Darwin Espinal (MAR) Leon Maric (MIC) Markus Naglestad (CHA)

Player of the Month

Month	Winner	Team	Reason
April	Jean Antoine	Chattanooga FC	4 clean sheets
May	Ignacio Ten López	Club de Lyon	4 goals scored
June	Edwin Rivas	Los Angeles Force	3 assists in 136 minutes
July	Ben Roach	Albion San Diego	3 clean sheets
August	Aldo Quintanilla	Los Angeles Force	Team went 4-0-0, scored hat-trick
September	Daniel Bedoya	Albion San Diego	3 goals scored

Coach of the Month

Month	Winner	Team	Reason
April	Alex Kao	Maryland Bobcats FC	2-0-0 in league play; win in US Open Cup
May	Diego Gómez	Albion San Diego	3-1-0 in league play
June	Rod Underwood	Chattanooga FC	Undefeated in June
July	Rod Underwood	Chattanooga FC	3-1-0 in league play
August	Matt Morse	Los Angeles Force	2-2-0 in league play
September	Alex Kao	Maryland Bobcats FC	2-1-0 in league play

Notes

Forfeited by Club de Lyon due to lack of approved venue availability.

References

^ "NISA announces 2023 clubs and format". www.nisaofficial.com. January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
"NISA announces kit sponsorship deal". Twitter.com. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
"Ziggy Korytoski named head coach of Chattanooga Red Wolves SC". December 14, 2022. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
"Flower City Union Announces 2023 Head Coach". February 10, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
"President of the Youth Academy and Assistant Coach Alex Kao to become Head Coach of Maryland Bobcats FC Senior Team". March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
"Matt Morse Named Los Angeles Force Coach". April 27, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
"NISA releases opening weekend match schedule". www.nisaofficial.com. February 3, 2023. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
"NISA Match Forfeit and Postponement". Retrieved September 19, 2023.
^ "NISA player statistics". nisasoccer.com. NISA. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
^ "NISA Honors 2023 Annual Award Recipients". NISAofficial.com. National Independent Soccer Association. December 2, 2023. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
^ "NISA Announces April 2023 Performers of the Month Awards". NISAofficial.com. National Independent Soccer Association. May 18, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
^ "NISA Announces May 2023 Performers of the Month Awards". NISAofficial.com. National Independent Soccer Association. June 14, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
^ "NISA Announces June 2023 Performers of the Month Awards". NISAofficial.com. National Independent Soccer Association. July 19, 2023. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
^ "NISA Announces July 2023 Performers of the Month Awards". NISAofficial.com. National Independent Soccer Association. August 11, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
^ "NISA Announces August 2023 Performers of the Month Awards". NISAofficial.com. National Independent Soccer Association. September 12, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
^ "NISA Announces September 2023 Performers of the Month Awards". NISAofficial.com. National Independent Soccer Association. October 23, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.

External links

NISA official website

v t e National Independent Soccer Association
Current teams	Arizona Monsoon FC Capo FC Club de Lyon Georgia Lions FC Irvine Zeta FC Los Angeles Force Maryland Bobcats FC Michigan Stars FC Savannah Clovers FC
On hiatus	Albion San Diego California United Strikers FC Gold Star FC New York Cosmos
Future teams	Calabasas FC
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v t e United States Soccer – Division 3 seasons
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USL Pro / United Soccer League	2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
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MLS Next Pro	2022 2023 2024

2023 in American soccer

« 2022 2024 »

National teams

Men	2022–23 CONCACAF Nations League A (Group D)
Women	Senior 2023 SheBelieves Cup 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup U23 U19 U18 U17

League competitions (Men)

Level 1	Major League Soccer (All-Star Game, Playoffs, MLS Cup)
Level 2	USL Championship (Playoffs)
Level 3	MLS Next Pro (Playoffs) USL League One (Playoffs) NISA
Amateur	NPSL USL League Two NISA Nation UPSL
Collegiate	NCAA Division I Division II Division III NAIA NJCAA

League competitions (Women)

Level 1	NWSL
Level 2	USL W WPSL UWS
Collegiate	NCAA Division I Division II Division III NAIA WJCAA

Cup competitions (Men)

Domestic	U.S. Open Cup (Qualification, Final) National Amateur Cup NISA Independent Cup Hank Steinbrecher Cup
International	CONCACAF Champions League Campeones Cup Leagues Cup group stage knockout stage final

Cup competitions (Women)

Youth competitions

Under-23	NCAA College Cup (Final)
Under-18	MLS Next 2022–23 2023–24

Club seasons (Men)

Club seasons (Women)
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