USL adopts international point system
Published on November 7, 2002 under A-League (A-League) News Release
CLEARWATER, FL â United Soccer Leagues announced today that it has changed its point system for league games to the international standard of three points for a win and one point for a tie, eliminating the use of the bonus point.
"I have always been one of the biggest supporters of using a scoring system that encourages and rewards attacking soccer in North America, but I feel that we have reached a point where we can use the standard international system," said USL President Francisco Marcos. "This decision was based on input from many sources, ranking from coaches to team executives to fans. We even looked at statistics. The same numbers, however, could actually be used to demonstrate both sides of the fence, so the determining factor was the personal input we received."
Since the elimination of the shootout after the 1999 season, scoring has decreased in both the regular season and playoffs for each of the men's leagues. The A-League's goals-per-game average dropped from 3.25 in 2000 to 3.11 in 2001 and 2.98 last season. The decline from 2001 to 2002 was less than 2000 to 2001 for the three leagues.
Reasons for the decline have been attributed, in part, to coaches finding a balance between offense and defense given the important role defense has played in the postseason over the past few years. The postseason goals per game numbers have experienced a similar decline over the same period.
"We feel that most coaches now realize the importance of attacking soccer as a marketing tool for the sport of soccer in North America and that without it, fans may not find the sport exciting enough. The fact that Milwaukee coach Boro Sucevic was booed by fans in Vancouver during the playoffs because of his defensive tactics due to injuries at forward is a testament to how much the fans want to see attacking soccer. Even Rochester coach Pat Ercoli has been under fire by some Rhinos fans for the teams offensive difficulties the last few years despite all the championships and fantastic playoff performances."
"Another major factor in the decision was the idea of having all of the leagues in North America using the same system for the good of the game. Major League Soccer and the Women's United Soccer Association already use the 3-1-0 system. Ideally, the notion would be to have all the leagues implementing similar playoff systems as well. MLS is already considering changing its playoff format. I think that it is important North American sports fans see as close to the same system, whether it be points, playoffs or anything else, at every level."
The bonus point was introduced in 1989 when USL, known then as the Southwest Indoor Soccer League, ventured outdoors. A point was rewarded in the standings for each goal scored with a maximum of up to three in a game. It was eliminated in 1996 but was reintroduced in 1999 with one point being awarded for scoring three or more goals in a game.
"The USL competition committee and the league executive committees have talked at length about a change for several years, but this was the first time that a high percentage of those involved were in agreement about what scoring system to use," said A-League Director of Operations Tim Holt. "We felt that despite the change in the scoring system, most of our teams would still utilize attacking soccer and that USL will still provide its fans with exciting action on the field, which was our overriding concern."
Former USL Point Systems
2000-2002: 4 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss + 1 bonus point when scoring three or more goals in a game... 1999: 4 points for a regulation win, 2 points for a shootout win, 1 point for a shootout loss, 0 points for a regulation loss + 1 bonus point when scoring three or more goals in a game... 1996-1998: 3 points for a regulation win, 1 point for a shootout win, 0 points for a shootout loss, 0 points for a regulation loss... 1989-1995: 6 points for a win, 4 points for a shootout win, 2 points for a shootout loss, 0 points for a regulation loss, 1 point for each goal scored up to 3 per game.
* The W-League was not included due to the reunification from two leagues to one prior to 2002.
A-League Stories from November 7, 2002
- USL opens AOM with yearly operational awards USL Hall of Fame Inductions - A-League
- USL adopts international point system - A-League
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