1977 North American Soccer League season

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North American Soccer League -1977 Season-
Season1977
ChampionsCosmos
(2nd Title)
PremiersFt. Lauderdale Strikers
Matches played234
Goals scored752 (3.21 per match)
Top goalscorerSteve David (26)
Highest attendance77,691
(Ft Lauderdale @ Cosmos)
Lowest attendance1,100
(Washington @ Connecticut)
Average attendance13,558
← 1976
1978 →

Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1977. This was the 10th season of the NASL.

Overview[]

The league was made up of 18 teams. The schedule was expanded to 26 games and the playoffs to 12 teams. Team rosters consisted of 17 players, 6 of which had to be US or Canadian citizens.[1] The NASL began using its own variation of the penalty shoot-out procedure for tied matches. Matches tied at the end of regulation would now go to a golden goal overtime period and, if still tied, on to a shoot-out. Instead of penalty kicks however, the shoot-out attempt started 35 yards from the goal and allowed the player 5 seconds to attempt a shot. The player could make as many moves as he wanted in a breakaway situation within the time frame. NASL procedure also called for the box score or score-line to show an additional "goal" given to the winning side of a shoot-out. This "victory goal" however was not credited in the "Goals For" column of the league table.[2][3] The Cosmos defeated the Seattle Sounders in the finals on August 28 to win the championship.

Changes from the previous season[]

New teams[]

  • None

Teams folding[]

  • Boston Minutemen
  • Philadelphia Atoms

Teams moving[]

  • Miami Toros - Fort Lauderdale Strikers
  • San Antonio Thunder - Team Hawaii
  • San Diego Jaws - Las Vegas Quicksilvers

Name changes[]

  • Hartford Bicentennials to Connecticut Bicentennials
  • Cosmos drop "New York" from name

Regular season[]

W = Wins, L = Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, BP = Bonus Points, Pts= point system

6 points for a win, 0 points for a loss, 1 point for each regulation goal scored up to three per game.

 -Premiers (most points).  -Other playoff teams.

Atlantic Conference[]

Eastern Division W L GF GA BP Pts Home Road
Fort Lauderdale Strikers 19 7 49 29 47 161 11-2 8-5
Cosmos 15 11 60 39 50 140 10-3 5-8
Tampa Bay Rowdies 14 12 55 45 47 131 11-2 3-10
Washington Diplomats 10 16 32 49 32 92 6-7 4-9
Northern Division W L GF GA BP Pts Home Road
Toronto Metros-Croatia 13 13 42 38 37 115 8-5 5-8
St. Louis Stars 12 14 33 35 32 104 7-6 5-8
Rochester Lancers 11 15 34 41 33 99 10-3 1-12
Chicago Sting 10 16 31 43 28 88 4-9 6-7
Connecticut Bicentennials 7 19 34 65 30 72 4-9 3-10

Pacific Conference[]

Southern Division W L GF GA BP Pts Home Road
Dallas Tornado 18 8 56 37 53 161 11-2 7-6
Los Angeles Aztecs 15 11 65 54 57 147 8-5 7-6
San Jose Earthquakes 14 12 37 44 35 119 9-4 5-8
Team Hawaii 11 15 45 59 40 106 7-6 4-9
Las Vegas Quicksilvers 11 15 38 44 37 103 8-5 3-10
Western Division W L GF GA BP Pts Home Road
Minnesota Kicks 16 10 44 36 41 137 11-2 5-8
Vancouver Whitecaps 14 12 43 36 40 124 10-3 4-9
Seattle Sounders 14 12 43 34 39 123 9-4 5-8
Portland Timbers 10 16 39 42 38 98 7-6 3-10

NASL All-Stars[]

First Team   Position   Second Team[4] Honorable Mention[5]
Gordon Banks, Ft. Lauderdale G Alan Mayer, Las Vegas Tony Chursky, Seattle
Franz Beckenbauer, Cosmos D Ray Evans, St. Louis Steve Litt, Minnesota
Mike England, Seattle D Steve Pecher, Dallas Jim McAlister, Seattle
Bruce Wilson, Vancouver D Humberto Coelho, Las Vegas Alan Merrick, Minnesota
Mel Machin, Seattle D George Ley, Dallas • Arsène Auguste Tampa Bay[6] Graham Day, Portland
George Best, Los Angeles M Charlie Cooke, Los Angeles Tony Simões, San Jose
Wolfgang Sühnholz, Las Vegas M Vito Dimitrijević, Cosmos Ace Ntsoelengoe, Minnesota
Alan West, Minnesota M Rodney Marsh, Tampa Bay Al Trost, St. Louis
Steve David, Los Angeles F Mike Stojanović, Rochester Willie Morgan, Chicago
Pelé, Cosmos F Steve Wegerle, Tampa Bay Giorgio Chinaglia, Cosmos
Derek Smethurst, Tampa Bay F Buzz Parsons, Vancouver Jimmy Robertson, Seattle

Playoffs[]

Main article: 1977 North American Soccer League playoffs

The first round and the Soccer Bowl were single game match ups, while the conference semifinals and championships were all two-game series.[7]

Bracket[]

  First Round Division Championships Conference Championships Soccer Bowl '77
                                     
Cosmos 3  
Tampa Bay Rowdies 0  
  Fort Lauderdale Strikers 3 2(0) –  
  Cosmos 8 3(3) –  
  Cosmos 2 4 –  
  Rochester Lancers 1 1 –  
St. Louis Stars 0(2)  
Rochester Lancers 1(4)  
  Toronto Metros-Croatia 0(2) 0 –
  Rochester Lancers 1(3) 1 –  
 
  Cosmos 2
  Seattle Sounders 1
Los Angeles Aztecs 2  
San Jose Earthquakes 1  
  Dallas Tornado 1 1 –
  Los Angeles Aztecs 3 5 –  
 
  Los Angeles Aztecs 1 0 –
  Seattle Sounders 3 1 –  
Vancouver Whitecaps 0  
Seattle Sounders 2  
  Minnesota Kicks 1 0 –
  Seattle Sounders 2 1 –  
 

First Round[]

August 10 San Jose Earthquakes 1–2 (OT) Los Angeles Aztecs Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Att. 4,038
August 10 Tampa Bay Rowdies 0–3 Cosmos Giants Stadium • Att. 57,828
August 10 Rochester Lancers 1–0 (SO, 4–2) St. Louis Stars Francis Field • Att. 7,137
August 10 Seattle Sounders 2–0 Vancouver Whitecaps Empire Stadium • Att. 21,915

Division Championships[]

Higher seed Lower seed Game 1 Game 2 (lower seed hosts Game 1)
Fort Lauderdale Strikers - Cosmos 3–8 2–3 (SO, 0–3) August 14 • Giants Stadium • 77,691
August 17 • Lockhart Stadium 14,152
Dallas Tornado - Los Angeles Aztecs 1–3 1–5 August 14 • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • 5,201
August 17 • Ownby Stadium • 18,489
Minnesota Kicks - Seattle Sounders *1–2 (OT) 0–1 *August 14 • Metropolitan Stadium • 35,889
August 17 • Kingdome • 42,091
Toronto Metros-Croatia - Rochester Lancers 0–1 (SO, 2–3) 0–1 August 13 • Holleder Memorial Stadium • 10,556
August 16 • Varsity Stadium • 8,062

*Minnesota Kicks hosted Game 1 (instead of Game 2) due to a scheduling conflict with the Twins baseball club.

Conference Championships[]

Higher seed Lower seed Game 1 Game 2 (lower seed hosts Game 1)
Los Angeles Aztecs - Seattle Sounders 1–3 #0–1 August 21 • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • 9,115
#August 25 • Kingdome • 56,256
Cosmos - Rochester Lancers 2–1 4–1 August 21 • Holleder Memorial Stadium • 20,005
August 24 • Giants Stadium • 73,669

#Seattle Sounders hosted Game 2 (instead of Game 1) due to a scheduling conflict with the Mariners baseball club.

Soccer Bowl '77[]

Main article: Soccer Bowl '77
Cosmos2–1Seattle Sounders
Hunt 19:05'
Chinaglia 77:19' (Hunt)		 Ord 23:13' (Cave)
Civic Stadium, Portland
Attendance: 35,548
Referee: Toros Kibritjan (USA)

1977 NASL Champions: Cosmos

Post season awards[]

  • Most Valuable Player: Franz Beckenbauer, Cosmos
  • Coach of the year: Ron Newman, Fort Lauderdale
  • Rookie of the year: Jim McAlister, Seattle

References[]

  1. ^ "Gadsden Times - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved 2014-01-23.
  2. ^ "This Day In 1981 : Soccer Bowl Edition | Chicago Fire Confidential". Archived from the original on 2013-07-01. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  3. ^ "The Year in American Soccer - 1977". Archived from the original on 2013-07-01. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  4. ^ "Mid Cities Daily News - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved 2014-01-23.
  5. ^ "St. Petersburg Times - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved 2014-01-23.
  6. ^ "Banks, Pele, Smethurst on star team". St. Petersburg Times. August 12, 1977. p. 5C.
  7. ^ 1979 Official North American Soccer League Guide. 1979. p. 367.

1979 Official North American Soccer League Guide. New York, NY: North American Soccer League. 1979.

Jose, Colin (1989). NASL: A Complete Record of the North American Soccer League. Derby, England: Breedon Books.

Jose, Colin (2003). North American Soccer League Encyclopedia. Haworth, NJ: St. Johann Press.

Wangerin, David (2008). Soccer In A Football World. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.

External links[]

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