1978 North American Soccer League playoffs

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Main article: 1978 North American Soccer League season
1978 North American Soccer League Playoffs
CountryUnited States
Canada
Teams16
Defending championsCosmos
ChampionsCosmos
Runners-upTampa Bay Rowdies
Matches played21
Goals scored81 (3.86 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)England Alan Willey
(7 goals)
← 1977
→

The 1978 North American Soccer League playoffs began on August 8 and ended on August 27 with Soccer Bowl '78 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. 16 out of 24 teams qualified after a 30-match regular season, eight from each conference.

Playoff format[]

The top two teams in each division would quality for the playoffs. The other spots would go to the next best two teams in the conference, regardless of division. The top three seeds went to the division winners, seeds 4-6 went to the second place teams and the last two seeds were known as 'wild-cards', a nod to the NFL's playoff format. The winners of each successive round would be reseeded within the conference by point total. The first round and the Soccer Bowl were single games, while the conference semifinals and championships were two-game series. As in the 1977 playoffs, if both teams were tied at one win apiece at the conclusion of Game 2, there would be a 30-minute sudden-death mini-game and a shootout if necessary.[1]

Playoff seeds[]

American Conference[]

  1. Detroit Express – Central Division champions, 176 points
  2. New England Tea Men – Eastern Division champions, 165 points
  3. San Diego Sockers – Western Division champions, 164 points
  4. Tampa Bay Rowdies – 165 points
  5. Chicago Sting – 123 points
  6. California Surf – 115 points
  7. Fort Lauderdale Strikers – 143 points
  8. Philadelphia Fury – 111 points

National Conference[]

  1. Cosmos – Eastern Division champions, 212 points
  2. Vancouver Whitecaps – Western Division champions, 199 points
  3. Minnesota Kicks – Central Division champions, 156 points
  4. Portland Timbers – 167 points
  5. Washington Diplomats – 145 points
  6. Tulsa Roughnecks – 132 points
  7. Toronto Metros-Croatia – 144 points
  8. Seattle Sounders – 138 points

Bracket[]

Conference Quarterfinals Conference Semifinals Conference Championships Soccer Bowl '78
            
A1 Detroit Express 1
A8 Philadelphia Fury 0
A1 Detroit Express 1
A7 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 2
A2 New England Tea Men 1
A7 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 3
A7 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 1
A4 Tampa Bay Rowdies 2
A3 San Diego Sockers 2
A6 California Surf 1
A3 San Diego Sockers 1
A4 Tampa Bay Rowdies 2
A4 Tampa Bay Rowdies 3
A5 Chicago Sting 1
A4 Tampa Bay Rowdies 1
N1 Cosmos 3
N1 Cosmos 5
N8 Seattle Sounders 2
N1 Cosmos 2
N3 Minnesota Kicks 1
N3 Minnesota Kicks 3
N6 Tulsa Roughnecks 1
N1 Cosmos 2
N4 Portland Timbers 0
N2 Vancouver Whitecaps 4
N7 Toronto Metros-Croatia 0
N2 Vancouver Whitecaps 0
N4 Portland Timbers 2
N4 Portland Timbers 2
N5 Washington Diplomats 1

Conference Quarterfinals[]

American Conference[]

(1) Detroit Express vs. (8) Philadelphia Fury[]

Detroit Express1–0Philadelphia Fury
Francis Goal 35:57' (Davies)
Attendance: 22,456

(2) New England Tea Men vs. (7) Fort Lauderdale Strikers[]

New England Tea Men1–3Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Ridley Goal 24:46' (o.g.) Irving Goal 61:04' (Best, Hudson)
Simpson Goal 68:02' (o.g.)
Ronson Goal 72:23' (Nanchoff)
Schaefer Stadium, Boston
Attendance: 18,672

(3) San Diego Sockers vs. (6) California Surf[]

San Diego Sockers2–1California Surf
McCall Goal 18:50' (Smethurst, van der Veen)
McCall Goal 49:52' (Willrich, Smethurst)		 Suhnholz Goal 3:30'
Attendance: 6,238

(4) Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. (5) Chicago Sting[]

Tampa Bay Rowdies3–1Chicago Sting
Marsh Goal 26:48' (pen.)
Marsh Goal 52:17' (Connell, McGuire)
Wegerle Goal 74:08'		 Report Granitza Goal 78:06' (Strenicer)
Attendance: 26,596
Referee: George Courtney (England)

National Conference[]

(1) Cosmos vs. (8) Seattle Sounders[]

Cosmos5–2Seattle Sounders
Bogicevic Goal 39:32'
Bogicevic Goal 57:46' (Dimitrijevic, Hunt)
Beckenbauer Goal 58:13'
Dimitrijevic Goal 58:34' (Beckenbauer)
Hunt Goal 80:28' (Tueart, Davis)		 England Goal 56:31' (Crossley)
Wallace Goal 74:58' (Scott)
Attendance: 47,780

(2) Vancouver Whitecaps vs. (7) Toronto Metros-Croatia[]

Vancouver Whitecaps4–0Toronto Metros-Croatia
Campbell Goal 16:04' (Hinton)
Hinton Goal 17:52' (Hector, B. Lenarduzzi)
Campbell Goal 39:55' (Hector, B. Lenarduzzi)
B. Lenarduzzi Goal 57:10' (Campbell, Bolitho)
Empire Stadium, Vancouver
Attendance: 30,811
Referee: Gino D'Ippolito (USA)

(3) Minnesota Kicks vs. (6) Tulsa Roughnecks[]

Minnesota Kicks3–1Tulsa Roughnecks
Futcher Goal 28:03' (Hamilton, Moran)
Willey Goal 63:24' (Hamilton, Morgan)
Willey Goal 82:11' (Morgan)		 Caskey Goal 48:21'
Attendance: 36,478
Referee: John Davies (England)

(4) Portland Timbers vs. (5) Washington Diplomats[]

Portland Timbers2–1(OT)Washington Diplomats
Goal 58:57' (Bain)
Bain Golden goal 96:41'  (Seale)		 Stokes Goal 89:30'
Civic Stadium, Portland
Attendance: 14,030

Conference Semifinals[]

American Conference[]

(1) Detroit Express vs. (7) Ft. Lauderdale Strikers[]

Fort Lauderdale Strikers4–3(SO)Detroit Express
Irving Goal 59:10'
Whittle Goal 65:41' (Best)
Irving Goal 69:31' (Hudson, Whittle)		 Francis Goal 3:27' (Brazil)
Francis Goal 41:55'
Tinnion Goal 67:11'
Penalties
Whelan Penalty scored
Fowles Penalty scored
Hudson Penalty missed
IrvingPenalty missed
Whittle Penalty scored		 3–2 Penalty missed Francis
Penalty missed Furphy
Penalty scored Bradford
Penalty missed Tinnion
Penalty scored Davies
Attendance: 11,517
Referee: Gino D'Ippolito (USA)
Detroit Express1–0Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Brazil Goal 42:34' (Francis)
Attendance: 32,819
Detroit Express0–1Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Nanchoff Golden goal 20:36'  (Hudson)

Fort Lauderdale wins series 2–1

(3) San Diego Sockers vs. (4) Tampa Bay Rowdies[]

San Diego Sockers0–1Tampa Bay Rowdies
Report Auguste Goal 60:31'
Attendance: 8,014
Tampa Bay Rowdies1–2San Diego Sockers
Anderson Goal 64:42' (Paddon, Marsh) Report Goal 48:25'
McCall Goal 67:49'
Attendance: 32,495
Referee: Tony Nobile
Tampa Bay Rowdies1–0San Diego Sockers
Marsh Golden goal 3:41'  (Auguste) Report

Tampa Bay wins series 2–1

National Conference[]

(1) Cosmos vs. (3) Minnesota Kicks[]

Minnesota Kicks9–2Cosmos
George Goal 0:52' (Morgan, Want)
Roth Goal 18:32' (o.g.)
Willey Goal 29:28' (Hamilton, Morgan)
Ntsoelengoe Goal 53:14' (George)
Willey Goal 63:28' (Morgan)
Willey Goal 69:05' (Hamilton, Price)
Willey Goal 77:27' (George, Rosul)
Willey Goal 84:44' (Hamilton, Lettieri)
Hamilton Goal 89:06'		 Chinaglia Goal 48:19'
Etherington Goal 83:30' (Bogicevic, Hunt)
Attendance: 45,863
Cosmos4–0Minnesota Kicks
Chinaglia Goal 10:12' (Tueart, Bogicevic)
Tueart Goal 12:23' (Bogicevic)
Chinaglia Goal 23:22' (Bogicevic, Tueart)
Tueart Goal 50:56'
Attendance: 60,199
Cosmos1–0(SO)Minnesota Kicks
Penalties
Bogicevic Penalty missed
Tueart Penalty missed
Hunt Penalty missed
Morais Penalty missed
Alberto Penalty scored
Beckenbauer Penalty scored		 2–1 Penalty scored Hamilton
Penalty missed Futcher
Penalty missed George
Penalty missed Ntsoelengoe
Penalty missed Villa
Penalty missed Merrick

New York wins series 2–1

(2) Vancouver Whitecaps vs. (4) Portland Timbers[]

Portland Timbers1–0Vancouver Whitecaps
Best Goal 54:53' (Anderson)
Civic Stadium, Portland
Attendance: 16,437
Vancouver Whitecaps1–2Portland Timbers
Kember Goal 47:11' (Hinton) Best Goal 21:19' (Charles)
Anderson Goal 40:44' (Scullion, Bain)
Empire Stadium, Vancouver
Attendance: 32,666

Portland wins series 2–0

Conference Finals[]

American Conference[]

(4) Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. (7) Ft. Lauderdale Strikers[]

Fort Lauderdale Strikers3–2Tampa Bay Rowdies
Whittle Goal 45:44' (pen.)
Irving Goal 46:25' (Jones)
Best Goal 50:41'		 Report Robb Goal 30:31' (Paddon)
McLeod Goal 89:45' (Paddon)
Attendance: 16,286
Tampa Bay Rowdies3–1Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Anderson Goal 34:07' (McLeod, Marsh)
Robb Goal 65:00' (Marsh, Wegerle)
Wegerle Goal 83:36'		 Report Irving Goal 88:34'
Attendance: 37,360
Referee: John Davies
Tampa Bay Rowdies1–0 (SO)Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Report
Penalties
Anderson Penalty missed
Wegerle Penalty scored
Paddon Penalty missed
Robb Penalty missed
Marsh Penalty scored		 2–1 Penalty missed Whelan
Penalty missed Irving
Penalty missed Hudson
Penalty scored Fowles
Penalty missed Whittle
Referee: John Davies

Tampa Bay wins series 2–1

National Conference[]

(1) Cosmos vs. (4) Portland Timbers[]

Portland Timbers0–1New York Cosmos
Tueart Goal 46:03' (Hunt)
Civic Stadium, Portland
Attendance: 24,515
Cosmos5–0Portland Timbers
Chinaglia Goal 32:07' (Tueart)
Tueart Goal 76:06' (Dimitrijevic)
Hunt Goal 77:28' (Tueart)
Beckenbauer Goal 80:44'
Seninho Goal 88:29' (Beckenbauer, Chinaglia)
Attendance: 57,128

New York wins series 2–0

Soccer Bowl '78[]

Main article: Soccer Bowl '78
Cosmos3–1Tampa Bay Rowdies
Tueart Goal 30:42' (Iarusci, Hunt)
Chinaglia Goal 44:38'
Tueart Goal 76:49' (Iarusci, Roth)		 Report Mirandinha Goal 73:34' (Robb)
Attendance: 74,901
Referee: Jim Highet (Canada)

1978 NASL Champions: Cosmos

Playoff Statistics[]

Mini-games are not counted as games played when compiling individual statistics. They are included in the minutes played category.

Scoring[]

GP = Games Played, G = Goals (worth 2 points), A = Assists (worth 1 point), Pts = Points

Player Team GP G A Pts
Dennis Tueart Cosmos 6 6 5 17
Alan Willey Minnesota Kicks 3 7 0 14
Giorgio Chinaglia Cosmos 6 5 2 12
David Irving Fort Lauderdale Strikers 5 5 0 10
Rodney Marsh Tampa Bay Rowdies 5 3 3 9

Goalkeeping[]

Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes Played; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; W = Wins; L = Losses; SO = Shutouts

Player Team GP Min GA GAA W L SO
Phil Parkes Vancouver Whitecaps 3 270 3 1.00 1 2 1
Alan Mayer San Diego Sockers 3 225 3 1.00 1 1 0
Steve Hardwick Detroit Express 3 306 4 1.33 2 1 2
Mick Poole Portland Timbers 5 457 8 1.60 3 2 1
Winston DuBose Tampa Bay Rowdies 6 574 10 1.67 3 3 1

References[]

  1. ^ 1979 Official North American Soccer League Guide. 1979. p. 367.

Henderson, Jim (1979). Dr. Pepper 1979 Pro Soccer Guide. Tampa, Florida: Snibbe Publications.

1979 Official North American Soccer League Guide. New York: 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, New Jersey: St. Johann Press.

External links[]

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