1977 North American Soccer League season
| Season | 1977 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Cosmos (2nd Title) |
| Premiers | Ft. Lauderdale Strikers |
| Matches played | 234 |
| Goals scored | 752 (3.21 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Steve David (26) |
| Highest attendance | 77,691 (Ft Lauderdale @ Cosmos) |
| Lowest attendance | 1,100 (Washington @ Connecticut) |
| Average attendance | 13,558 |
← 1976 1978 → | |
Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1977. This was the 10th season of the NASL.
Overview
[edit]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 U.S. 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 final on August 28 to win the championship.
Changes from the previous season
[edit]New teams
[edit]- None
Teams folding
[edit]- Boston Minutemen
- Philadelphia Atoms
Teams moving
[edit]- Miami Toros - Fort Lauderdale Strikers
- San Antonio Thunder - Team Hawaii
- San Diego Jaws - Las Vegas Quicksilvers
Name changes
[edit]- Hartford Bicentennials to Connecticut Bicentennials
- Cosmos drop "New York" from name
Map of clubs
[edit]
Regular season
[edit]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[edit]
|
Pacific Conference[edit]
|
NASL All-Stars
[edit]| 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
[edit]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
[edit]| First Round | Division Championships | Conference Championships | Soccer Bowl '77 | ||||||||||||||
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 3 | 2(0) | |||||||||||||||
| Cosmos | 3 | Cosmos | 8 | 3(3) | |||||||||||||
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 0 | Cosmos | 2 | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Rochester Lancers | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| Toronto Metros-Croatia | 0(2) | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| St. Louis Stars | 0(2) | Rochester Lancers | 1(3) | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Rochester Lancers | 1(4) | Cosmos | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Seattle Sounders | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Dallas Tornado | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| Los Angeles Aztecs | 2 | Los Angeles Aztecs | 3 | 5 | |||||||||||||
| San Jose Earthquakes | 1 | Los Angeles Aztecs | 1 | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Seattle Sounders | 3 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| Minnesota Kicks | 1 | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| Vancouver Whitecaps | 0 | Seattle Sounders | 2 | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Seattle Sounders | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
First round
[edit]| 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
[edit]| 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
[edit]| 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
[edit]| Cosmos | 2–1 | Seattle Sounders |
|---|---|---|
Hunt  19:05' Chinaglia 77:19' (Hunt) |
Ord 23:13' (Cave) |
1977 NASL Champions: Cosmos
Post season awards
[edit]- Most Valuable Player: Franz Beckenbauer, Cosmos
- Coach of the year: Ron Newman, Fort Lauderdale
- Rookie of the year: Jim McAlister, Seattle
References
[edit]- ^ "Gadsden Times - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- ^ "This Day In 1981 : Soccer Bowl Edition | Chicago Fire Confidential". Archived from the original on September 20, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
- ^ "The Year in American Soccer - 1977". Archived from the original on July 13, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
- ^ "Mid Cities Daily News - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- ^ "St. Petersburg Times - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- ^ "Banks, Pele, Smethurst on star team". St. Petersburg Times. August 12, 1977. p. 5C.
- ^ 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. ISBN 9781592138852.