1977 North American Soccer League season

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

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 →

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 Strikers19749294716111-28-5
Cosmos151160395014010-35-8
Tampa Bay Rowdies141255454713111-23-10
Washington Diplomats1016324932926-74-9
Northern Division W L GF GA BP Pts Home Road
Toronto Metros-Croatia13134238371158-55-8
St. Louis Stars12143335321047-65-8
Rochester Lancers11153441339910-31-12
Chicago Sting1016314328884-96-7
Connecticut Bicentennials719346530724-93-10

Pacific Conference
Southern Division W L GF GA BP Pts Home Road
Dallas Tornado18856375316111-27-6
Los Angeles Aztecs15116554571478-57-6
San Jose Earthquakes14123744351199-45-8
Team Hawaii11154559401067-64-9
Las Vegas Quicksilvers11153844371038-53-10
Western Division W L GF GA BP Pts Home Road
Minnesota Kicks161044364113711-25-8
Vancouver Whitecaps141243364012410-34-9
Seattle Sounders14124334391239-45-8
Portland Timbers1016394238987-63-10

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-Cosmos3–82–3 (SO, 0–3)August 14 • Giants Stadium • 77,691
August 17 • Lockhart Stadium 14,152
Dallas Tornado-Los Angeles Aztecs1–31–5August 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 Lancers0–1 (SO, 2–3)0–1August 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 Sounders1–3#0–1August 21 • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • 9,115
#August 25 • Kingdome • 56,256
Cosmos-Rochester Lancers2–14–1August 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)
Attendance: 35,548
Referee: Toros Kibritjan (USA)

1977 NASL Champions: Cosmos

Post season awards

References
  1. "Gadsden Times - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. 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". news.google.com. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
  5. "St. Petersburg Times - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. 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.

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