1978 North American Soccer League playoffs
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.
| Country | United States Canada |
|---|---|
| Teams | 16 |
| Defending champions | Cosmos |
| Champions | Cosmos |
| Runners-up | Tampa Bay Rowdies |
| Matches played | 21 |
| Goals scored | 81 (3.86 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) |  Alan Willey (7 goals) |
← 1977 1979 → | |
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
- Detroit Express – Central Division champions, 176 points
- New England Tea Men – Eastern Division champions, 165 points
- San Diego Sockers – Western Division champions, 164 points
- Tampa Bay Rowdies – 165 points
- Chicago Sting – 123 points
- California Surf – 115 points
- Fort Lauderdale Strikers – 143 points
- Philadelphia Fury – 111 points
National Conference
- Cosmos – Eastern Division champions, 212 points
- Vancouver Whitecaps – Western Division champions, 199 points
- Minnesota Kicks – Central Division champions, 156 points
- Portland Timbers – 167 points
- Washington Diplomats – 145 points
- Tulsa Roughnecks – 132 points
- Toronto Metros-Croatia – 144 points
- 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
(1) Detroit Express vs. (8) Philadelphia Fury
| Detroit Express | 1–0 | Philadelphia Fury |
|---|---|---|
Francis  35:57' (Davies) |
(2) New England Tea Men vs. (7) Fort Lauderdale Strikers
| New England Tea Men | 1–3 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers |
|---|---|---|
| Ridley 24:46' (o.g.) |
Irving 61:04' (Best, Hudson) Simpson 68:02' (o.g.)Ronson 72:23' (Nanchoff) |
(3) San Diego Sockers vs. (6) California Surf
| San Diego Sockers | 2–1 | California Surf |
|---|---|---|
| McCall 18:50' (Smethurst, van der Veen) McCall 49:52' (Willrich, Smethurst) |
Suhnholz 3:30' |
(4) Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. (5) Chicago Sting
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 3–1 | Chicago Sting |
|---|---|---|
| Marsh 26:48' (pen.) Marsh 52:17' (Connell, McGuire)Wegerle 74:08' |
Report | Granitza 78:06' (Strenicer) |
(1) Cosmos vs. (8) Seattle Sounders
| Cosmos | 5–2 | Seattle Sounders |
|---|---|---|
| Bogicevic 39:32' Bogicevic 57:46' (Dimitrijevic, Hunt)Beckenbauer 58:13'Dimitrijevic 58:34' (Beckenbauer)Hunt 80:28' (Tueart, Davis) |
England 56:31' (Crossley) Wallace 74:58' (Scott) |
(2) Vancouver Whitecaps vs. (7) Toronto Metros-Croatia
| Vancouver Whitecaps | 4–0 | Toronto Metros-Croatia |
|---|---|---|
| Campbell 16:04' (Hinton) Hinton 17:52' (Hector, B. Lenarduzzi)Campbell 39:55' (Hector, B. Lenarduzzi)B. Lenarduzzi 57:10' (Campbell, Bolitho) |
(3) Minnesota Kicks vs. (6) Tulsa Roughnecks
| Minnesota Kicks | 3–1 | Tulsa Roughnecks |
|---|---|---|
| Futcher 28:03' (Hamilton, Moran) Willey 63:24' (Hamilton, Morgan)Willey 82:11' (Morgan) |
Caskey 48:21' |
(4) Portland Timbers vs. (5) Washington Diplomats
| Portland Timbers | 2–1(OT) | Washington Diplomats |
|---|---|---|
| McNeill 58:57' (Bain) Bain  96:41' (Seale) |
Stokes 89:30' |
Conference Semifinals
(1) Detroit Express vs. (7) Ft. Lauderdale Strikers
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 4–3(SO) | Detroit Express |
|---|---|---|
| Irving 59:10' Whittle 65:41' (Best)Irving 69:31' (Hudson, Whittle) |
Francis 3:27' (Brazil) Francis 41:55'Tinnion 67:11' |
|
| Penalties | ||
Whelan  Fowles Hudson  Irving Whittle |
3–2 | Francis Furphy Bradford Tinnion Davies |
| Detroit Express | 1–0 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil 42:34' (Francis) |
| Detroit Express | 0–1 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers |
|---|---|---|
| Nanchoff 20:36' (Hudson) |
Fort Lauderdale wins series 2–1
(3) San Diego Sockers vs. (4) Tampa Bay Rowdies
| San Diego Sockers | 0–1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Auguste 60:31' |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 1–2 | San Diego Sockers |
|---|---|---|
| Anderson 64:42' (Paddon, Marsh) |
Report | Harsanyi 48:25' McCall 67:49' |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 1–0 | San Diego Sockers |
|---|---|---|
| Marsh 3:41' (Auguste) |
Report |
Tampa Bay wins series 2–1
(1) Cosmos vs. (3) Minnesota Kicks
| Minnesota Kicks | 9–2 | Cosmos |
|---|---|---|
| George 0:52' (Morgan, Want) Roth 18:32' (o.g.)Willey 29:28' (Hamilton, Morgan)Ntsoelengoe 53:14' (George)Willey 63:28' (Morgan)Willey 69:05' (Hamilton, Price)Willey 77:27' (George, Rosul)Alan Willey 84:44' (Hamilton, Lettieri)Hamilton 89:06' |
Chinaglia 48:19' Etherington 83:30' (Bogicevic, Hunt) |
| Cosmos | 4–0 | Minnesota Kicks |
|---|---|---|
| Chinaglia 10:12' (Tueart, Bogicevic) Tueart 12:23' (Bogicevic)Chinaglia 23:22' (Bogicevic, Tueart)Tueart 50:56' |
| Cosmos | 1–0(SO) | Minnesota Kicks |
|---|---|---|
| Penalties | ||
| Bogicevic Tueart Hunt Morais Alberto Beckenbauer |
2–1 | Hamilton Futcher George Ntsoelengoe Villa Merrick |
New York wins series 2–1
(2) Vancouver Whitecaps vs. (4) Portland Timbers
| Portland Timbers | 1–0 | Vancouver Whitecaps |
|---|---|---|
| Best 54:53' (Anderson) |
| Vancouver Whitecaps | 1–2 | Portland Timbers |
|---|---|---|
| Kember 47:11' (Hinton) |
Best 21:19' (Charles) Anderson 40:44' (Scullion, Bain) |
Portland wins series 2–0
Conference Finals
(4) Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. (7) Ft. Lauderdale Strikers
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 3–2 | Tampa Bay Rowdies |
|---|---|---|
| Whittle 45:44' (pen.) Irving 46:25' (Jones)Best 50:41' |
Report | Robb 30:31' (Paddon) McLeod 89:45' (Paddon) |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 3–1 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers |
|---|---|---|
| Anderson 34:07' (McLeod, Marsh) Robb 65:00' (Marsh, Wegerle)Wegerle 83:36' |
Report | Irving 88:34' |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 1–0 (SO) | Fort Lauderdale Strikers |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
| Anderson Wegerle Paddon Robb Marsh |
2–1 | Whelan Irving Hudson Fowles Whittle |
Tampa Bay wins series 2–1
(1) Cosmos vs. (4) Portland Timbers
| Portland Timbers | 0–1 | New York Cosmos |
|---|---|---|
| Tueart 46:03' (Hunt) |
| Cosmos | 5–0 | Portland Timbers |
|---|---|---|
| Chinaglia 32:07' (Tueart) Tueart 76:06' (Dimitrijevic)Hunt 77:28' (Tueart)Beckenbauer 80:44'Seninho 88:29' (Beckenbauer, Chinaglia) |
New York wins series 2–0
Soccer Bowl '78
| Cosmos | 3–1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies |
|---|---|---|
| Tueart 30:42' (Iarusci, Hunt) Chinaglia 44:38' Tueart 76:49' (Iarusci, Roth) |
Report | Mirandinha 73:34' (Robb) |
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
- 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.