1980–81 Major Indoor Soccer League season

The 1980–81 Major Indoor Soccer League season was the third in league history and would end with the New York Arrows repeating once again as MISL champions.

Major Indoor Soccer League
Season1980–81
ChampionsNew York Arrows
(3rd title)
Matches played240
Top goalscorerSteve Zungul (108 goals)
Average attendance6,839

Recap

There were plenty of changes as the league began its third year. The Houston Summit would move to Baltimore and the Detroit Lightning moved to San Francisco. Three new clubs were added – the Chicago Horizons, the Denver Avalanche and the Phoenix Inferno.

With 12 teams, the league moved to three divisions. To accommodate the three-division setup, the playoff format was tweaked once again. The top two teams in each division would qualify, along with the next best two teams for eight qualifiers in total.[1] While the first round was a best of three series, Commissioner Earl Foreman announced in early November 1980 that there would be single-game semifinals and a final set to be played in St. Louis on the weekend of March 27, 1981.[2]

As it turned out, St. Louis pulled off a worst-to-first turnaround in their division with the second-best record in the MISL and made the championship game. In their semifinal against Wichita, the Steamers rallied from a 6-1 third quarter deficit to tie the game and win in a shootout. Over 33,000 fans attended both nights at the St. Louis Arena.[3][4]

New York's Steve Zungul won regular season MVP honors for the third time, and added the playoff MVP.[5] Zungul scored four goals and an assist in both the semifinal win over Baltimore and the championship game.[6][7] Zungul scored the game-winning goal with less than 30 seconds left against St. Louis,[8] the last of his combined 123 goals (108 regular season and 15 playoff goals, respectively). The 108 goals would remain an MISL record through the end of the league in 1992.

After the season, Chicago folded. The league wanted to return to the market, but Chicago Sting owner Lee Stern paid to keep the Chicago market for himself and the Sting.[9]

Teams

Team City/Area Arena
Baltimore Blast Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore Arena
Buffalo Stallions Buffalo, New York Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
Chicago Horizons Rosemont, Illinois Rosemont Horizon
Cleveland Force Cleveland, Ohio Richfield Coliseum
Denver Avalanche Denver, Colorado McNichols Sports Arena
Hartford Hellions Hartford, Connecticut New Haven Coliseum
Hartford Civic Center
New York Arrows Uniondale, New York Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Philadelphia Fever Philadelphia The Spectrum
Phoenix Inferno Phoenix, Arizona Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
San Francisco Fog Daly City, California Cow Palace
St. Louis Steamers St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis Arena
Wichita Wings Wichita, Kansas Kansas Coliseum

Regular Season Schedule

The 1980–81 regular season schedule ran from November 7, 1980, to March 8, 1981. The 40 games per team was an increase of eight over the 1979–80 schedule of 32 games.[10]

Final standings

Playoff teams in bold.

Atlantic Division W L Pct. GB GF GA Home Road
New York Arrows355.875--28517617-318-2
Baltimore Blast2119.5251418219013-78-12
Philadelphia Fever1822.4501721224510-108-12
Hartford Hellions1327.1882216519210-103-17
Central Division W L Pct. GB GF GA Home Road
St. Louis Steamers2515.625--22219615-510-10
Cleveland Force2119.525420921414-67-13
Chicago Horizons2020.500521618713-77-13
Buffalo Stallions2020.500524621015-55-15
Western Division W L Pct. GB GF GA Home Road
Wichita Wings2317.575--22818118-25-15
Phoenix Inferno1723.425621025412-85-15
Denver Avalanche1624.400717421712-84-16
San Francisco Fog1129.275121752717-134-16

Playoffs

Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship Game
         
1 New York Arrows 2
8 Phoenix Inferno 1
1 New York Arrows 10
4 Baltimore Blast 1
4 Baltimore Blast 2
5 Cleveland Force 1
1 New York Arrows 6
2 St. Louis Steamers 5
2 St. Louis Steamers 2
7 Buffalo Stallions 0
2 St. Louis Steamers 7 (3)
3 Wichita Wings 7 (1)
3 Wichita Wings 2
6 Chicago Horizons 1

Quarterfinals

New York vs. Phoenix
DateAwayHomeAttendance
March 19New York 6Phoenix 108,719
March 21Phoenix 6New York 1012,488
March 24Phoenix 5New York 66,315
New York wins series 2-1
Baltimore vs. Cleveland
DateAwayHomeAttendance
March 12Cleveland 5Baltimore 67,461
Dan Counce scored at 14:06 of overtime
March 14Baltimore 1Cleveland 710,639
March 15Cleveland 5Baltimore 67,692
Baltimore wins series 2-1
St. Louis vs. Buffalo
DateAwayHomeAttendance
March 13Buffalo 4St. Louis 611,667
March 21St. Louis 6Buffalo 516,329
St. Louis wins series 2-0
Wichita vs. Chicago
DateAwayHomeAttendance
March 12Wichita 3Chicago 44,313
March 18Chicago 4Wichita 67,309
March 23Chicago 6Wichita 87,753
Wichita wins series 2-1

Semifinals

New York vs. Baltimore
DateAwayHomeAttendance
March 27Baltimore 1New York 1016,236
St. Louis vs. Wichita
DateAwayHomeAttendance
March 27Wichita 7St. Louis 716,236
St. Louis wins shootout 3-1

Championship Game

St. Louis vs. New York
DateAwayHomeAttendance
March 29New York 6St. Louis 517,206

Regular Season Player Statistics

[11]

Scoring leaders

GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points

Player Team GP G A Pts
Steve Zungul New York Arrows4010844152
Branko Segota New York Arrows35384583
Charlie Cordas Buffalo Stallions36404181
Vic Davidson Phoenix Inferno30502979
Iubo Petrovic Buffalo Stallions39443377
Joe Fink Philadelphia Fever39511869
Fred Grgurev Philadelphia Fever37442569
Jorgen Kristensen Wichita Wings38145266
Don Ebert St. Louis Steamers40461965
Dave MacWilliams Philadelphia Fever37372865

Leading Goalkeepers

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

Player Team GP Min GA GAA W L
Enzo DiPedeChicago Horizons16931634.0696
Mike DowlerWichita Wings2816161114.121612
Sepp GantenhammerBaltimore Blast3318621304.191714
Zoltán TóthNew York Arrows221005734.36142
Shep MessingNew York Arrows2714111034.38213
Aly AndersonDenver Avalanche10506384.5144
Richard ButHartford Hellions3922621754.641225
Slobo IlijevskiSt. Louis Steamers3318781464.662111
Pascal AntoineDenver Avalanche13698564.8175
Scott ManningBuffalo Stallions2913801124.871312

Playoff Player Statistics

[12]

Scoring leaders

GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points

Player Team GP G A Pts
Steve Zungul New York Arrows315419
Branko Segota New York Arrows39615
Andy Chapman Wichita Wings411011
Tony Glavin St. Louis Steamers48210
George Nanchoff Phoenix Inferno36410

Leading Goalkeepers

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

Player Team GP Min GA GAA W L
Cliff BrownCleveland Force3188123.8312
Mike DowlerWichita Wings4225195.0721
Scott ManningBuffalo Stallions29485.0901
Slobo IlijevskiSt. Louis Steamers4255225.1831
Zoltán TóthNew York Arrows26965.2210

All-MISL Teams

First Team  Position  Second Team
Shep Messing, New York G Richard But, Hartford
Dave D'Errico, New York D Doc Lawson, Philadelphia
Steve Pecher, St. Louis D Jim Pollihan, Baltimore
Ian Anderson, Cleveland
Tony Glavin, St. Louis M Vic Davidson, Phoenix
Steve Zungul, New York F Paul Kitson, Chicago
Branko Segota, New York F Charlie Cordas, Buffalo
Honorable Mention  Position  
Sepp Gantenhammer, Baltimore G Slobo Ilijevski, St. Louis
Ty Keough, St. Louis D Tony Bellinger, St. Louis
Adrian Brooks, Denver M Johnny Moore, San Francisco
Joe Fink, Philadelphia F Jorgen Kristensen, Wichita

League awards

  • Most Valuable Player: Steve Zungul, New York
  • Scoring Champion: Steve Zungul, New York
  • Pass Master: Jorgen Kristiansen, Wichita
  • Rookie of the Year: Don Ebert, St. Louis
  • Goalkeeper of the Year: Enzo DiPede, Chicago
  • Coach of the Year: Don Popovic, New York
  • Championship Series Most Valuable Player: Steve Zungul, New York

References

  1. 1980-81 MISL Media Guide. 1980. p. 43.
  2. "Indoor soccer won't be hurt by expansion". The Day (New London). November 7, 1980. p. 26. Retrieved 2011-12-03.
  3. "St. Louis Steamers face problem in big contest". Daily Union. March 29, 1981. p. 16. Retrieved 2011-12-03.
  4. "St. Louis Indoor Soccer History". Jim Fossell. Archived from the original on August 7, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
  5. "1980-81 MISL Season Summary". Our Sports Central. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
  6. "Steamers, Arrows triumph". The Bulletin (Bend). March 28, 1981. p. 21. Retrieved 2011-12-03.
  7. "Arrows Were On Target". Evening Independent. March 29, 1981. p. 8C. Retrieved 2011-12-03.
  8. 1982-83 MISL Information Guide. 1982. p. 52.
  9. "The Year In American Soccer - 1981". Dave Litterer. Archived from the original on January 7, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
  10. 1980-81 MISL Media Guide. 1980. pp. 107–108.
  11. MISL Official Tenth Anniversary Guide. 1987. p. 55.
  12. MISL Official Tenth Anniversary Guide. 1987. p. 82.

1980-81 MISL Media Guide. Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania: Major Indoor Soccer League. 1980.

Verb, Doug; Jones-Fearnley, Alaina (1982). 1982-83 MISL Information Guide. Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania: Major Indoor Soccer League.

Leary, Dan; Griffin, John (1987). MISL Official Tenth Anniversary Guide. New York: Major Indoor Soccer League Communications Department.

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