Soccer Bowl '83

Soccer Bowl '83 was the 17th edition of the Soccer Bowl, the championship match of North American Soccer League (NASL), which took place on October 1, 1983. It was the final match of the 1983 North American Soccer League playoffs and was contested by the Tulsa Roughnecks and the Toronto Blizzard at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia.[1][2]

Soccer Bowl '83
EventSoccer Bowl
Tulsa Roughnecks Toronto Blizzard
2 0
DateOctober 1, 1983 (1983-10-01)
VenueBC Place Stadium, Vancouver, British Columbia
MVPNjego Pesa (Tulsa Roughnecks)
RefereeEd Bellion (USA)
Attendance53,326

Background

The Tulsa Roughnecks won the Southern Division with a 17-13 record and a total of 145 points. They dispatched the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the quarterfinals with a two-game sweep. By virtue of their two games to one victory In the semifinals against the Montreal Manic, the Roughnecks advanced to the Soccer Bowl for the first time in franchise history.

The Toronto Blizzard qualified for the playoffs as a wild card by finishing third in the Eastern Division with a 16-14 record and a total of 135 points. In the quarterfinals they were the upset-winner over the Western Division champion Vancouver Whitecaps by two games to one. Vancouver had only lost 6 matches all season. The Blizzard pulled off a second upset in their semifinal match-up by sweeping the Golden Bay Earthquakes in two games, and earning their second ever trip to the Soccer Bowl.

Pre-match controversy

During game three of their semifinal series with Montreal, Tulsa forward Ron Futcher picked up his third yellow card of the playoffs. By rule this earned him a one-match suspension, and league director of operations Ted Howard was poised to enforce it. For his part, Futcher was not only the team's leading scorer, but also a leader in the Roughnecks' locker room. Tulsa's owners appealed the yellow card and even alluded to the press, the possibility of boycotting the final if Futcher was not allowed to play. Toronto team president Clive Toye felt that bending the rules for a star player might set a bad precedent, but was nevertheless prepared to face whatever lineup Tulsa put on the pitch. Ultimately, NASL president Howard J. Samuels overruled Ted Howard and decided to allow Futcher to play, because he felt that the fans in attendance would be the ones made to suffer by Futcher's absence.[3][4]

Game summary

Championship results
Tulsa Roughnecks2–0Toronto Blizzard
Pesa  55:36' (Wallace, Danaeifard)
Futcher  61:37' (Wallace, Moore)
Attendance: 53,326[7]
Referee: Ed Bellion[8] (USA)
Tulsa
Toronto
GK0 Winston DuBose
D5 Val Fernandes
D2 Terry Moore
D18 Victor Moreland (c)
D3 Barry Wallace
M17 Adam Krupa 56'
M9 Iraj Danaifard
M20 Ivan Belfiore 56'
F6 Njego Pesa
F14 Laurie Abrahams
F9 Ron Futcher
Substitutes:[9]
GK22 Paul Coffee
M11 Thompson Usiyan 56'
M4 Pasquale Fuccillo 56'
F7 Zequinha
M10 Gerry Reardon
M13 Todd Saldana
Manager:
Terry Hennessey
GK1 Jan Moller
D3 Bruce Wilson (c) 52'
D4 Conny Karlsson
D17 Derek Spalding 2'
D10 Cliff Calvert
M16 Randy Ragan
M8 Patrick Ntsoelengoe
M5 Jimmy Nicholl
F19 David Byrne
F11 Roberto Bettega
F6 Neill Roberts 81'
Substitutes:[10]
GK22 Sven Habermann
M14 Geoff Wegerle 81'
D7 Victor Kodelja
D24 Collin Miller
M12 Pasquale de Luca
Manager:
Bob Houghton

1983 NASL Champions: Tulsa Roughnecks

Soccer Bowl MVP:
Njego Pesa

Assistant referees:
Howard Krollfeifer
Gary Shugarts
Fourth official:
Bill Maxwell

Television: Budwieser Network (syndicated)
Announcers: Bob Carpenter, Gordon Bradley
Touchline reporter: Al Miller

Statistics
Statistic[11] Tulsa Toronto
Goals scored 2 0
Total shots 11 14
Shots on target 4 3
Saves 3 2
Corner kicks 2 5
Fouls 19 19
Offsides 4 9
Yellow cards 0 2
Red cards 0 0

See also

References
  1. NASL. "NASLSoccerBowl - History - Past Winner". North American Soccer League.
  2. NASL. "NASL 1968-1984 - Yearly Result". North American Soccer League.
  3. Stinson, Dan (October 1, 1983). "Samuels allows Futcher to play". Vancouver Sun. p. B1. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  4. "Soccer". Chicago Tribune. October 1, 1983. p. Sec.2; 5. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  5. "Lakeland Ledger - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  6. "Goaltenders in spotlight in NASL Championship". Red Deer Advocate. October 1, 1983. p. 9B. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  7. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1121360/2/index.htm
  8. "Past Winners | North American Soccer League". web.archive.org. November 5, 2013.
  9. Jose, Colin (1989). NASL: A Complete Record of the North American Soccer League. Derby, England: Breedon Books. p. 311, 312.
  10. Jose, Colin (2003). North American Soccer League Encyclopedia. Haworth, NJ: St. Johann Press. p. 382.
  11. Phillips, Randy (October 3, 1983). "Tulsa captures Soccer Bowl with dull victory over Blizzard". Montreal Gazette. p. D-5, D-8. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
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