1977 North American Soccer League season explained

Competition:North American Soccer League 1977 season
Season:1977
Num Teams:18
Winners:Cosmos
(2nd Title)
Matches:234
League Topscorer:Steve David (26)
Total Goals:752
Highest Attendance:77,691
(Ft Lauderdale @ Cosmos)
Lowest Attendance:1,100
(Washington @ Connecticut)
Average Attendance:13,558
Nextseason:1978

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

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 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

New teams

Teams folding

Teams moving

Name changes

Map of clubs

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 DivisionWLGFGABPPtsHomeRoad
Fort Lauderdale Strikers19749294716111-28-5
Cosmos151160395014010-35-8
Tampa Bay Rowdies141255454713111-23-10
Washington Diplomats1016324932926-74-9
Northern DivisionWLGFGABPPtsHomeRoad
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 DivisionWLGFGABPPtsHomeRoad
Dallas Tornado18856375316111-27-6
Los Angeles Aztecs15116554571478-57-6
San Jose Earthquakes14123744351199-45-8
Team Hawaii11154559401067-64-9
Las Vegas Quicksilvers11153844371038-53-10
Western DivisionWLGFGABPPtsHomeRoad
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. Lauderdalealign=center GAlan Mayer, Las VegasTony Chursky, Seattle
Franz Beckenbauer, Cosmosalign=center DRay Evans, St. LouisSteve Litt, Minnesota
Mike England, Seattlealign=center DSteve Pecher, DallasJim McAlister, Seattle
Bruce Wilson, Vancouveralign=center DHumberto Coelho, Las VegasAlan Merrick, Minnesota
Mel Machin, Seattlealign=center DGeorge Ley, Dallas • Arsène Auguste Tampa Bay[6] Graham Day, Portland
George Best, Los Angelesalign=center MCharlie Cooke, Los AngelesTony Simões, San Jose
Wolfgang Sühnholz, Las Vegasalign=center MVito Dimitrijević, CosmosAce Ntsoelengoe, Minnesota
Alan West, Minnesotaalign=center MRodney Marsh, Tampa BayAl Trost, St. Louis
Steve David, Los Angelesalign=center FMike Stojanović, RochesterWillie Morgan, Chicago
Pelé, Cosmosalign=center FSteve Wegerle, Tampa BayGiorgio Chinaglia, Cosmos
Derek Smethurst, Tampa Bayalign=center FBuzz Parsons, VancouverJimmy Robertson, Seattle

Playoffs

See 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]

First round

August 10San Jose Earthquakes1–2 (OT)width=24%Los Angeles AztecsLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Att. 4,038
align=right valign=topvalign=topalign=left valign=top
----
August 10Tampa Bay Rowdies0–3width=24%CosmosGiants Stadium • Att. 57,828
align=right valign=topvalign=topalign=left valign=top
----
August 10Rochester Lancers1–0 (SO, 4–2)width=24%St. Louis StarsFrancis Field • Att. 7,137
align=right valign=topvalign=topalign=left valign=top
----
August 10Seattle Sounders2–0width=24%Vancouver WhitecapsEmpire Stadium • Att. 21,915
align=right valign=topvalign=topalign=left valign=top

Division Championships

width=180Higher seedwidth=5width=180Lower seedwidth=80Game 1width=80Game 2width=280(lower seed hosts Game 1)
Fort Lauderdale Strikers- Cosmos3–8 2–3 (SO, 0–3) August 14 • Giants Stadium • 77,691
August 17 • Lockhart Stadium 14,152
Dallas Tornado- Los Angeles Aztecs1–3 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
Toronto Metros-Croatia- Rochester Lancers0–1 (SO, 2–3) 0–1 August 13 • Holleder Memorial Stadium • 10,556
August 16 • Varsity Stadium • 8,062

Conference Championships

width=180Higher seedwidth=5width=180Lower seedwidth=80Game 1width=80Game 2width=280(lower seed hosts Game 1)
Los Angeles Aztecs- Seattle Sounders1–3
  1. 0–1
August 21 • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • 9,115
#August 25 • Kingdome • 56,256
Cosmos- Rochester Lancers2–1 4–1 August 21 • Holleder Memorial Stadium • 20,005
August 24 • Giants Stadium • 73,669
  1. Seattle Sounders hosted Game 2 (instead of Game 1) due to a scheduling conflict with the Mariners baseball club.

Soccer Bowl '77

See main article: Soccer Bowl '77.

1977 NASL Champions: Cosmos

Post season awards

References

Book: 1979 Official North American Soccer League Guide . North American Soccer League . 1979 . New York, NY.

Book: Jose, Colin . NASL: A Complete Record of the North American Soccer League . Breedon Books . 1989 . Derby, England.

Book: Jose, Colin . North American Soccer League Encyclopedia . St. Johann Press . 2003 . Haworth, NJ.

Book: Wangerin, David . Soccer In A Football World . registration . Temple University Press . 2008 . Philadelphia, PA. 9781592138852 .

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Gadsden Times - Google News Archive Search. 2014-01-23.
  2. Web site: This Day In 1981 : Soccer Bowl Edition | Chicago Fire Confidential . https://web.archive.org/web/20130920224347/http://www.chicagonow.com/fire-confidential/2011/09/this-day-in-1981-soccer-bowl-edition/ . 2013-09-20 . live . 2013-06-29 .
  3. Web site: The Year in American Soccer - 1977 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130713134953/http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1977.html . 2013-07-13 . dead . 2013-06-29 .
  4. Web site: Mid Cities Daily News - Google News Archive Search. 2014-01-23.
  5. Web site: St. Petersburg Times - Google News Archive Search. 2014-01-23.
  6. News: Banks, Pele, Smethurst on star team . August 12, 1977. St. Petersburg Times. 5C.
  7. Book: 1979 Official North American Soccer League Guide . 1979 . 367 .

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