1978 NASL Skelly Indoor Invitational

Last updated
North American Soccer League
-1978 Skelly Invitational-
Skelly Indoor Invitational
Tournament details
DatesMarch 4, 1978 –
March 5, 1978
Teams4
Final positions
Champions Tulsa Roughnecks (1st title)
Runners-up Minnesota Kicks
Tournament statistics
Matches played4
Goals scored57 (14.25 per match)
Attendance3,500 (875 per match)
Top scorer(s) Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg Nino Zec (5 goals)
Flag of the United States.svg Randy Garber
Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg Milan Dovedan
Best player(s) Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg Nino Zec
Flag of Hungary.svg Tibor Molnár
← 1976
1979 →

The 1978 NASL Skelly Invitational was a four-team indoor soccer tournament held in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the Tulsa Assembly Center on the first weekend of March 1979. [1]

Contents

Overview

Four teams, all from the North American Soccer League, participated in the two-day event; the Houston Hurricane, the Minnesota Kicks, the Washington Diplomats, and the host Tulsa Roughnecks.

Matches were 60 minutes long and divided into three 20-minute periods, with an intermission between each period. Timed overtime periods, featuring a golden goal winner, would be used to decide any matches tied after 60 minutes. Each session consisted of two games (i.e. a doubleheader). The opening round of matches (Saturday evening's Session 1) would be semi-final games, with the Session 2 matches on Sunday afternoon severing as the third place match and Championship Final respectively. The first match of Session 1 was Minnesota's first time playing indoors. [2] The second match of Session 1, played on Saturday, March 4, 1978 between Tulsa and Houston, marked the first time the expansion Hurricane faced NASL competition, [1] and was only the Roughnecks third-ever game. [3] [4] [5]

Approximately 3,500 people attended the two sessions. Tulsa won both of its matches and was crowned champions of the Skelly Invitational. Roughnecks' forward Nino Zec edged out both teammate Milan Dovedan and Washington's Randy Garber by one assist to lead the invitational in scoring with 5 goals and 2 assists. The tournament's co-MVPs were Zec and Tibor Molnár, [6] also of Tulsa. [7] The Kicks were runners-up in the invitational, [8] with the Dips defeating the Hurricane for 3rd place in the consolation match. The all-tournament squad included four Roughnecks: Zec, Molnar, Dovedan, and goalkeeper, Gary Allison. [7]

Tournament results

Bracket

Opening roundChampionship Final
      
Tulsa Roughnecks 12
Houston Hurricane 3
Tulsa Roughnecks 9
Minnesota Kicks 5
Minnesota Kicks 8(OT)
Washington Diplomats 7 Third place
Washington Diplomats 8
Houston Hurricane 5

Sessions

Session 1: Saturday, March 4, 1978

7:00 PM CST Minnesota Kicks 8–7(OT) Washington Diplomats Attendance: 1,500 (est)
9:00 PM CST Tulsa Roughnecks 12–3 Houston Hurricane

Session 2: Sunday, March 5, 1978

2:30 PM CST Washington Diplomats 8–5 Houston Hurricane Attendance: 2,000 (est)
4:30 PM CST Tulsa Roughnecks 9–5 Minnesota Kicks

Match reports

Session 1

March 4, 1978Game 1 Minnesota Kicks 8–7(OT) Washington Diplomats Tulsa, Oklahoma
7:00 PM CST Bailey Soccerball shade.svg7:55'
Romero Soccerball shade.svg12:59' (Moran)
Want Soccerball shade.svg18:44' (Villa)
Willey Soccerball shade.svg23:59' (Vujkovic)
Twellman Soccerball shade.svg25:03'
Coker Soccerball shade.svg26:23' (Want)
Moran Soccerball shade.svg35:25'
Bailey Soccerball shade gold.svg 62:46' (Villa)		 Bakić Soccerball shade.svg34:47'
Garber Soccerball shade.svg37:08' (Welch)
Garber Soccerball shade.svg41:51'
Garber Soccerball shade.svg50:45'
Mokgojoa Soccerball shade.svg52:14' (Welch)
Steele Soccerball shade.svg56:57' (O'Hara)
Garber Soccerball shade.svg57:43'		Stadium: Tulsa Assembly Center
Attendance: 1,500 (est)
March 4, 1978Game 2 Tulsa Roughnecks 12–3 Houston Hurricane Tulsa, Oklahoma
9:00 PM CST Stamenkovic Soccerball shade.svg3:13' (Gazonas)
Zec Soccerball shade.svg14:41' (Stamenkovic)
Zec Soccerball shade.svg15:17' (O'Riordan)
Dovedon Soccerball shade.svg24:26'
Zec Soccerball shade.svg28:09'
Dovedon Soccerball shade.svg36:36' (Stamenkovic)
Dovedon Soccerball shade.svg40:31'
Dovedon Soccerball shade.svg42:39' (Zec)
O'Riordan Soccerball shade.svg43:26'
McKeown Soccerball shade.svg47:43' (Redfern)
Dangerfield Soccerball shade.svg49:05'
Molnár Soccerball shade.svg54:31' (Gazonas)		 O'Sullivan Soccerball shade.svg25:00'
Voccaro Soccerball shade.svg33:32' (Stremlau)
Morielli Soccerball shade.svg35:07' (Geerling)		Stadium: Tulsa Assembly Center
Attendance: 1,500 (est)

Session 2

March 5, 19783rd Place Washington Diplomats 8–5 Houston Hurricane Tulsa, Oklahoma
2:30 PM (CST) Bakić Soccerball shade.svg4:05' (Steele)
Cannell Soccerball shade.svg7:36' (Askew)
Bakić Soccerball shade.svg11:28'
Maseko Soccerball shade.svg27:29' (Mokgojoa)
Mokgojoa Soccerball shade.svg28:03'
Garber Soccerball shade.svg31:15'
Steele Soccerball shade.svg31:35' (Garber)
Bakić Soccerball shade.svg51:48'		 Morielli Soccerball shade.svg3:22' (Sremlau)
Russell Soccerball shade.svg6:14'
Russell Soccerball shade.svg30:53' (O'Sullivan)
Voccaro Soccerball shade.svg45:13' (Geerling)
O'Sullivan Soccerball shade.svg55:43' (Morielli)		Stadium: Tulsa Assembly Center
Attendance: 2,000 (est)
March 5, 1978Championship Tulsa Roughnecks 9–5 Minnesota Kicks Tulsa, Oklahoma
4:30 PM (CST) Stamenkovic Soccerball shade.svg3:51' (Zec)
O'Riordan Soccerball shade.svg4:23'
Collins Soccerball shade.svg9:01' (Redfern)
Dovedon Soccerball shade.svg27:06' (Molnár)
Gazonas Soccerball shade.svg33:27' (Dovedon)
Waldron Soccerball shade.svg38:33'
Zec Soccerball shade.svg47:43'
Stamenkovic Soccerball shade.svg58:08' (Dangerfield)
Zec Soccerball shade.svg58:36'		 Coker Soccerball shade.svg2:14'
Coker Soccerball shade.svg12:35'
Moran Soccerball shade.svg29:29'
Coker Soccerball shade.svg56:52' (Bailey)
Willey Soccerball shade.svg58:22'		Stadium: Tulsa Assembly Center
Attendance: 2,000 (est)

Final standings

G = Games, W = Wins, L = Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, GD = Goal Differential

1978 Skelly Indoor Invitational
TeamGWLGFGAGDPosition
Tulsa Roughnecks 220218+131st place (champions)
Minnesota Kicks 2111316–32nd place (runners-up)
Washington Diplomats 2111513+23rd place
Houston Hurricane 202820–124th place

Statistical leaders

Scoring

Goals (worth 2 points), Assists (worth 1 point) [1] [7]

Leading ScorersGoalsAssistsPoints
Nino Zec (Tulsa)5212
Randy Garber (Washington)5111
Milan Dovedan (Tulsa)5111
Mike Bakić (Washington)408
Ade Coker (Minnesota)408
Živorad Stamenković (Tulsa)328
Mark Moran (Minnesota)215
Gerry Morielli (Houston)215
Don O'Riordan (Tulsa)215
Matt O'Sullivan (Houston)215
Jim Steele (Washington)215

*Three players tied with 2 goals 0 assists.

Goalkeeping

GA = Goals Against, GAA = Goals Against Average, SV = Saves, SF = Shots Faced

Leading GoalkeepersMinutesGAGAASVSF
Darryl Wallace (Tulsa)6033.002530
Gary Allison (Tulsa)6055.00unkunk
Bill Irwin (Washington)6055.001924
Kurt Kuykendall (Washington)6387.875unkunk

*Minnesota and Houston used multiple goalkeepers in each match.

Tournament awards

Non-tournament matches

These were not the only indoor matches played that winter. The four Skelly Invitational participants played a combined 12 additional matches. Since a full season of indoor soccer was still two years away, [9] NASL teams were free to do their own scheduling. There were reports of the league awarding an "NASL Cup" for the best team among those that participated in at least 16 indoor games. [10] Of the 24 teams in the league, 11 had indoor matches planned. The Tampa Bay Rowdies, for example played eight games. By contrast, the Chicago Sting signed on to play only two games at Washington, both of which were ultimately canceled because of scheduling conflicts with a boat show at the D.C. Armory. [11] In the end, no team played more than nine games in 1978, and only a handful played more than three.

See also

North American Soccer League

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North American Soccer League (1968–1984)</span> Defunct major soccer league in the United States and Canada

The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It was the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the United States. The league final was called the Soccer Bowl from 1975 to 1983 and the Soccer Bowl Series in its final year, 1984. The league was headed by Commissioner Phil Woosnam from 1969 to 1983. The NASL laid the foundations for soccer in the United States that helped lead to the country hosting the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the set-up of Major League Soccer (MLS) in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983)</span> American soccer team (1977–1983)

The Fort Lauderdale Strikers was a professional soccer team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1977 to 1983. They played their home matches at Lockhart Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984)</span> Defunct American soccer club

The Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984) were a North American Soccer League (NASL) team from Tulsa, Oklahoma. It played its home games at Skelly Stadium on the campus of the University of Tulsa. The team, previously Team Hawaii, moved to Tulsa after the 1977 season. In 1983, Alex Skotarek became general manager and led one of the lowest-budgeted teams in the NASL to a championship, defeating Toronto, 2-0, at Soccer Bowl '83.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minnesota Kicks</span> Defunct American soccer club

The Minnesota Kicks were a professional soccer team that played at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota, from 1976 to 1981. The team was a member of the now defunct North American Soccer League (NASL). Initially known as the Denver Dynamos, the team relocated and became the Minnesota Kicks in 1976. The Kicks quickly became one of the league's more popular teams, with an average attendance of 23,120 fans per game in 1976. The Kicks won their division four years in a row from 1976 to 1979. The Kicks drew over 23,000 fans in each season from 1976 to 1979, with attendance peaking at 32,775 in 1977.

Robert "Bob" Bolitho is a former Canadian national team, North American Soccer League and Canadian Soccer League player. He is of Cornish descent.

Winston DuBose is an American former soccer goalkeeper who spent eight seasons in the North American Soccer League, four in the American Professional Soccer League and one in the American Indoor Soccer Association. He also earned fourteen caps with the United States men's national soccer team.

Njego Pesa is a former American soccer forward who played in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League. He earned seven caps with the U.S. national team.

Don Droege is a former U.S. soccer defender who played seven seasons in the North American Soccer League and three seasons in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned eight caps with the U.S. national team between 1977 and 1979.

The 1978 North American Soccer League season was the 66th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer, the 11th with a national first-division league, in the United States and Canada.

Ninoslav "Nino" Zec is a retired Yugoslav professional footballer who played as midfielder or striker.

North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. Beginning in 1975, the league final was called the Soccer Bowl.

The 1983 NASL Grand Prix of Indoor Soccer was an indoor soccer tournament staged by four franchises of the North American Soccer League.

The 1979 New York Cosmos season was the ninth season for the New York Cosmos in the now-defunct North American Soccer League. 1979 saw the club continue their premiership streak to three seasons with the league's highest point total, and match their wins record while achieving a record point total, but the Cosmos' quest for a third straight NASL championship ended with a loss in the conference finals to the Vancouver Whitecaps.

The 1979 Fort Lauderdale Strikers season was part of the club's twelfth season in professional soccer.

The 1979 NASL Budweiser Indoor Soccer Invitational was a four-team indoor soccer tournament held at the Bayfront Center in St. Petersburg, Florida on the final weekend of January 1979.

The 1978 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season was the fourth indoor season of the club's existence.

The 1979 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season was the fifth indoor season of the club's existence.

The 1983 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season was the ninth indoor season of the team's existence. The Rowdies captured the Indoor Grand Prix title. Although they would play for another 10 years, including two more indoors in 1983–84 and 1986–87, this would be the final trophy won by the original club.

The 1983 Tulsa Roughnecks season was the club's sixth season of existence, and their fifth in North American Soccer League, the top flight of American soccer at that time. The 1983 season was Terry Hennessey's second full NASL season as head coach of the Roughnecks.

Tibor Molnar is a Hungarian former footballer who played as a midfielder in the North American Soccer League, the Canadian National Soccer League, and the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1970s and early 1980s.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Lobaugh, Tom (March 5, 1978). "Roughnecks Ramble Into Tourney Finals". Tulsa World . Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Kicks blow 6-0 lead, but tip Diplomats 8-7". Minneapolis Star Tribune. March 5, 1978. p. 10C. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  3. ↑ Tierney, Mike (February 11, 1978). "Rowdies expected to rough up Roughnecks". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1C. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Rowdies trounce Tulsa". St. Petersburg Times. February 15, 1978. p. 4C. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
  5. ↑ Marcia Schallert, editor. (1979). Budweiser Indoor Soccer Invitational match program. Tampa, FL. Tampa Bay Rowdies. p 12
  6. ↑ "Hellions Player Profile". Hartford Courant. November 17, 1980. p. D8. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 Lobaugh, Tom (March 6, 1978). "Tulsa Kicks Up A Victory". Tulsa World . Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Roughnecks top Kicks 9-4 in tournament". Minneapolis Star Tribune. March 6, 1978. p. 3C. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Indoor Returning, Officially This Time". Evening Independent. September 28, 1979. p. 4-C. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Soccer Diplomats Go Indoors". Los Angeles Times. January 13, 1978. p. III-10. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Dips Cancel Indoor Games". The Washington Post . February 9, 1978. Retrieved January 21, 2018.