| Season | 1974 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Los Angeles Aztecs |
| Premiers | Los Angeles Aztecs |
| Matches played | 150 |
| Goals scored | 488 (3.25 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Paul Child (15 goals) |
| Longest winning run | 8, Los Angeles |
| Highest attendance | 24,093 (Denver @ Phil) |
| Lowest attendance | 1,153 (NY @ Boston) |
| Average attendance | 7,825 |
← 1973 1975 → | |
Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1974. This was the 7th season of the NASL. [1]
Fifteen teams comprised the league with the Los Angeles Aztecs winning the championship in a penalty kick shootout over the Miami Toros.
The league decided to do away with tie games. If a match was tied after 90 minutes, the teams would go directly to a standard penalty shootout with no extra time played. The outcome would appear in the standings as a 'tie-win'. The tie-winner would gain three points, plus goals in regulation, while the loser of the tie-breaker received no points, except for regulation goals. [1] Including the 1974 NASL Final, 33 matches were decided using this method.
|
|
W = Wins, L = Losses, T= PK Shootout Wins, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PT= point system
6 points for a win, 3 points for a PK shootout win, 0 points for a loss, 1 point for each goal scored up to three per game.
| Northern Division | W | L | T | GF | GA | PT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Minutemen | 10 | 9 | 1 | 36 | 23 | 94 |
| Toronto Metros | 9 | 10 | 1 | 30 | 31 | 87 |
| Rochester Lancers | 8 | 10 | 2 | 23 | 30 | 77 |
| New York Cosmos | 4 | 14 | 2 | 28 | 40 | 58 |
| Eastern Division | W | L | T | GF | GA | PT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami Toros | 9 | 5 | 6 | 38 | 24 | 107 |
| Baltimore Comets | 10 | 8 | 2 | 42 | 46 | 105 |
| Philadelphia Atoms | 8 | 11 | 1 | 25 | 25 | 74 |
| Washington Diplomats | 7 | 12 | 1 | 29 | 36 | 70 |
| Central Division | W | L | T | GF | GA | PT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas Tornado | 9 | 8 | 3 | 39 | 27 | 100 |
| St. Louis Stars | 4 | 15 | 1 | 27 | 42 | 54 |
| Denver Dynamos | 5 | 15 | 0 | 21 | 42 | 49 |
| Western Division | W | L | T | GF | GA | PT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Aztecs | 11 | 7 | 2 | 41 | 36 | 110 |
| San Jose Earthquakes | 9 | 8 | 3 | 43 | 38 | 103 |
| Seattle Sounders | 10 | 7 | 3 | 37 | 17 | 101 |
| Vancouver Whitecaps | 5 | 11 | 4 | 29 | 31 | 70 |
| First Team [2] [3] | Position | Second Team | Honorable Mention |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barry Watling, Seattle | G | Bob Rigby, Philadelphia | Ian McKechnie, Boston |
| Dick Hall, Dallas | D | Ralph Wright, Miami | Bobby Smith, Philadelphia |
| Albert Jackson, Dallas | D | Derek Trevis, Philadelphia | Patrick Greenwood, Boston |
| Chris Dunleavy, Philadelphia | D | Jim Gabriel, Seattle | Laurie Calloway, San Jose |
| Geoff Butler, Baltimore | D | Brian Rowan, Toronto | Charlie Mitchell, Rochester |
| Ronnie Sharp, Miami | M | Hank Liotart, Seattle | Alan Spavin, Washington |
| Ilija Mitic, Dallas | M | Luis Marotte, Los Angeles | Roy Sinclair, Seattle |
| Roberto Aguirre, Miami | M | Fernando Pinto, Toronto | Dieter Zajdel, San Jose |
| Paul Child, San Jose | F | Ade Coker, Boston | Steve David, Miami |
| John Rowlands, Seattle | F | Doug McMillan, Los Angeles | Jim Fryatt, Philadelphia |
| Peter Silvester, Baltimore | F | Warren Archibald, Miami | Randy Horton, New York |
All playoff games in all rounds including the NASL Final were single game elimination match ups.
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | NASL Final 1974 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Los Angeles Aztecs | 2 | ||||||||||||
| N1 | Boston Minutemen | 1 | N1 | Boston Minutemen | 0 | |||||||||
| E2 | Baltimore Comets | 0 | W1 | Los Angeles Aztecs | 3(5) | |||||||||
| E1 | Miami Toros | 3(3) | ||||||||||||
| C1 | Dallas Tornado | 1 | ||||||||||||
| C1 | Dallas Tornado | 3 | E1 | Miami Toros | 3 | |||||||||
| W2 | San Jose Earthquakes | 0 | ||||||||||||
| August 14 | San Jose Earthquakes | 0–3 | Dallas Tornado | Texas Stadium • Att. 8,652 |
| August 15 | Baltimore Comets | 0–1 | Boston Minutemen | Alumni Stadium • Att. 9,713 |
| August 17 | Boston Minutemen | 0–2 | Los Angeles Aztecs | ELAC Stadium • Att. 5,485 |
| August 17 | Dallas Tornado | 1–3 | Miami Toros | Tamiami Stadium [4] [5] • Att. 5,045 |
| Miami Toros | 3–3 | Los Angeles Aztecs |
|---|---|---|
Wright  17'Sharp  48' (pen.)Moraldo 72' (o.g.)Aranguiz 87' | de Rienzo 26' (pen.) Costa 78'McMillan 88' | |
| Penalties | ||
Aguirre  Sharp Mallender Verdi | 3–5 | Zanotti Banhoffer Marotte Filotis Douglas |
1974 NASL Champions: Los Angeles Aztecs
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 is considered 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 setting up Major League Soccer (MLS) in 1996.
The Los Angeles Aztecs were an American professional soccer team based in Los Angeles, California that existed from 1974 to 1981. The Aztecs competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1974 to 1981 as well as the 1975 NASL Indoor tournament, the 1979–80 and 1980–81 NASL Indoor seasons, and won the NASL Championship in 1974. During their eight years of existence, the Aztecs played at four different venues and were controlled by four different ownership groups, European soccer legends George Best and Johan Cruyff played for the team, and from 1975 to 1977 English singer Elton John was a part-owner.
The United Soccer Association (USA) was a professional soccer league featuring teams based in the United States and Canada. The league survived only one season before merging with the National Professional Soccer League to form the North American Soccer League. Every team in the league was actually an imported European or South American club, that was then outfitted with a "local" name. Dick Walsh served as the commissioner.
The National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) was a North American professional soccer league that existed for only the 1967 season before merging with the United Soccer Association (USA) to form the North American Soccer League. It was a "wild league", i.e. unlike its competitor, the USA, not associated with FIFA. It had ten charter members, nine from the United States and one from Canada. To encourage attacking play, the NPSL introduced a new standings points system that was later used by the NASL – 6 points for a win, 3 for a draw, 0 for a loss and 1 bonus point for each of the first three goals scored. The circuit's commissioner was Ken Macker, an American publisher of three Philippines-based newspapers. The name National Professional Soccer League was revived in 1990 and used by a United States professional indoor soccer league.
Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1976. This was the 9th season of the NASL.
Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1977. This was the 10th season of the NASL.
The 1979 North American Soccer League season was the 67th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer and the 12th with a national first-division league in the United States and Canada.
Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1981. This was the 14th season of the NASL.
Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1975. This was the 8th season of the NASL.
The 1968 North American Soccer League season was the 56th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States and Canada, and the 1st with a national first-division league with the inaugural season of the NASL.
Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1971. This was the 4th season of the NASL.
Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1972. This was the 5th season of the NASL.
Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1973. This was the 6th season of the NASL.
Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1982. This was the 15th season of the NASL.
Division 1 professional soccer returned to Vancouver in 1974 with the Vancouver Whitecaps as interest began to grow in U.S. soccer, and the NASL grew after stabilizing in terms of attendance and number of teams with six to eight teams. In 1974 the Whitecaps were one of five expansion teams that were the first teams since 1968 west of Dallas, Texas and St. Louis, Missouri.
The Fort Lauderdale–Tampa Bay rivalry, also known as the Florida Derby, refers to the suspended soccer rivalry that most recently involved the Fort Lauderdale Strikers and the Tampa Bay Rowdies, both of whom played in the North American Soccer League through the 2016 season. Over the years the rivalry has spanned more than one hundred matches across eight soccer leagues and several tournaments, and involved nine different teams from the two regions of Florida. At times it has involved players, coaches, management and fans. Even the press has fanned the rivalry's flames at times. From 2010 through 2014, the winner of the regular season series automatically won the Coastal Cup as well. The status of the rivalry beyond 2016 remains unclear because the Rowdies have since joined the United Soccer League, while the Strikers ongoing ownership and legal battles of 2016 and 2017 have left them defunct.
Soccer Bowl '79 was the championship final of the 1979 NASL season. The National Conference champion Vancouver Whitecaps played the American Conference champion Tampa Bay Rowdies. The match was played on September 8, 1979, at Giants Stadium, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. This was the second straight year that Giants Stadium hosted the Soccer Bowl. The Whitecaps won the match, 2–1, to claim their first North American championship.
NASL Final 1974 was the championship match of the 1974 season, between the expansion Los Angeles Aztecs and the Miami Toros. The match was played on August 25, 1974 at the Orange Bowl, in Miami, Florida. The teams played to a, 3–3, draw, and after a short break the game moved directly to a penalty shoot-out. Los Angeles won the shoot-out, 5–3, and were crowned the 1974 champions. This was the second consecutive year that an expansion team won the NASL title
The 1974 Miami Toros season was the second season of the team, and the club's eighth season in professional soccer. This year, the team earned first place in the Eastern Division. They advanced through the North American Soccer League playoffs to the NASL Final, before losing on penalty kicks to the Los Angeles Aztecs.
The 1993 Vancouver 86ers season was the club's eighth year of existence, as well as their first as a Division 2 club in the franchise model of U.S.-based soccer leagues. After their 1992 CSL season, the CSL folded and the Whitecaps joined the American Professional Soccer League for the 1993 season. They continued the tradition of excellence from the CSL capturing the Commissioner’s Cup but losing the playoff semifinal in a shootout to the Los Angeles Salsa.
