1977 Fort Lauderdale Strikers season

Last updated

Fort Lauderdale Strikers
1977 season
Owner Flag of the United States.svg Elizabeth Robbie
General manager Krikor Yepremian [1]
Manager Flag of England.svg Ron Newman
Stadium Lockhart Stadium
NASL Eastern Division: First place
Regular season: Champions
Top goalscorerLeague:
Flag of the United States.svg George Nanchoff (8)
All:
Flag of England.svg Maurice Whittle (9)
Average home league attendance8,148
←  1976 Toros
1978 Strikers →

The 1977 Fort Lauderdale Strikers season was the first season of the new team, and the club's eleventh season in professional soccer. It is also the first ever incarnation of the club's new name. Previously they were known as the Miami Toros. The 1977 squad won the North American Soccer League's Eastern Division of the Atlantic Conference, and was the top team in regular season with 19 victories for 161 points.

Contents

Background

First ever match

The Strikers first-ever game was a preseason indoor match played on February 27, 1977 at the Bayfront Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, against the Tampa Bay Rowdies. [2] Though only an exhibition, this was the first meeting in what was to become one of the most enduring rivalries in North American soccer, the Florida Derby. It would also set the tone for many years of indoor frustration for the Strikers as they fell, 9–8, to the hosts. [3] [4]

Match report

February 27, 19771 Tampa Bay Rowdies 9–8 Fort Lauderdale Strikers St. Petersburg, Florida
8:00 p.m. (EST)
 Report
Stadium: Bayfront Center
Attendance: 5,016
Referee: Sam Hornich

Review

Competitions

Friendlies

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
February 27, 1977 Tampa Bay Rowdies Bayfront Center 9–85,016 (indoor)Sharp (3), Mulroy, Nanchoff, Ceballos, Chadwick, Hamlyn
March 5, 1977 Rollins College Tars Sandspur Bowl 1–6
March 12, 1977 Washington Diplomats Wilde Lake High School 3–21,093Sergio Ceballos (2)
March 13, 1977 Washington Diplomats City Stadium 3–4David Chadwick, Fred Pereira, Sergio Ceballos, Curtis Leeper
March 26, 1977 Miami Dade South MDC South Campus
March 27, 1977 FIU Sunblazers FIU Soccer Stadium 0–51,100
April 6, 1977 Rochester Lancers Lockhart Stadium 2–0Bobby Bell, Tony Whelan
June 10, 1977 Flag of Italy.svg S.S. Lazio Lockhart Stadium 1–43,500Norman Piper
October 2, 1977Business Machines, Inc. Leonard High School 2–3500Tony Whelan, David Proctor, Mike Fazee

NASL 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.

Atlantic Conference

Eastern DivisionWLGFGABPPtsHomeRoad
Fort Lauderdale Strikers19749294716111–28–5
Cosmos 151160395014010–35–8
Tampa Bay Rowdies 141255454713111–23–10
Washington Diplomats 1016324932926–74–9
Northern DivisionWLGFGABPPtsHomeRoad
Toronto Metros-Croatia 13134238371158–55–8
St. Louis Stars 12143335321047–65–8
Rochester Lancers 11153441339910–31–12
Chicago Sting 1016314328884–96–7
Connecticut Bicentennials 719346530724–93–10

Results summaries

Results by round

Match reports

NASL Playoffs

Divisional Championships

Higher seedLower seedGame 1Game 2(lower seed hosts Game 1)
Fort Lauderdale Strikers– Cosmos 3–82–3 (SO, 0–3)August 14 • Giants Stadium • 77,691
August 17 • Lockhart Stadium 14,152

Bracket

First RoundDivision ChampionshipsConference Championships Soccer Bowl '77
            
E2 Cosmos 3
E3 Tampa Bay Rowdies 0
E1 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 0
E2 Cosmos 2
E2 Cosmos 2
N3 Rochester Lancers 0
N2 St. Louis Stars 0(2)
N3 Rochester Lancers 0(4)
N1 Toronto Metros-Croatia 0
N3 Rochester Lancers 2
E2 Cosmos 2
W3 Seattle Sounders 1
S2 Los Angeles Aztecs 2
S3 San Jose Earthquakes 1
S1 Dallas Tornado 0
S2 Los Angeles Aztecs 2
S2 Los Angeles Aztecs 0
W3 Seattle Sounders 2
W2 Vancouver Whitecaps 0
W3 Seattle Sounders 2
W1 Minnesota Kicks 0
W3 Seattle Sounders 2

Match reports

Statistics

Transfers

See also

1977 Fort Lauderdale Strikers

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References

  1. ↑ "13 Jan 1977, Page 58 – Fort Lauderdale News at". Newspapers.com. January 13, 1977. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Rowdies Vs. Strikers In Exhibition Tonight". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. February 27, 1977. p. 3-D. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  3. ↑ Meyer, John (February 28, 1977). "Rowdies: Bombs Away!". Evening Independent. p. 1-C. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  4. ↑ Blankenship, Ken (February 28, 1977). "Smethurst-led Rowdies clip Strikers 9–8". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1C. Retrieved September 19, 2016.