| Country | United States Canada |
|---|---|
| Teams | 12 |
| Defending champions | Toronto Metros-Croatia |
| Champions | Cosmos |
| Runners-up | Seattle Sounders |
| Matches played | 17 |
| Goals scored | 54 (3.18 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) |  Giorgio Chinaglia (9 goals) |
← 1976 1978 → | |
The 1977 North American Soccer League playoffs began on August 10 and ended on August 28 with Soccer Bowl '77 at Civic Stadium in Portland, Oregon. 12 out of 18 teams qualified after a 26-match regular season, six from each conference.
The top three teams in each division would quality for the playoffs, similar to the 1976 playoffs. [1] The first round and the Soccer Bowl were single games, but the division championships and conference championships were two-game series. If teams were tied at one win apiece at the conclusion of Game 2, there would be a 30-minute sudden death mini-game and a shootout if necessary. [2]
| First Round | Division Championships | Conference Championships | Soccer Bowl '77 | ||||||||||||||
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 3 | 2(0) | |||||||||||||||
| Cosmos | 3 | Cosmos | 8 | 3(3) | |||||||||||||
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 0 | Cosmos | 2 | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Rochester Lancers | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| Toronto Metros-Croatia | 0(2) | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| St. Louis Stars | 0(2) | Rochester Lancers | 1(3) | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Rochester Lancers | 1(4) | Cosmos | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Seattle Sounders | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Dallas Tornado | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| Los Angeles Aztecs | 2 | Los Angeles Aztecs | 3 | 5 | |||||||||||||
| San Jose Earthquakes | 1 | Los Angeles Aztecs | 1 | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Seattle Sounders | 3 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| Minnesota Kicks | 1 | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| Vancouver Whitecaps | 0 | Seattle Sounders | 2 | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Seattle Sounders | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| St. Louis Stars | 0–1(SO) | Rochester Lancers |
|---|---|---|
| Penalties | ||
Burnett  Matteson Evans  Binney | 2–4 | Silva Pollihan Reynolds Pedro Stojanovic |
| Los Angeles Aztecs | 2–1(OT) | San Jose Earthquakes |
|---|---|---|
Best  85:06'Mihailovich  92:28' | Mitic 60:57' |
| Vancouver Whitecaps | 0–2 | Seattle Sounders |
|---|---|---|
| Machin 18:17' (Ord) Ord 83:34' (Robertson) |
| Cosmos | 8–3 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers |
|---|---|---|
| Hunt 1:37' (Chinaglia) Beckenbauer 11:37' (Hunt, Field)Chinaglia 16:19' (Beckenbauer)Hunt 25:14'Field 55:29' (Alberto, Roth)Chinaglia 56:23' (Alberto)Chinaglia 62:29' (Field)Etherington 67:49' (Morais) | Whittle 17:25' Piper 63:06' (Aguirre)Whittle 68:17' |
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 2–3(SO) | Cosmos |
|---|---|---|
| Irving 12:45' (Hudson) Whittle 62:15' | Pelé 61:09' Chinaglia 84:17' (Alberto) | |
| Penalties | ||
| Piper Nanchoff Proctor | 0–3 | Hunt Sono Mifflin Garbett |
Cosmos win series 2–0
| Rochester Lancers | 1–0(SO) (3-2) | Toronto Metros-Croatia |
|---|---|---|
| Toronto Metros-Croatia | 0–1 | Rochester Lancers |
|---|---|---|
Bilecki  78:35' | report | Costa 19:32' Fazlić 43:56'Silva 78:35' |
Rochester wins series 2–0
| Los Angeles Aztecs | 2–1 | Dallas Tornado |
|---|---|---|
| Mihailovich 23:12' (Best) Cohen 77:05' (Mihailovich) | Pecher 43:24' (Ryan) |
| Dallas Tornado | 1–5 | Los Angeles Aztecs |
|---|---|---|
| O'Hare 72:13' | Cohen 40:30' (Best) Best 66:55' (Mihailovich)Rys 78:04'Backos 80:46'Cooke 81:33' (Best) |
Los Angeles wins series 2–0
| Minnesota Kicks | 1–2(OT) | Seattle Sounders |
|---|---|---|
| Futcher 81:31' (Price, West) | Ord 86:24' (Butler) Butler 90:21' |
| Seattle Sounders | 1–0 | Minnesota Kicks |
|---|---|---|
| Ord 58:28' (pen.) |
Seattle wins series 2–0
| Rochester Lancers | 1–2 | Cosmos |
|---|---|---|
| Stojanovic 16:50' (Costa, Escos) | Chinaglia 39:50' (Pelé, Field) Hunt 42:45' (Pelé) |
| Cosmos | 4–1 | Rochester Lancers |
|---|---|---|
| Chinaglia 16:05' (Hunt) Chinaglia 22:59' (Hunt)Dimitrijevic 47:33' (Pelé)Pelé 59:11' | Silva 53:41' (Pedro) |
Cosmos win series 2–0
| Los Angeles Aztecs | 1–3 | Seattle Sounders |
|---|---|---|
| McAlinden 15:33' (Cooke) | Robertson 38:45' Buttle 62:47' (McAlister)Cave 66:23' (Robertson) |
| Seattle Sounders | 1–0 | Los Angeles Aztecs |
|---|---|---|
| Scott 13:29' (Robertson) |
Seattle wins series 2–0
| Cosmos | 2–1 | Seattle Sounders |
|---|---|---|
| Hunt 19:05' Chinaglia 77:19' (Hunt) | Ord 23:13' (Cave) |
The Kingdome was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Industrial District neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. Owned and operated by King County, it was best known as the home stadium of the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL) and the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB); it was also home to the Seattle SuperSonics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and additionally served as both the home outdoor and indoor venue for the Seattle Sounders of the North American Soccer League (NASL). The Kingdome measured 660 feet (200 m) wide from its inside walls.
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 football legends George Best and Johan Cruyff played for the team, and from 1975 to 1977 English singer Elton John was a part-owner.
Holleder Memorial Stadium was a 20,000 seat football stadium in Rochester, New York.
The Seattle Sounders were an American professional soccer team based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1974, the team belonged to the North American Soccer League where it played both indoor and outdoor soccer. The team folded after the 1983 NASL outdoor season.
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.
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 1980. This was the 13th season of the NASL.
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 1982. This was the 15th season of the NASL.
Soccer Bowl '78 was the North American Soccer League's championship final for the 1978 season. It was the fourth NASL championship under the Soccer Bowl name.
The 1978 New York Cosmos season was the eighth season for the Cosmos in the now-defunct North American Soccer League. It was also the second and final year in which "New York" was dropped from their name. The double-winning club set records for most wins and points in an NASL season, thanks to their 24-6 regular-season mark and 212 points, securing their second premiership on the way to their third championship. They beat the Fort Lauderdale Strikers 7–0 on opening day and never looked back, scoring 88 times while losing just three games in regulation. Giorgio Chinaglia scored 34 goals and 79 points, setting league records in the process. In Soccer Bowl '78, the Cosmos defeated the Tampa Bay Rowdies in front of 74,901 fans at Giants Stadium, still to this day a record for attendance at a North American championship soccer game.
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 1980 New York Cosmos season was the tenth season for the New York Cosmos in the now-defunct North American Soccer League. The Cosmos completed their third double, finishing 1st in the overall league table and defeating the Fort Lauderdale Strikers 3–0 in Soccer Bowl '80.
Soccer Bowl '76 was the championship final of the 1976 NASL season, between the Toronto Metros-Croatia and the Minnesota Kicks. The match was played on August 28, 1976 at the Kingdome, in Seattle, Washington. The Toronto Metros-Croatia won the match, 3–0, to claim their first North American championship.
Soccer Bowl '77 was the championship final of the 1977 NASL season. The New York Cosmos took on the Seattle Sounders. The match was played on August 28, 1977 at Civic Stadium, in Portland, Oregon. The game was also noteworthy as the final competitive match for Pelé, the Brazilian star widely acknowledged as the sport's greatest player. The Cosmos won the match, 2–1, to claim their second North American championship. The match was broadcast on TVS.
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.
Soccer Bowl '82 was the championship final of the 1982 NASL season. The New York Cosmos advanced to the Soccer Bowl for the third consecutive year and took on the Seattle Sounders in a rematch of Soccer Bowl '77. The match was played on September 18, 1982, at Jack Murphy Stadium, in San Diego, California. New York won, 1–0, and were crowned the 1982 NASL champions. This was the Cosmos' fifth North American championship and fourth in the past six years.
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
NASL Final 1971 was the championship series of the 1971 season. It was contested as a best-of-three series between the Dallas Tornado and the Atlanta Chiefs. The matches were held on September 9, 15, and 19, 1971. Games one and three were played at Atlanta Stadium, in Atlanta, Georgia. Game two was played at Franklin Stadium of Hillcrest High School in Dallas. A combined 14,361 people attended the three game series. The Chiefs won game one, while the Tornado won games two and three to claim their first NASL championship.
The 1978 North American Soccer League playoffs began on August 8 and ended on August 27 with Soccer Bowl '78 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. 16 out of 24 teams qualified after a 30-match regular season, eight from each conference.
Henderson, Jim (1978). Volkswagen 1978 Pro Soccer Guide. Tampa, Florida: Snibbe Publications.
1979 Official North American Soccer League Guide. New York: North American Soccer League. 1979.
Jose, Colin (1989). NASL: A Complete Record of the North American Soccer League. Derby, England: Breedon Books.
Jose, Colin (2003). North American Soccer League Encyclopedia. Haworth, New Jersey: St. Johann Press.