| Season | 1977 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Cosmos (2nd Title) |
| Premiers | Ft. Lauderdale Strikers |
| Matches played | 234 |
| Goals scored | 752 (3.21 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Steve David (26) |
| Highest attendance | 77,691 (Ft Lauderdale @ Cosmos) |
| Lowest attendance | 1,100 (Washington @ Connecticut) |
| Average attendance | 13,558 |
← 1976 1978 → | |
Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1977. This was the 10th season of the NASL.
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.
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
| Pacific Conference
|
| First Team | Position | Second Team [4] | Honorable Mention [5] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gordon Banks, Ft. Lauderdale | G | Alan Mayer, Las Vegas | Tony Chursky, Seattle |
| Franz Beckenbauer, Cosmos | D | Ray Evans, St. Louis | Steve Litt, Minnesota |
| Mike England, Seattle | D | Steve Pecher, Dallas | Jim McAlister, Seattle |
| Bruce Wilson, Vancouver | D | Humberto Coelho, Las Vegas | Alan Merrick, Minnesota |
| Mel Machin, Seattle | D | George Ley, Dallas • Arsène Auguste Tampa Bay [6] | Graham Day, Portland |
| George Best, Los Angeles | M | Charlie Cooke, Los Angeles | Tony Simões, San Jose |
| Wolfgang Sühnholz, Las Vegas | M | Vito Dimitrijević, Cosmos | Ace Ntsoelengoe, Minnesota |
| Alan West, Minnesota | M | Rodney Marsh, Tampa Bay | Al Trost, St. Louis |
| Steve David, Los Angeles | F | Mike Stojanović, Rochester | Willie Morgan, Chicago |
| Pelé, Cosmos | F | Steve Wegerle, Tampa Bay | Giorgio Chinaglia, Cosmos |
| Derek Smethurst, Tampa Bay | F | Buzz Parsons, Vancouver | Jimmy Robertson, Seattle |
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 | 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 | ||||||||||||||||
| August 10 | San Jose Earthquakes | 1–2(OT) | Los Angeles Aztecs | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Att. 4,038 |
| August 10 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 0–3 | Cosmos | Giants Stadium • Att. 57,828 |
| August 10 | Rochester Lancers | 1–0(SO, 4–2) | St. Louis Stars | Francis Field • Att. 7,137 |
| August 10 | Seattle Sounders | 2–0 | Vancouver Whitecaps | Empire Stadium • Att. 21,915 |
| Higher seed | Lower seed | Game 1 | Game 2 | (lower seed hosts Game 1) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | - | Cosmos | 3–8 | 2–3 (SO, 0–3) | August 14 • Giants Stadium • 77,691 August 17 • Lockhart Stadium 14,152 |
| Dallas Tornado | - | Los Angeles Aztecs | 1–3 | 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 | *August 14 • Metropolitan Stadium • 35,889 August 17 • Kingdome • 42,091 |
| Toronto Metros-Croatia | - | Rochester Lancers | 0–1 (SO, 2–3) | 0–1 | August 13 • Holleder Memorial Stadium • 10,556 August 16 • Varsity Stadium • 8,062 |
*Minnesota Kicks hosted Game 1 (instead of Game 2) due to a scheduling conflict with the Twins baseball club.
| Higher seed | Lower seed | Game 1 | Game 2 | (lower seed hosts Game 1) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Aztecs | - | Seattle Sounders | 1–3 | #0–1 | August 21 • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • 9,115 #August 25 • Kingdome • 56,256 |
| Cosmos | - | Rochester Lancers | 2–1 | 4–1 | August 21 • Holleder Memorial Stadium • 20,005 August 24 • Giants Stadium • 73,669 |
#Seattle Sounders hosted Game 2 (instead of Game 1) due to a scheduling conflict with the Mariners baseball club.
| Cosmos | 2–1 | Seattle Sounders |
|---|---|---|
Hunt  19:05'Chinaglia 77:19' (Hunt) | Ord 23:13' (Cave) |
1977 NASL Champions: Cosmos
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 the set-up of Major League Soccer (MLS) in 1996.
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.
The Minnesota Kicks was 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.
The 1984 North American Soccer League season was the 72nd season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer, the 17th with a national first-division league, in the United States and Canada. It would be the 17th and final season of the NASL.
Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1976. This was the 9th season of the NASL.
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.
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 1975. This was the 8th season of the NASL.
Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1974. This was the 7th season of the NASL.
Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1982. This was the 15th season of the NASL.
The 1977 Vancouver Whitecaps season was the fourth season of the Whitecaps, and their fourth season in the North American Soccer League, which was at the time, the top flight of American Canadian soccer.
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 '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.
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 '80 was the championship final of the 1980 NASL season. The New York Cosmos took on the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. The match was played on September 21, 1980 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. The Cosmos won, 3–0, to claim their fourth league championship, and third in the past four seasons.
Soccer Bowl '81 was the championship final of the 1981 NASL season, between the Chicago Sting and the New York Cosmos. The match was played on September 26, 1981, at Exhibition Stadium, in Toronto, Ontario. Following regulation and 15 minutes of golden goal overtime, the match remained tied, 0–0. With that, the game moved to a shoot-out. The Sting won the shoot-out, 2–1, and were crowned the 1981 NASL champions. This was Chicago's first NASL title.
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 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.
1979 Official North American Soccer League Guide. New York, NY: 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, NJ: St. Johann Press.
Wangerin, David (2008). Soccer In A Football World . Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press. ISBN 9781592138852.
