1978 NASL Schlitz Indoor Tournament

Last updated

North American Soccer League
-1978 Schlitz Indoor Soccer Tournament-
Schlitz Professional Indoor Tournament
Tournament details
DatesMarch 14, 1978 –
March 15, 1978
Teams4
Final positions
Champions Dallas Tornado (2nd title)
Runners-up Houston Hurricane
Tournament statistics
Matches played4
Goals scored63 (15.75 per match)
Attendance8,557 (2,139 per match)
Top scorer(s) Flag of England.svg Peter Anderson (6 goals)
Flag of Finland.svg Kai Haaskivi
Best player(s) Flag of England.svg Mark Lindsay
1979

The 1978 NASL Schlitz Indoor Soccer Tournament was a four-team indoor soccer tournament held in Houston, Texas, at the The Summit in mid-March 1978. [1]

Contents

Overview

Four teams, all from the North American Soccer League, participated in the two-day event: the Dallas Tornado, the Los Angeles Aztecs, the San Diego Sockers, and the host Houston Hurricane, who were an expansion team.

Much like ice hockey, matches were 60 minutes long and divided into three 20-minute periods with an intermission between each period. And just as in hockey, it allowed for free substitutions, and power plays on a playing surface measuring 200 feet by 85 feet. The goal dimensions were 4 feet by 16 feet. Standings were tabulated as follows; three points for a victory, plus a bonus point for each goal scored in a victory, no points or bonus points earned in a loss. [2] [3] Each session consisted of two games (i.e. a doubleheader). The opening round of matches (Tuesday evening's Session 1) would feature a pair of Texas vs California match-ups, with the Session 2 matches having the opposite Texas vs California pairings the following evening. [4] The second game of Session 1, marked Houston’s first ever appearance before their home fans, having first faced NASL competition just 10 days earlier in Tulsa at the Skelly Indoor Invitational. [5] [6] [4] That same match marked San Diego's first ever appearance as the Sockers, having played the 1977 season as the Las Vegas Quicksilvers and the 1976 season as the San Diego Jaws.

A total of 8,557 people attended the two sessions. [7] [8] Houston was the only squad to win both of its matches, but Dallas, with 21 points, was crowned champions because of the unusual point awarding system. The Hurricane were runners-up in the invitational with 20 points. San Diego finished in third position with 13 points, while winless Los Angeles was last with zero points. [3] The tournament's MVPs was Mark Lindsay who had scored five goals in one match for Houston. [8] [9] [10] San Diego forward Peter Anderson and Dallas’ Kai Haaskivi led the tournament with 6 goals apiece. [10] [9] [11] [3] [8]

Map of clubs

Black pog.svg NASL Schlitz Indoor Tournament Clubs

Sessions

Session 1: Tuesday, March 14, 1978

7:00 PM CST Dallas Tornado 18–7 Los Angeles Aztecs Attendance: 3,930 [7]
9:00 PM CST Houston Hurricane 10–5 San Diego Sockers

Session 2: Wednesday, March 15, 1978

7:00 PM CST Houston Hurricane 4–3 Los Angeles Aztecs Attendance: 4,620 [8]
9:00 PM CST San Diego Sockers 10–6 Dallas Tornado

Match reports

Session 1

March 14, 1978Match 1 Dallas Tornado 18–7 Los Angeles Aztecs Houston, Texas
7:00 PM Haaskivi Soccerball shade.svg, Soccerball shade.svg, Soccerball shade.svg, Soccerball shade.svg, Soccerball shade.svg
Rote Soccerball shade.svg, Soccerball shade.svg, Soccerball shade.svg
Garcia Soccerball shade.svg, Soccerball shade.svg
Kewley Soccerball shade.svg,Soccerball shade.svg
Bourne Soccerball shade.svg, Soccerball shade.svg
Best Soccerball shade.svg, Soccerball shade.svg, Red card.svg
Soccerball shade.svg(o.g.)
Stadium: The Summit
Attendance: 3,930
March 14, 1978Match 2 Houston Hurricane 10–5 San Diego Sockers Houston, Texas
9:00 PM Lindsay Soccerball shade.svg, Soccerball shade.svg, Soccerball shade.svg, Soccerball shade.svg, Soccerball shade.svg
Jump Soccerball shade.svg, Soccerball shade.svg
Orhan Soccerball shade.svg, Soccerball shade.svg
Russell Soccerball shade.svg
Anderson Soccerball shade.svg, Soccerball shade.svg
Wark Soccerball shade.svg
Veee Soccerball shade.svg
Lindsay Soccerball shade.svg(o.g.)
Stadium: The Summit
Attendance: 3,930

Session 2

March 15, 1978Match Houston Hurricane 4–3 Los Angeles Aztecs Houston, Texas
7:00 PM Anderson Soccerball shade.svg4:05'
O'Sullivan Soccerball shade.svg7:36'
Megaloudis Soccerball shade.svg11:28'
Megaloudis Soccerball shade.svg27:29'
Best Soccerball shade.svg
Sühnholz Soccerball shade.svg30:53'
Mifflin Soccerball shade.svg
Stadium: The Summit
Attendance: 4,627

Final standings

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

1978 Schlitz Professional Indoor Soccer Tournament
TeamGWLGFGAGDPTSPosition
Dallas Tornado 2112417+7211st place (champions)
Houston Hurricane 220148+6202nd place (runners-up)
San Diego Sockers 2111516–1133rd place
Los Angeles Aztecs 2021022–1204th place

*3 points for a win, 0 points for a loss, 1 bonus point for each goal scored in a victory [3]

Statistical leaders

Scoring

Leading ScorersTeamGoals*
Flag of England.svg Peter Anderson San Diego6
Flag of Finland.svg Kai Haaskivi Dallas6
Flag of England.svg Mark Lindsay Houston5
Flag of Mexico.svg Freddie Garcia Dallas5
Flag of the United States.svg Juli Veee San Diego3
Flag of the United States.svg Kyle Rote Jr. Dallas3
Ulster Banner.svg George Best Los Angeles3
Flag of England.svg Kevin Kewley Dallas3

*Five players tied with 2 goals

Tournament awards

Non-tournament matches

There were many other NASL indoor matches played that winter, including the four-team 1978 NASL Skelly Indoor Invitational in which Houston also participated. Indeed, the Tampa Bay Rowdies scheduled nine games against various teams including Washington, Tulsa, Minnesota, and Rochester. At that time clubs were allowed to do their own scheduling because a fully sanctioned indoor season would not come to be in the NASL until November 1979. [12] Although it never materialized, there was talk of the league awarding the "NASL Cup" for the best team among those that played indoor in early 1978. [13] Ultimately only a handful of NASL squads played more than three times. Meanwhile competition arrived from another league later that same year, as on December 22, 1978 the Major Indoor Soccer League was launched. [14]

See also

References

  1. Hand, Kenny (February 2, 1978). "Hurricane to take first kicks indoors". Houston Post . p. 3D. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  2. Brian Runnels, editor. (1978). Schlitz Professional Indoor Soccer Tournament match program. Houston, TX. Houston Hurricane. p 3
  3. 1 2 3 4 LeBourgeois, Joey (March 16, 1978). "Strong rally by Hurricane decisions Los Angeles 4-3". Houston Post . p. 1E. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  4. 1 2 "Soccer tourney to start". Houston Post . March 14, 1978. p. 3D. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  5. "Soccer…". Houston Post . March 10, 1978. p. 18E. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  6. "Houston's soccer team opens play". Houston Chronicle . March 4, 1978. p. Sec 3, p. 2. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  7. 1 2 "Texas teams win in Summit". Corpus Christi Times . March 15, 1978. p. 1B. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Lundgren, Hal (March 16, 1978). "Amatuer Megloudis pays big dividends for Hurricane". Houston Chronicle . p. Sec. 3 p. 1. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  9. 1 2 "Tornado swirls past Aztecs in Summit tourney". Fort Worth Star-Telegram . March 15, 1978. p. 7e. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  10. 1 2 Lundgren, Hal (March 15, 1978). "Hurricane, Lindsay winning combo". Houston Chronicle . p. Sec. 2 p. 1. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  11. LeBourgeois, Joey (March 15, 1978). "Hurricane, Dallas take soccer wins". Houston Post . p. 1D. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  12. "Indoor Returning, Officially This Time". Evening Independent. September 28, 1979. p. 4-C. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  13. "Soccer Diplomats Go Indoors". Los Angeles Times. January 13, 1978. p. III-10. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  14. Jackson, Derrick (December 23, 1978). "Arrows Reach Their 1st Target". Newsday . p. 26. Retrieved August 1, 2025.