| Season | 1978 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Cosmos (3rd title) |
| Premiers | Cosmos (2nd title) |
| Matches played | 360 |
| Goals scored | 1,240 (3.44 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Giorgio Chinaglia (34 goals) |
| Biggest home win | DET 10–0 SJ (July 12) [1] |
| Biggest away win | LA 0–5 MIN (August 2) [2] |
| Highest scoring | DET 10–0 SJ (July 12) [3] TOR 8–2 OAK (June 30) [4] |
| Longest winning run | 13, Vancouver (June 22 – August 6) [5] |
| Longest losing run | 13, San Jose (May 31 – July 19) [6] |
| Highest attendance | 71,219 Seattle at Cosmos (May 21) [7] |
| Lowest attendance | 1,538 N.E. at Chicago (May 7) [8] |
| Average attendance | 13,084 [9] |
← 1977 1979 → | |
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.
Bolstered by the success of the previous season, the league added six teams to reach 24 in total. [10] The Colorado Caribous launched in Denver, [11] the Detroit Express [12] and Houston Hurricane [13] became the second and third teams to play in fully enclosed indoor stadiums, the Philadelphia Fury brought soccer back to Philadelphia, [14] the New England Tea Men would be the third attempt to have NASL soccer succeed in the Boston area and the Memphis Rogues would bring pro soccer to Tennessee.
There were also the usual franchise movements. Team Hawaii became the Tulsa Roughnecks, [15] the Las Vegas Quicksilver became the San Diego Sockers, the Connecticut Bicentennials became the Oakland Stompers and the St. Louis Stars moved to Anaheim to become the California Surf.
With so many new clubs, the NASL realigned into a six-division format while expanding the playoffs to include 16 teams. The new alignment was a direct copy of the NFL's setup, as the new three-division conferences were called the 'American Soccer Conference' and the 'National Soccer Conference', respectively. Each conference had East, Central and West divisions as well. [16]
The top two teams in each division would quality for the playoffs. The other spots would go to the next best two teams in the conference, regardless of division. The top three seeds went to the division winners, seeds 4-6 went to the second place teams and the last two seeds were known as 'wild-cards' – another nod to the NFL. The winners of each successive round would be reseeded within the conference. The first round and the Soccer Bowl were single games, while the conference semifinals and championships were two-game series. As in the 1977 playoffs, if both 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. [17]
The Cosmos would set records for most wins and points in an NASL season, thanks to their 24-6 regular-season mark (shared with the Vancouver Whitecaps) and 212 points. The Cosmos beat the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers, 7–0, on opening day [18] 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. He did not win regular season MVP honors, however. That award went to New England's Mike Flanagan, who scored 30 goals and 68 points while leading the Tea Men to an unlikely ASC East title. At the age of 36, Alan Hinton of Vancouver set a league record of his own with 30 assists. [19]
Still, the Cosmos needed a major rally to beat the Minnesota Kicks in the NSC playoffs. The Kicks won the first game by an extraordinary 9–2 score behind Alan Willey's five goals, [20] but the Cosmos won Game 2, 4–0, back at Giants Stadium. The resulting mini-game went to a shootout, and Carlos Alberto and Franz Beckenbauer scored goals to keep the Cosmos alive. [21] The Portland Timbers were shut out over both games of the National Conference final, [22] and the Tampa Bay Rowdies were beaten before 74,901 fans at Giants Stadium in the Soccer Bowl. [23] The Cosmos became the first back-to-back champions in NASL history.
After the season the Colorado Caribous would move to Atlanta, [24] while the Oakland Stompers would move to Edmonton just two months before the start of the 1979 NASL season. [25] The Stompers had drawn over 32,000 for their opening game at the Oakland Coliseum, [26] but were drawing crowds under 10,000 by the end of the season. The Caribous had the worst record in the league and only drew one crowd bigger than 10,000 the entire year.
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.
American Conference
| National Conference
|
GP = Games Played, G = Goals (worth 2 points), A = Assists (worth 1 point), Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giorgio Chinaglia | Cosmos | 30 | 34 | 11 | 79 |
| Mike Flanagan | New England Tea Men | 28 | 30 | 8 | 68 |
| Trevor Francis | Detroit Express | 20 | 22 | 10 | 54 |
| Kevin Hector | Vancouver Whitecaps | 28 | 21 | 10 | 52 |
| Rodney Marsh | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 26 | 18 | 16 | 52 |
| Jeff Bourne | Dallas Tornado | 30 | 21 | 8 | 50 |
| Karl-Heinz Granitza | Chicago Sting | 22 | 19 | 9 | 47 |
| Alan Willey | Minnesota Kicks | 30 | 21 | 3 | 45 |
| Ivan Lukačević | Toronto Metros-Croatia | 17 | 16 | 5 | 37 |
| David Irving | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 28 | 16 | 5 | 37 |
| Bob Lenarduzzi | Vancouver Whitecaps | 29 | 10 | 17 | 37 |
| Vladislav Bogićević | Cosmos | 30 | 10 | 17 | 37 |
Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; SO = Shutouts
| Player | Team | GP | Min | GA | GAA | W | L | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phil Parkes | Vancouver Whitecaps | 29 | 2650 | 28 | 0.95 | 23 | 6 | 10 |
| Erol Yasin | Cosmos | 22 | 1916 | 24 | 1.13 | 17 | 5 | 6 |
| Mick Poole | Portland Timbers | 30 | 2783 | 36 | 1.16 | 20 | 10 | 9 |
| Steve Hardwick | Detroit Express | 30 | 2734 | 36 | 1.19 | 20 | 10 | 9 |
| Kevin Keelan | New England Tea Men | 29 | 2609 | 36 | 1.24 | 18 | 11 | 7 |
| Winston DuBose | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 15 | 1352 | 19 | 1.27 | 8 | 7 | 4 |
| Željko Bilecki | Toronto Metros-Croatia | 17 | 1550 | 23 | 1.34 | 10 | 7 | 6 |
| Dave Jokerst | California Surf | 17 | 1574 | 24 | 1.37 | 9 | 8 | 6 |
| Colin Boulton | Tulsa Roughnecks | 28 | 2531 | 39 | 1.39 | 17 | 11 | 10 |
| Tony Chursky | Seattle Sounders | 28 | 2617 | 41 | 1.41 | 14 | 14 | 9 |
| First Team | Position | Second Team | Honorable Mention |
|---|---|---|---|
 Kevin Keelan, New England | G |  Alan Mayer, San Diego |  Bill Irwin, Washington |
 Carlos Alberto, Cosmos | D |  Bruce Wilson, Chicago | Maurice Whittle, Fort Lauderdale |
 Mike England, Seattle | D |  Arsene Auguste, Tampa Bay | Werner Roth, Cosmos |
| Ray Evans, California | D | John Craven, Vancouver |  Jim Steele, Washington |
| Chris Turner, New England | D | Alan Merrick, Minnesota | Dave D'Errico, New England |
 Franz Beckenbauer, Cosmos | M |  Vladislav Bogićević, Cosmos |  Ace Ntsoelengoe, Minnesota |
 Gerry Daly, New England | M | Alan Ball, Philadelphia | George Best, Fort Lauderdale |
| Rodney Marsh, Tampa Bay | M | Ray Hudson, Fort Lauderdale |  József Horváth, Rochester |
| Mike Flanagan, New England | F | Steve Hunt, Cosmos | Dennis Tueart, Cosmos |
| Trevor Francis, Detroit | F | Steve Wegerle, Tampa Bay | Karl-Heinz Granitza, Chicago |
 Giorgio Chinaglia, Cosmos | F | Kevin Hector, Vancouver |  Clyde Best, Portland •  Jorgen Kristensen, Chicago |
The first round and the Soccer Bowl were single game match ups, while the conference semifinals and championships were all two-game series. [27]
| Conference Quarterfinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Championships | Soccer Bowl '78 | ||||||||||||||||
| A1 | Detroit Express | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| A8 | Philadelphia Fury | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| A1 | Detroit Express | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| A7 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| A2 | New England Tea Men | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| A7 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| A7 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| American Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| A4 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| A3 | San Diego Sockers | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| A6 | California Surf | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| A3 | San Diego Sockers | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| A4 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| A4 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| A5 | Chicago Sting | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| A4 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| N1 | Cosmos | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| N1 | Cosmos | 5 | |||||||||||||||||
| N8 | Seattle Sounders | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| N1 | Cosmos | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| N3 | Minnesota Kicks | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| N3 | Minnesota Kicks | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| N6 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| N1 | Cosmos | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| National Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| N4 | Portland Timbers | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| N2 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| N7 | Toronto Metros-Croatia | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| N2 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| N4 | Portland Timbers | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| N4 | Portland Timbers | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| N5 | Washington Diplomats | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| August 8 | Detroit Express | 1–0 | Philadelphia Fury | Pontiac Silverdome • 22,456 |
| August 9 | New England Tea Men | 1–3 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | Schaefer Stadium • 18,672 |
| August 8 | San Diego Sockers | 2–1 | California Surf | San Diego Stadium • 6,238 |
| August 8 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 3–1 | Chicago Sting | Tampa Stadium • 26,596 |
| August 9 | Cosmos | 5–2 | Seattle Sounders | Giants Stadium • 47,780 |
| August 10 | Minnesota Kicks | 3–1 | Tulsa Roughnecks | Metropolitan Stadium • 36,478 |
| August 9 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 4–0 | Toronto Metros-Croatia | Empire Stadium • 30,811 |
| August 9 | Portland Timbers | 2–1(OT) | Washington Diplomats | Civic Stadium • 14,230 |
In 1978, if a playoff series was tied after two games, a 30 minute, golden goal, mini-game was played. If neither team scored in the mini-game, they would move on to a shoot-out to determine a series winner. *Teams were re-seeded for the Conference Semifinals based on regular season point totals. This affected only one of the four series; Tampa Bay versus San Diego. [28]
| Higher seed | Lower seed | Game 1 | Game 2 | Mini-game | (lower seed hosts Game 1) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Express | - | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 3–4 (SO, 2–3) | 1–0 | 0–1 | August 13 • Lockhart Stadium • 11,517 August 16 • Pontiac Silverdome • 32,219 |
| * Tampa Bay Rowdies | - | San Diego Sockers | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | August 14 • San Diego Stadium • 8,014 August 17 • Tampa Stadium • 32,495 |
| Cosmos | - | Minnesota Kicks | 2–9 | 4–0 | 1– 0 (SO, 2–1) | August 14 • Metropolitan Stadium • 45,863 August 16 • Giants Stadium • 60,199 |
| Vancouver Whitecaps | - | Portland Timbers | 0–1 | 1–2 | x | August 12 • Civic Stadium • 16,437 August 16 • Empire Stadium • 32,266 |
| Higher seed | Lower seed | Game 1 | Game 2 | Mini-game | (lower seed hosts Game 1) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | - | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 2–3 | 3–1 | 1–0 (SO, 2–1) | August 20 • Lockhart Stadium • 16,286 August 23 • Tampa Stadium • 37,249 |
| Cosmos | - | Portland Timbers | 1–0 | 4–0 | x | August 18 • Civic Stadium • 24,515 August 23 • Giants Stadium • 65,287 |
| Cosmos | 3–1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies |
|---|---|---|
Tueart  30:42' (Iarusci, Hunt)Chinaglia 44:38'Tueart 76:49' (Iarusci, Roth) | Report | Mirandinha 73:34' (Robb) |
1978 NASL Champions: Cosmos
Mini-games are not counted as games played when compiling individual statistics. They are included in the minutes played category.
GP = Games Played, G = Goals (worth 2 points), A = Assists (worth 1 point), Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis Tueart | Cosmos | 6 | 6 | 5 | 17 |
| Alan Willey | Minnesota Kicks | 3 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| Giorgio Chinaglia | Cosmos | 6 | 5 | 2 | 12 |
| David Irving | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 5 | 5 | 0 | 10 |
| Rodney Marsh | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 5 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; SO = Shutouts
| Player | Team | GP | Min | GA | GAA | W | L | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phil Parkes | Vancouver Whitecaps | 3 | 270 | 3 | 1.00 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Alan Mayer | San Diego Sockers | 3 | 225 | 3 | 1.00 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Steve Hardwick | Detroit Express | 3 | 306 | 4 | 1.33 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Mick Poole | Portland Timbers | 5 | 457 | 8 | 1.60 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Winston DuBose | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 6 | 574 | 10 | 1.67 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Games | Total | Average [30] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cosmos | 15 | 717,842 | 47,856 |
| Minnesota Kicks | 15 | 462,904 | 30,860 |
| Seattle Sounders | 15 | 338,677 | 22,578 |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 15 | 271,856 | 18,124 |
| Vancouver Whitecaps | 15 | 235,866 | 15,724 |
| San Jose Earthquakes | 15 | 214,777 | 14,318 |
| Detroit Express | 15 | 182,906 | 12,194 |
| New England Tea Men | 15 | 180,954 | 12,064 |
| Oakland Stompers | 15 | 178,941 | 11,929 |
| Portland Timbers | 15 | 177,049 | 11,803 |
| Tulsa Roughnecks | 15 | 168,834 | 11,256 |
| California Surf | 15 | 167,569 | 11,171 |
| Washington Diplomats | 15 | 161,741 | 10,783 |
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 15 | 157,188 | 10,479 |
| Los Angeles Aztecs | 15 | 139,514 | 9,301 |
| Memphis Rogues | 15 | 135,482 | 9,032 |
| Dallas Tornado | 15 | 128,149 | 8,543 |
| Philadelphia Fury | 15 | 121,127 | 8,075 |
| Houston Hurricane | 15 | 116,247 | 7,750 |
| Colorado Caribous | 15 | 111,266 | 7,418 |
| Rochester Lancers | 15 | 101,402 | 6,760 |
| Toronto Metros-Croatia | 15 | 93,501 | 6,233 |
| San Diego Sockers | 15 | 77,185 | 5,146 |
| Chicago Sting | 15 | 69,267 | 4,618 |
| OVERALL | 360 | 4,710,244 | 13,084 |
The Chicago Sting (1974–1988) was an American professional soccer team representing Chicago. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1982–83 season and again from 1984 to 1988. They were North American Soccer League champions in 1981 and 1984, one of only two NASL teams to win the championship twice.
The Caribous of Colorado were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) during the 1978 season. The team was based in Denver, Colorado and played their home games at Mile High Stadium. After the season, the club was sold and moved to Atlanta to become the Atlanta Chiefs.
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 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 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.
The 1979–80 season was the North American Soccer League's first ever full indoor soccer season with playoffs. It began in November 1979, and the championship occurred in March 1980.
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.
North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. Beginning in 1975, the league final was called the Soccer Bowl.
The 1977 season was the original Tampa Bay Rowdies third season of existence, and their third season in the North American Soccer League, the top division of soccer in the United States and Canada at that time.
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.
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 '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 1978 Vancouver Whitecaps season was the fifth season of the Whitecaps, and their fifth year in the North American Soccer League and the top flight of Canadian soccer.
The Philadelphia Fury were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1978 to 1980. The team was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and played their home games at Veterans Stadium. Included in the team's ownership group were rock musicians Rick Wakeman, Peter Frampton, Mick Jagger, and Paul Simon. During the team's three years of play in Philadelphia it never had a winning record, but qualified for, and advanced to the second round, of the 1979 playoffs. After the 1980 NASL season, the team was sold and moved to Montreal, rebranding as the Montreal Manic.
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.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)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.
Wangerin, David (2008). Soccer In A Football World. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.