1984 United Soccer League season

Last updated
United Soccer League
Season1984
Champions Fort Lauderdale Sun
Premiers Oklahoma City Stampede
Matches played108
Goals scored400 (3.7 per match)
Top goalscorer Jose Neto
(22 goals)
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1985 →

The 1984 USL season was the United Soccer League's first and only full season.

Contents

History

The creation of Ingo Krieg, owner of the Jacksonville Tea Men, the United Soccer League formally announced its existence on February 1, 1984. The roots go back to Krieg's frustration over the direction taken by the second division American Soccer League which was declining after a period of overexpansion and financial excesses. Krieg proposed the creation of a financially sound league. In late January 1984, three ASL teams, the Dallas Americans, Detroit Express and Jacksonville Tea Men informed the ASL that they intended to move to the USL for the upcoming season. [1] When the league announced its formal creation on the first of February, it added to the list of teams by including one in Oklahoma City and another in North Carolina. [2] By the end of February, the list of teams had solidified with Detroit dropping out and Buffalo and Fort Lauderdale joining. Bill Burfeind was named league commissioner [3] On March 18, 1984, the league announced a final line-up of nine teams in three divisions. The season would run from May 12 through August 15. [4]

The season went fairly smoothly for a recently founded league, but the playoffs began with considerable confusion. The last week of July, league officials announced that the top team in each division would make the playoffs, for a total of three teams. The two teams with the next highest total points would play a single wild card game to determine the fourth team in the playoffs. Then the team with the highest number of points would play the team with the lowest in one semifinal and the middle two teams would play in the other semifinal. However, on Friday, August 17, two days before the first playoff games, league officials changed the format. They announced that Oklahoma City, which had topped the league with 127 points would play the winner of the wild card game, and not the Buffalo Storm which had the lowest number of points. Then the Storm owner, Sal DeRosa, announced that all games between his team and the Fort Lauderdale Storm would take place in Florida because of the low attendance at Buffalo home games. [5]

Fort Lauderdale Sun owner, Ronnie Sharp was forced to sell his team shortly after winning the 1984 championship, because of his involvement in a drug smuggling operation. [6] Entertainment Investors, Inc., which was mostly made up of a group of doctors that used to sit together at Strikers' games, took over control of the Sun.

League standings

Northern Division

PosTeamPldWTLGFGAGDBPPtsPCT
1 Buffalo Storm 24110134841+74196.313
2 New York Nationals 24100143253−213484.125
3 Rochester Flash 2470172749−223065.917
Source: [ citation needed ]

Southern Division

PosTeamPldWTLGFGAGDBPPtsPCT
1 Fort Lauderdale Sun 2415095334+1947122.604
2 Charlotte Gold 24110134859−1150105.500
3 Jacksonville Tea Men 24110134650−44398.354
Source: [ citation needed ]

Western Division

PosTeamPldWTLGFGAGDBPPtsPCT
1 Oklahoma City Stampede 2415095542+1352127.708
2 Houston Dynamos 24130115438+1647112.521
3 Dallas Americans 24140103734+340110.417
Source: [ citation needed ]

Playoffs

Wild card

Houston Dynamos (TX)2–1 Dallas Americans (TX)
Jose Neto
Jose Neto Soccerball shade.svg69'
J.K. Butler Stadium, Houston, Texas

Semifinal 1

Houston Dynamos (TX)3–1 (a.e.t.) Oklahoma City Stampede (OK)
Walter Schlothauer Soccerball shade.svg2'
Jose Neto Soccerball shade.svg94' (pen.)
Manny Neves Soccerball shade.svg109' (pen.)		Soccerball shade.svg12', Red card.svg 110' Thompson Usiyan
J.K. Butler Stadium, Houston, Texas
Attendance: 2,431
Referee: Bob Evans (USA)


Oklahoma City Stampede (OK)1–2 Houston Dynamos (TX)
Kenny Killingsworth Soccerball shade.svg13'Yellow card.svg 28' Manny Andruszewski
Soccerball shade.svg55', 69' Jose Neto
Taft Stadium, Oklahoma City
Referee: Bill Schofield (USA)

Semifinal 2

Fort Lauderdale Sun (FL)3–0 Buffalo Storm (NY)
Mark Schwartz Soccerball shade.svg59:20' (Cubillas)
Teófilo Cubillas Soccerball shade.svg62:58', 76:59' (Crescitelli)
Tom Groark Yellow card.svg 70:13'
John Lignos Yellow card.svg 76:59'
Lockhart Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Attendance: 3,186 [7]


Fort Lauderdale Sun (FL)5–1 Buffalo Storm (NY)
Mark Schwartz Soccerball shade.svg12:16', 17:49', 45:21'
Teófilo Cubillas Soccerball shade.svg42:20'
Christiansen Yellow card.svg 52'
Dave Watson Soccerball shade.svg56:53'		Soccerball shade.svg49:12', Yellow card.svg 52' Jerry Martello
Yellow card.svg 55' Corney
Lockhart Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Attendance: 4,502 [8]

Final

Houston Dynamos (TX)1–1 (a.e.t.) Fort Lauderdale Sun (FL)
Giulio Bernardi Soccerball shade.svg105:30'Red card.svg 78' Tom Mulroy
Red card.svg 83' Asa Hartford
Soccerball shade.svg98:12' Keith Weller (Christensen)
Red card.svg David Irving
Penalties
Jose Neto Soccerball shad check.svg
Walter Schlothauer Soccerball shad check.svg
Giulio Bernardi Soccerball shad check.svg
Lesh Shkreli Soccerball shad check.svg		4–2Soccerball shade cross.svg Mark Longwell
Soccerball shad check.svg Boris Bandov
Soccerball shade cross.svg Ronil Dufrene
Soccerball shad check.svg Tom Groark
J.K. Butler Stadium, Houston, Texas
Referee: Manuel Ortiz (USA) [9]


Fort Lauderdale Sun (FL)3–0 Houston Dynamos (TX)
Mark Schwartz (Crescitelli) Soccerball shade.svg11:04'
Mark Schwartz (Cubillas) Soccerball shade.svg22:43'
Teófilo Cubillas (Dufrene)Soccerball shade.svg33:15'		 Report
Lockhart Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Attendance: 4,250
Referee: Ron Miller [10]


Fort Lauderdale Sun (FL)1–1 (a.e.t.) Houston Dynamos (TX)
Dave Watson (Bandov)Soccerball shade.svg41:08' Report Soccerball shade.svg33:20' Jose Neto (Hilton)
Penalties
Teófilo Cubillas Soccerball shad check.svg
Mark Schwartz Soccerball shade cross.svg
John Lignos Soccerball shade cross.svg
Tom Mulroy Soccerball shade cross.svg
Boris Bandov Soccerball shad check.svg
? Soccerball shade cross.svg
? Soccerball shade cross.svg
? Soccerball shade cross.svg
Dave Watson Soccerball shad check.svg		3–2Soccerball shad check.svg Jose Neto
Soccerball shade cross.svg ?
Soccerball shade cross.svg ?
Soccerball shad check.svg Nathan Sacks
Soccerball shade cross.svg Beto Dos Santos
Soccerball shade cross.svg ?
Soccerball shade cross.svg ?
Soccerball shade cross.svg Manny Andruszewski
Soccerball shade cross.svg Glenn Davis [11]
Lockhart Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Attendance: 4,642 [12]

Honors

Points leaders

RankScorerClubGoalsAssistsPoints
1 Jose Neto Houston Dynamos 22830
2 David Kemp Oklahoma City Stampede 28
3 Thompson Usiyan Oklahoma City Stampede 26
4 Mark Schwartz Fort Lauderdale Sun 13619
5 Carlos Salguero Buffalo Storm 19
6 Tony Johnson Houston Dynamos 11718

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References

  1. ↑ 3 ASL Clubs Plan to Join New League The Daily Oklahoman - Monday, January 30, 1984
  2. ↑ UNITED LEAGUE BRINGS SOCCER BACK TO TOWN Miami Herald, The (FL) - Wednesday, February 1, 1984
  3. ↑ United Soccer League Names Six Franchises The Daily Oklahoman - Thursday, February 23, 1984
  4. ↑ Soccer League Officially Formed The Daily Oklahoman - Sunday, March 18, 1984
  5. ↑ SUN TO PLAY HOST TO BUFFALO Miami Herald, The (FL) - Saturday, August 18, 1984
  6. ↑ Sarni, Jim (September 3, 1984). "Taste of championship sweet for Cubillas, Sun". Fort Lauderdale News. p. 11C. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  7. ↑ Sarni, Jim (August 24, 1984). "High-pressure tactics net Sun playoff win". Fort Lauderdale News. p. 1C. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  8. ↑ Sarni, Jim (August 26, 1984). "Sun rout Storm advance USL finals". Fort Lauderdale News. p. 1C. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  9. ↑ Sarni, Jim (August 30, 1984). "Dynamos upset Sun in Game 1". Fort Lauderdale News. p. 1C. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  10. ↑ Sarni, Jim (September 1, 1984). "Sun ties series; title at stake tonight". Fort Lauderdale News. p. 1C. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  11. ↑ "Sun Beats Houston 2–1 To Win Title". Palm Beach Post. September 2, 1984. p. D9. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  12. ↑ Sarni, Jim (September 2, 1984). "Sun wins USL crown with shootout victory". Fort Lauderdale News. p. 1C. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  13. ↑ Sarni, Jim (September 3, 1984). "Taste of championship sweet for Cubillas, Sun". Fort Lauderdale News. p. 11C. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
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