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)
← First
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 rapid expansion to the west coast and midwestern states in the 1970s and some southern states in the 1980s had produced a string of short-lived franchises that were not able to make ends meet financially. Krieg joined with the owner of the Dallas Americans to found a new second division league called the United Soccer League that would try to operate within its means, feature primarily American players, promote regional rivalries to reduce travel expenses, and embrace a "grass roots" approach to growing the game in their towns. [1] In late January 1984, the Detroit Express joined Jacksonville and Dallas in announcing their intention to move to the USL for the upcoming season. [2] By late February, the USL had added the Oklahoma City Stampede and Charlotte Gold (reorganized and re-branded versions of the ASL's Oklahoma City Slickers and Carolina Lightnin') as well as new organizations the Buffalo Storm, Fort Lauderdale Sun and New York Nationals. [3] In the following weeks, the list of teams grew to include one last ASL defector, the Rochester Flash, and one more new organization, the Houston Dynamos. On March 18, 1984, the league announced a final line-up of nine teams in three divisions (Detroit ultimately dropped out due to the league not being sanctioned by the USSF). Dr. William Burfeind, who had resigned as ASL president in January, agreed to be the USL's first commisioner. The ASL, left with no active teams, quietly closed up shop. [1] [4]

The 1984 Season

The season ran from May 12 through August 15, [5] and it went fairly smoothly for a recently founded league. Because the NASL was shedding franchises rapidly in the early 80's, a number of skilled and experienced professionals were available and were signed to rosters around the league. The standings reflected a relatively balanced and competitive group of clubs with no dominant or glaringly weak members. Though some franchises seemed to be on more stable footing than others, all nine teams completed their full 24-game schedules. Buffalo, Fort Lauderdale and Oklahoma City finished atop their respective divisions to earn postseason berths, and Houston defeated Dallas in a one-game wild card match to earn the fourth spot in the playoff semifinals. [6]

The semifinal round began with considerable confusion. To determine teams' place in the standings, the league had adopted a points system that awarded five points for any win, two for a shootout loss (there were no ties), and up to three bonus points per game for regulation goals scored. [7] In July, the league had announced a playoff format that would have the team with the most standings points face the team with the lowest points on one side of the bracket while the teams with the 2nd and 3rd most points would square off on the other. Teams therefore expected the semifinals matchups to be top seed Oklahoma City (127 points) vs. Buffalo (96 points) and Fort Lauderdale (122 points) vs. Houston (112 points), with Oklahoma City and Fort Lauderdale earning home field advantage for the three-game series. However, on Friday, August 17, just a few days before the first semifinal games, league officials held a conference call in which, after reviewing the minutes of an organizational meeting from April, they determined that their plan then had been for the top seed to face the wild card game winner regardless of points totals. The matchups were adjusted accordingly to be Oklahoma City vs. Houston and Fort Lauderdale vs. Buffalo. [8] The Storm owner, Sal DeRosa, announced that all games between his team and Fort Lauderdale would take place in Florida because he did not feel optimistic about his club's ability to attract fans to a mid-week game at a field with no lights on short notice. [9] The Sun made quick work of Buffalo, while Houston upset Oklahoma City. [10] The best-of-three championship round was tightly contested. The first game had to be settled by a shootout, with Houston coming out on top at home. Fort Lauderdale would rally to win Game 2 in South Florida by a score of 3-0, setting up a rubber match the next day. This game, too, would end in a tie and be decided in a shootout, but this time Fort Lauderdale prevailed to claim the first (and ultimately only) USL championship. [11]

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 ]

Southwest 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 [12]


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 [13]

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) [14]


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 [15]


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 [16]
Lockhart Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Attendance: 4,642 [17]

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. 1 2 "What can only be described as "Soccapocalypse"". Protagonist Soccer. March 6, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  2. ↑ 3 ASL Clubs Plan to Join New League The Daily Oklahoman - Monday, January 30, 1984
  3. ↑ "United Soccer League Names Six Franchises". The Oklahoman. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  4. ↑ Donovan, Kevin. "Eager Owner Brings Soccer Back to City". The Oklahoman. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  5. ↑ Soccer League Officially Formed The Daily Oklahoman - Sunday, March 18, 1984
  6. ↑ "The Year in American Soccer - 1984". Soccer History USA – Audio Essays on the Beautiful Game. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  7. ↑ unknown, unknown (July 12, 2024). "United Soccer League Directory" (PDF).
  8. ↑ Donovan, Kevin. "Stampede Playoff Query When?". The Oklahoman. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  9. ↑ SUN TO PLAY HOST TO BUFFALO Miami Herald, The (FL) - Saturday, August 18, 1984
  10. ↑ Donovan, Kevin. "Dynamos Eliminate Stampede". The Oklahoman. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Fort Lauderdale News from Fort Lauderdale, Florida". Newspapers.com. September 3, 1984. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  12. ↑ Sarni, Jim (August 24, 1984). "High-pressure tactics net Sun playoff win". Fort Lauderdale News. p. 1C. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  13. ↑ Sarni, Jim (August 26, 1984). "Sun rout Storm advance USL finals". Fort Lauderdale News. p. 1C. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  14. ↑ Sarni, Jim (August 30, 1984). "Dynamos upset Sun in Game 1". Fort Lauderdale News. p. 1C. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  15. ↑ Sarni, Jim (September 1, 1984). "Sun ties series; title at stake tonight". Fort Lauderdale News. p. 1C. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Sun Beats Houston 2–1 To Win Title". Palm Beach Post. September 2, 1984. p. D9. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  17. ↑ Sarni, Jim (September 2, 1984). "Sun wins USL crown with shootout victory". Fort Lauderdale News. p. 1C. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  18. ↑ Sarni, Jim (September 3, 1984). "Taste of championship sweet for Cubillas, Sun". Fort Lauderdale News. p. 11C. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
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