1978 North American Soccer League playoffs

1978 North American Soccer League Playoffs
Country United States
Canada
Teams 16
Defending champions Cosmos
Champions Cosmos
Runners-up Tampa Bay Rowdies
Matches played 21
Goals scored 81 (3.86 per match)
Top goal scorer(s) England Alan Willey
(7 goals)
← 1977 1979 →

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.

Playoff format

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', a nod to the NFL's playoff format. The winners of each successive round would be reseeded within the conference by point total. 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.[1]

Playoff seeds

American Conference

  1. Detroit Express – Central Division champions, 176 points
  2. New England Tea Men - Eastern Division champions, 165 points
  3. San Diego Sockers - Western Division champions, 164 points
  4. Tampa Bay Rowdies – 165 points
  5. Chicago Sting - 123 points
  6. California Surf - 115 points
  7. Fort Lauderdale Strikers - 143 points
  8. Philadelphia Fury - 111 points

National Conference

  1. Cosmos - Eastern Division champions, 212 points
  2. Vancouver Whitecaps - Western Division champions, 199 points
  3. Minnesota Kicks - Central Division champions, 156 points
  4. Portland Timbers - 167 points
  5. Washington Diplomats - 145 points
  6. Tulsa Roughnecks - 132 points
  7. Toronto Metros-Croatia - 144 points
  8. Seattle Sounders – 138 points

Bracket

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
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
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

Conference Quarterfinals

American Conference

(1) Detroit Express vs. (8) Philadelphia Fury

(2) New England Tea Men vs. (7) Fort Lauderdale Strikers

August 9
New England Tea Men 1–3 Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Own goal (Ridley)  24:46' Irving (Best, Hudson)  61:04'
Own goal (Simpson)  68:02'
Ronson (Nanchoff)  72:23'
Schaefer Stadium, Boston
Attendance: 18,672

(3) San Diego Sockers vs. (6) California Surf

August 8
San Diego Sockers 2-1 California Surf
McCall (Smethurst, Van Der Veen)  18:50'
McCall (Willrich, Smethurst)  49:52'		 Suhnholz  3:30'
Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego
Attendance: 6,238

(4) Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. (5) Chicago Sting

August 8
Tampa Bay Rowdies 3-1 Chicago Sting
Marsh (pk)  26:48'
Marsh (Connell, McGuire)  52:17'
Wegerle  74:08'		 Granitza (Strenicer)  78:06'
Tampa Stadium, Tampa
Attendance: 26,596
Referee: George Courtney (England)

National Conference

(1) Cosmos vs. (8) Seattle Sounders

August 9
Cosmos 5-2 Seattle Sounders
Bogicevic  39:32'
Bogicevic (Dimitrijevic, Hunt)  57:46'
Beckenbauer  58:13'
Dimitrijevic (Beckenbauer)  58:34'
Hunt (Tueart, Davis)  80:28'		 England (Crossley)  56:31'
Wallace (Scott)  74:58'
Giants Stadium, East Rutherford
Attendance: 47,780

(2) Vancouver Whitecaps vs. (7) Toronto Metros-Croatia

August 9
Vancouver Whitecaps 4-0 Toronto Metros-Croatia
Campbell (Hinton)  16:04'
Hinton (Hector, Bob Lenarduzzi)  17:52'
Campbell (Hector, Bob Lenarduzzi)  39:55'
Lenarduzzi (Campbell, Bolitho)  57:10'
Empire Stadium, Vancouver
Attendance: 30,811
Referee: Gino D'Ippolito (USA)

(3) Minnesota Kicks vs. (6) Tulsa Roughnecks

August 10
Minnesota Kicks 3–1 Tulsa Roughnecks
Futcher (Hamilton, Moran)  28:03'
Willey (Hamilton, Morgan)  63:24'
Willey (Morgan)  82:11'		 Caskey  48:21'
Metropolitan Stadium, Minneapolis
Attendance: 36,478
Referee: John Davies (England)

(4) Portland Timbers vs. (5) Washington Diplomats

August 9
Portland Timbers 2–1 (OT) Washington Diplomats
McNeill (Bain)  58:57'
Bain (Seale)  96:41'		 Stokes  89:30'
Civic Stadium, Portland
Attendance: 14,030

Conference Semifinals

American Conference

(1) Detroit Express vs. (7) Ft. Lauderdale Strikers

August 13
Game 1
Fort Lauderdale Strikers 4–3 (SO) Detroit Express
Irving  59:10'
Whittle (Best)  65:41'
Irving (Hudson, Whittle)  69:31'		 Francis (Brazil)  3:27'
Francis  41:55'
Tinnion  67:11'
  Penalties  
Whelan
Fowles
Hudson
Irving
Whittle 		3–2 Francis
Furphy
Bradford
Tinnion
Davies
Lockhart Stadium, Fort Lauderdale
Attendance: 11,517
Referee: Gino D'Ippolito (USA)

Fort Lauderdale wins series 2-1

(3) San Diego Sockers vs. (4) Tampa Bay Rowdies

August 17
Game 2
Tampa Bay Rowdies 1-2 San Diego Sockers
Anderson (Paddon, Marsh)  64:42' Harsanyi  48:25'
McCall  67:49'
Tampa Stadium, Tampa
Attendance: 32,495
Referee: Tony Nobile

Tampa Bay wins series 2-1

National Conference

(1) New York Cosmos vs. (3) Minnesota Kicks

August 14
Game 1
Minnesota Kicks 9–2 New York Cosmos
George (Morgan, Want)  0:52'
Own goal (Roth)  18:32'
Willey (Hamilton, Morgan)  29:28'
Ntsoelengoe (George)  53:14'
Willey (Morgan)  63:28'
Willey (Hamilton, Price)  69:05'
Willey (George, Rosul)  77:27'
Willey (Hamilton, Lettieri)  84:44'
Hamilton  89:06'		 Chinaglia  48:19'
Etherington (Bogicevic, Hunt)  83:30'

August 16
Game 2
New York Cosmos 4–0 Minnesota Kicks
Chinaglia (Tueart, Bogicevic)  10:12'
Tueart (Bogicevic)  12:23'
Chinaglia (Bogicevic, Tueart)  23:22'
Tueart  50:56'
Giants Stadium, East Rutherford
Attendance: 60,199

New York wins series 2-1

(2) Vancouver Whitecaps vs. (4) Portland Timbers

August 12
Game 1
Portland Timbers 1-0 Vancouver Whitecaps
Best (Anderson)  54:53'
Civic Stadium, Portland
Attendance: 16,437

August 16
Game 2
Vancouver Whitecaps 1–2 Portland Timbers
Kember (Hinton)  47:11' Best (Charles)  21:19'
Anderson (Scullion, Bain)  40:44'
Empire Stadium, Vancouver
Attendance: 32,666

Portland wins series 2-0

Conference Finals

American Conference

(4) Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. (7) Ft. Lauderdale Strikers

August 20
Game 1
Fort Lauderdale Strikers 3-2 Tampa Bay Rowdies
Whittle (pk)  45:44'
Irving (Jones)  46:25'
Best  50:41'		 Robb (Paddon)  30:31'
McLeod (Paddon)  89:45'

August 23
Game 2
Tampa Bay Rowdies 3-1 Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Anderson (McLeod, Marsh)  34:07'
Robb (Marsh, Wegerle)  65:00'
Wegerle  83:36'		 Irving  88:34'
Tampa Stadium, Tampa
Attendance: 37,360

Tampa Bay wins series 2-1

National Conference

(1) New York Cosmos vs. (4) Portland Timbers

August 18
Game 1
Portland Timbers 0-1 New York Cosmos
Tueart (Hunt)  46:03'
Civic Stadium, Portland
Attendance: 24,515

August 23
Game 2
New York Cosmos 5–0 Portland Timbers
Chinaglia (Tueart)  32:07'
Tueart (Dimitrijevic)  76:06'
Hunt (Tueart)  77:28'
Beckenbauer  80:44'
Seninho (Beckenbauer, Chinaglia)  88:29'
Giants Stadium, East Rutherford
Attendance: 57,128

New York wins series 2-0

Soccer Bowl '78

Main article: Soccer Bowl '78

August 27
4 pm
Cosmos 3–1 Tampa Bay Rowdies
Tueart (Iarusci, Hunt)  30:42'
Chinaglia  44:38'
Tueart (Iarusci, Roth)  76:49'		 Mirandinha (Robb)  73:34'
Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
Attendance: 74,901
Referee: Jim Highet (Canada)

1978 NASL Champions: Cosmos

Playoff Statistics

Mini-games are not counted as games played when compiling individual statistics. They are included in the minutes played category.

Scoring

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

Goalkeeping

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

References

  1. ↑ 1979 Official North American Soccer League Guide. 1979. p. 367.

Henderson, Jim (1979). Dr. Pepper 1979 Pro Soccer Guide. Tampa, FL: Snibbe Publications. 

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. 

External links

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