Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1977. This was the 10th season of the NASL.
Overview The league was made up of 18 teams. The schedule was expanded to 26 games and the playoffs to 12 teams. Team rosters consisted of 17 players, 6 of which had to be U.S. or Canadian citizens. The NASL began using its own variation of the penalty shoot-out procedure for tied matches. Matches tied at the end of regulation would now go to a golden goal overtime period and, if still tied, on to a shoot-out. Instead of penalty kicks however, the shoot-out attempt started 35 yards from the goal and allowed the player 5 seconds to attempt a shot. The player could make as many moves as he wanted in a breakaway situation within the time frame. NASL procedure also called for the box score or score-line to show an additional "goal" given to the winning side of a shoot-out. This "victory goal" however was not credited in the "Goals For" column of the league table. The Cosmos defeated the Seattle Sounders in the final on August 28 to win the championship.
Changes from the previous season
New teams None
Teams folding Boston Minutemen Philadelphia Atoms
Teams moving Miami Toros - Fort Lauderdale Strikers San Antonio Thunder - Team Hawaii San Diego Jaws - Las Vegas Quicksilvers
Name changes Hartford Bicentennials to Connecticut Bicentennials Cosmos drop "New York" from name
Map of clubs
Regular season 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. -Premiers (most points). -Other playoff teams.
Atlantic Conference Eastern Division W L GF GA BP Pts Home RoadFort Lauderdale Strikers19749294716111-28-5 Cosmos151160395014010-35-8Tampa Bay Rowdies141255454713111-23-10 Washington Diplomats1016324932926-74-9
Northern Division W L GF GA BP Pts Home Road Toronto Metros-Croatia13134238371158-55-8 St. Louis Stars12143335321047-65-8Rochester Lancers11153441339910-31-12 Chicago Sting1016314328884-96-7 Connecticut Bicentennials719346530724-93-10
Pacific Conference Southern Division W L GF GA BP Pts Home Road Dallas Tornado18856375316111-27-6 Los Angeles Aztecs15116554571478-57-6 San Jose Earthquakes14123744351199-45-8 Team Hawaii11154559401067-64-9 Las Vegas Quicksilvers11153844371038-53-10
Western Division W L GF GA BP Pts Home Road Minnesota Kicks161044364113711-25-8 Vancouver Whitecaps141243364012410-34-9 Seattle Sounders14124334391239-45-8 Portland Timbers1016394238987-63-10
NASL All-Stars
First Team Position Second Team Honorable Mention Gordon Banks, Ft. Lauderdale G Alan Mayer, Las Vegas Tony Chursky, Seattle Franz Beckenbauer, Cosmos D Ray Evans, St. Louis Steve Litt, Minnesota Mike England, Seattle D Steve Pecher, Dallas Jim McAlister, Seattle Bruce Wilson, Vancouver D Humberto Coelho, Las Vegas Alan Merrick, Minnesota Mel Machin, Seattle D George Ley, Dallas • Arsène Auguste Tampa Bay Graham Day, Portland George Best, Los Angeles M Charlie Cooke, Los Angeles Tony Simões, San Jose Wolfgang Sühnholz, Las Vegas M Vito Dimitrijević, Cosmos Ace Ntsoelengoe, Minnesota Alan West, Minnesota M Rodney Marsh, Tampa Bay Al Trost, St. Louis Steve David, Los Angeles F Mike Stojanović, Rochester Willie Morgan, Chicago Pelé, Cosmos F Steve Wegerle, Tampa Bay Giorgio Chinaglia, Cosmos Derek Smethurst, Tampa Bay F Buzz Parsons, Vancouver Jimmy Robertson, Seattle
Playoffs
The first round and the Soccer Bowl were single game match ups, while the conference semifinals and championships were all two-game series.
Bracket
First round August 10San Jose Earthquakes1–2 (OT)Los Angeles AztecsLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Att. 4,038
August 10Tampa Bay Rowdies0–3CosmosGiants Stadium • Att. 57,828
August 10Rochester Lancers1–0 (SO, 4–2)St. Louis StarsFrancis Field • Att. 7,137
August 10Seattle Sounders2–0Vancouver WhitecapsEmpire Stadium • Att. 21,915
Division Championships Higher seedLower seedGame 1Game 2 (lower seed hosts Game 1)Fort Lauderdale Strikers - Cosmos 3–8 2–3 (SO, 0–3) August 14 • Giants Stadium • 77,691August 17 • Lockhart Stadium 14,152Dallas Tornado - Los Angeles Aztecs 1–3 1–5 August 14 • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • 5,201August 17 • Ownby Stadium • 18,489Minnesota Kicks - Seattle Sounders *1–2 (OT) 0–1 *August 14 • Metropolitan Stadium • 35,889August 17 • Kingdome • 42,091Toronto Metros-Croatia - Rochester Lancers 0–1 (SO, 2–3) 0–1 August 13 • Holleder Memorial Stadium • 10,556August 16 • Varsity Stadium • 8,062*Minnesota Kicks hosted Game 1 (instead of Game 2) due to a scheduling conflict with the Twins baseball club.
Conference Championships Higher seedLower seedGame 1Game 2 (lower seed hosts Game 1)Los Angeles Aztecs - Seattle Sounders 1–3 #0–1 August 21 • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • 9,115#August 25 • Kingdome • 56,256Cosmos - Rochester Lancers 2–1 4–1 August 21 • Holleder Memorial Stadium • 20,005August 24 • Giants Stadium • 73,669#Seattle Sounders hosted Game 2 (instead of Game 1) due to a scheduling conflict with the Mariners baseball club.
Soccer Bowl '77
1977 NASL Champions: Cosmos
Post season awards Most Valuable Player: Franz Beckenbauer, Cosmos Coach of the year: Ron Newman, Fort Lauderdale Rookie of the year: Jim McAlister, Seattle
Average home attendance
TeamAverageNew York Cosmos 34,150Minnesota Kicks 32,771Seattle Sounders 24,226Tampa Bay Rowdies 19,491San Jose Earthquakes 17,739Dallas Tornado 16,510Portland Timbers 13,208Washington Diplomats 13,037Vancouver Whitecaps 11,897Los Angeles Aztecs 9,638St. Louis Stars 9,126Fort Lauderdale Strikers 8,140Toronto Metros 7,321Las Vegas Quicksilvers 7,079Rochester Lancers 6,065Chicago Sting 5,204Team Hawaii 4,543Connecticut Bicentennials 3,902
References
General references
External links The Year in American Soccer – 1977 Chris Page's NASL Archive Complete Results and Standings