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)	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

Bracket

Conference Quarterfinals

American Conference

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

August 8

Detroit Express	1–0	Philadelphia Fury
Francis  35:57' (Davies)

Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac

Attendance: 22,456

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

August 9

New England Tea Men	1–3	Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Ridley  24:46' (o.g.)		Irving  61:04' (Best, Hudson) Simpson  68:02' (o.g.) Ronson  72:23' (Nanchoff)

Schaefer Stadium, Boston

Attendance: 18,672

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

August 8

San Diego Sockers	2–1	California Surf
McCall  18:50' (Smethurst, van der Veen) McCall  49:52' (Willrich, Smethurst)		Suhnholz  3:30'

San Diego Stadium, San Diego

Attendance: 6,238

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

August 8

Tampa Bay Rowdies	3–1	Chicago Sting
Marsh  26:48' (pen.) Marsh  52:17' (Connell, McGuire) Wegerle  74:08'		Granitza  78:06' (Strenicer)

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  57:46' (Dimitrijevic, Hunt) Beckenbauer  58:13' Dimitrijevic  58:34' (Beckenbauer) Hunt  80:28' (Tueart, Davis)		England  56:31' (Crossley) Wallace  74:58' (Scott)

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  16:04' (Hinton) Hinton  17:52' (Hector, B. Lenarduzzi) Campbell  39:55' (Hector, B. Lenarduzzi) B. Lenarduzzi  57:10' (Campbell, Bolitho)

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  28:03' (Hamilton, Moran) Willey  63:24' (Hamilton, Morgan) Willey  82:11' (Morgan)		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  58:57' (Bain) Bain  96:41'  (Seale)		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  65:41' (Best) Irving  69:31' (Hudson, Whittle)		Francis  3:27' (Brazil) 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)

August 16

Detroit Express	1–0	Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Brazil  42:34' (Francis)

Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac

Attendance: 32,819

Mini-game

Detroit Express	0–1	Fort Lauderdale Strikers
		Nanchoff  20:36'  (Hudson)

Fort Lauderdale wins series 2–1

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

August 14
Game 1

San Diego Sockers	0–1	Tampa Bay Rowdies
		Auguste  60:31'

San Diego Stadium, San Diego

Attendance: 8,014

August 17
Game 2

Tampa Bay Rowdies	1–2	San Diego Sockers
Anderson  64:42' (Paddon, Marsh)		Harsanyi  48:25' McCall  67:49'

Tampa Stadium, Tampa

Attendance: 32,495

Referee: Tony Nobile

Mini-game

Tampa Bay Rowdies	1–0	San Diego Sockers
Marsh  3:41'  (Auguste)

Tampa Bay wins series 2–1

National Conference

(1) Cosmos vs. (3) Minnesota Kicks

August 14
Game 1

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

Metropolitan Stadium, Minneapolis

Attendance: 45,863

August 16
Game 2

Cosmos	4–0	Minnesota Kicks
Chinaglia  10:12' (Tueart, Bogicevic) Tueart  12:23' (Bogicevic) Chinaglia  23:22' (Bogicevic, Tueart) Tueart  50:56'

Giants Stadium, East Rutherford

Attendance: 60,199

Mini-game

Cosmos	1–0(SO)	Minnesota Kicks
Penalties
Bogicevic Tueart Hunt Morais Alberto Beckenbauer	2–1	Hamilton Futcher George Ntsoelengoe Villa Merrick

New York wins series 2–1

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

August 12
Game 1

Portland Timbers	1–0	Vancouver Whitecaps
Best  54:53' (Anderson)

Civic Stadium, Portland

Attendance: 16,437

August 16
Game 2

Vancouver Whitecaps	1–2	Portland Timbers
Kember  47:11' (Hinton)		Best  21:19' (Charles) Anderson  40:44' (Scullion, Bain)

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  45:44' (pen.) Irving  46:25' (Jones) Best  50:41'		Robb  30:31' (Paddon) McLeod  89:45' (Paddon)

Lockhart Stadium, Fort Lauderdale

Attendance: 16,286

August 23
Game 2

Tampa Bay Rowdies	3–1	Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Anderson  34:07' (McLeod, Marsh) Robb  65:00' (Marsh, Wegerle) Wegerle  83:36'		Irving  88:34'

Tampa Stadium, Tampa

Attendance: 37,360

Mini-game

Tampa Bay Rowdies	1–0 (SO)	Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Penalties
Anderson Wegerle Paddon Robb Marsh	2–1	Whelan Irving Hudson Fowles Whittle

Tampa Bay wins series 2–1

National Conference

(1) Cosmos vs. (4) Portland Timbers

August 18
Game 1

Portland Timbers	0–1	New York Cosmos
		Tueart  46:03' (Hunt)

Civic Stadium, Portland

Attendance: 24,515

August 23
Game 2

Cosmos	5–0	Portland Timbers
Chinaglia  32:07' (Tueart) Tueart  76:06' (Dimitrijevic) Hunt  77:28' (Tueart) Beckenbauer  80:44' Seninho  88:29' (Beckenbauer, Chinaglia)

Giants Stadium, East Rutherford

Attendance: 57,128

New York wins series 2–0

Soccer Bowl '78

Main article: Soccer Bowl '78

August 274 pm

Cosmos	3–1	Tampa Bay Rowdies
Tueart  30:42' (Iarusci, Hunt) Chinaglia  44:38' Tueart  76:49' (Iarusci, Roth)		Mirandinha  73:34' (Robb)

Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

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.

References

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

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.

External links

• The Year in American Soccer – 1978
• Chris Page's NASL Archive
• Complete NASL Results and Standings