1981–82 Major Indoor Soccer League season

Major Indoor Soccer League
Season 1981–82
Champions New York Arrows
(4th title)
Matches played 286
Top goalscorer Steve Zungul (103 goals)
Average attendance 8,735

The 1981–82 Major Indoor Soccer League season was the fourth in league history and would end with the New York Arrows repeating once again as MISL champions.

Recap

It was a year of expansion, as the New Jersey Rockets [1] were added and the schedule was lengthened by almost two months. The 44-game regular-season schedule was an increase of four games, and the playoff schedule was expanded to two best-of-three rounds and one best-of-five championship series.[2] This was done to, as a league spokesman put it, force players to decide on either the indoor or outdoor game [3]

With the Hartford Hellions moving to Memphis[4] and the San Francisco Fog moving to Kansas City,[5] the league went back to a two-division setup. The top four finishers in each division would advance to the MISL playoffs.[6] The Pittsburgh Spirit returned,[7] and had the second-best record in the league.

While the Arrows had the best record in the league and Steve Zungul won the scoring title again,[8] New York was pushed hard in the playoffs. In their first round matchup with the Buffalo Stallions, the Stallions won the first game of the series in New York and held a 4-2 lead with 1:20 remaining in Game 2. Zungul and Omar Gomez scored 36 seconds apart to tie the match, and Dragan Simic scored in overtime to even the series.[9] New York won Game 3 to advance.

New York and St. Louis would eventually meet in a five-game championship series that would see every game decided by two goals or less, including two in overtime.[10][11][12][13][14]

After the season, the Philadelphia Fever would fold [15] and the New Jersey Rockets[16] and Denver Avalanche[17] suspended operations.

Teams

Team City/Area Arena
Baltimore Blast Baltimore Baltimore Arena
Buffalo Stallions Buffalo, New York Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
Cleveland Force Cleveland Richfield Coliseum
Denver Avalanche Denver McNichols Sports Arena
Kansas City Comets Kansas City, Missouri Kemper Arena
Memphis Americans Memphis, Tennessee Mid-South Coliseum
New York Arrows Uniondale, New York Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
New Jersey Rockets East Rutherford, New Jersey Brendan Byrne Arena
Philadelphia Fever Philadelphia The Spectrum
Phoenix Inferno Phoenix, Arizona Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Pittsburgh Spirit Pittsburgh Civic Arena (Pittsburgh)
St. Louis Steamers St. Louis St. Louis Arena
Wichita Wings Wichita, Kansas Kansas Coliseum

Regular season schedule

The 1981–82 regular season schedule ran from November 13, 1981, to April 25, 1982. The 44 games per team was an increase of four over the 1980–81 schedule of 40 games.[18]

Final standings

Playoff teams in bold.

Eastern Division W L Pct. GB GF GA Home Road
New York Arrows368.818--30219918-418-4
Pittsburgh Spirit3113.705525420817-514-8
Baltimore Blast2717.525922320715-712-10
Buffalo Stallions2420.5001227624413-911-11
New Jersey Rockets1727.386191952309-138-14
Cleveland Force1529.341212052507-158-14
Philadelphia Fever1133.250251752507-154-18
Western Division W L Pct. GB GF GA Home Road
St. Louis Steamers2816.636--22818215-713-9
Wichita Wings2717.614123520015-712-10
Memphis Americans2024.455825027114-86-16
Denver Avalanche1925.432918220316-63-19
Phoenix Inferno1727.3861122225411-116-16
Kansas City Comets1430.3181417422310-124-18

Playoffs

Division Semifinals Division Finals Championship Series
         
E1 New York Arrows 2
E4 Buffalo Stallions 1
E1 New York Arrows 2
E3 Baltimore Blast 1
E2 Pittsburgh Spirit 1
E3 Baltimore Blast 2
E1 New York Arrows 3
W1 St. Louis Steamers 2
W1 St. Louis Steamers 2
W4 Denver Avalanche 0
W1 St. Louis Steamers 2
W3 Wichita Wings 1
W2 Wichita Wings 2
W3 Memphis Americans 1

Quarterfinals

New York vs. Buffalo
DateAwayHomeAttendance
April 30Buffalo 9New York 74,223
May 2New York 5Buffalo 49,640
Dragan Simic scored at 6:05 of overtime
May 5Buffalo 6New York 103,345
New York wins series 2-1
Pittsburgh vs. Baltimore
DateAwayHomeAttendance
April 30Baltimore 1Pittsburgh 36,594
May 1Pittsburgh 5Baltimore 68,513
Miguel Filardo scored at 5:12 of overtime
May 5Baltimore 6Pittsburgh 25,985
Baltimore wins series 2-1
St. Louis vs. Denver
DateAwayHomeAttendance
April 28Denver 2St. Louis 411,641
April 30St. Louis 7Denver 67,306
St. Louis wins series 2-0
Wichita vs. Memphis
DateAwayHomeAttendance
April 29Memphis 5Wichita 36,613
May 1Wichita 6Memphis 35,682
May 2Memphis 3Wichita 127,573
Wichita wins series 2-1

Semifinals

New York vs. Baltimore
DateAwayHomeAttendance
May 7Baltimore 5New York 610,244
Paul Kitson scored at 10:19 of overtime
May 8New York 6Baltimore 29,643
New York wins series 2-0
St. Louis vs. Wichita
DateAwayHomeAttendance
May 7Wichita 5St. Louis 1012,436
May 9St. Louis 6Wichita 79,643
Andy Chapman scored at :39 of overtime
May 12Wichita 1St. Louis 411,498
St. Louis wins series 2-1

Championship Series

New York vs. St. Louis
DateAwayHomeAttendance
May 14St. Louis 3New York 27,921
Tony Glavin scored at 5:55 of overtime
May 16St. Louis 3New York 57,431
May 21New York 9St. Louis 818,160
Steve Zungul scored at 4:13 of overtime
May 23New York 4St. Louis 618,116
May 26St. Louis 6New York 811,023
New York wins series 3-2

Regular season player statistics

[19]

Scoring leaders

GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points

Player Team GP G A Pts
Steve Zungul New York Arrows4010360163
Stan Terlecki Pittsburgh Spirit437443117
Stan Stamenkovic Memphis Americans36464783
Steve David Phoenix Inferno44582381
Paul Child Pittsburgh Spirit44522981
Omar Gomez New York Arrows40403676
Keith Furphy Cleveland Force44502575
Joe Fink Baltimore Blast43512273
Germain Iglesias Buffalo Stalliona44462571
Don Ebert St. Louis Steamers44521971

Leading goalkeepers

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes Played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses

Player Team GP Min GA GAA W L
Slobo IlijevskiSt. Louis Steamers3621031353.852411
Keith Van EronBaltimore Blast3216641103.971812
Pascal AntoineDenver Avalanche18881604.0967
Krys SobieskiPittsburgh Spirit2914981054.20197
Victor PetroniKansas City Comets18898634.2178
Zoltán TóthNew York Arrows171022744.34152
Van TaylorPhoenix Inferno291217894.39108
Mike DowlerWichita Wings3721491624.522214
Shep MessingNew York Arrows2716521254.54216
Alan MayerNew Jersey Rockets2715271164.56816

Playoff player statistics

[20]

Scoring leaders

GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points

Player Team GP G A Pts
Steve Zungul New York Arrows1024832
Omar Gomez New York Arrows10111122
Greg Villa St. Louis Steamers107916
Tony Glavin St. Louis Steamers89413
Carl Rose St. Louis Steamers108412

Leading goalkeepers

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses

Player Team GP Min GA GAA W L
Krys SobieskiPittsburgh Spirit212052.5011
Zoltán TóthNew York Arrows5306214.1241
Keith Van EronBaltimore Blast5298214.2223
Slobo IlijevskiSt. Louis Steamers10611494.8164
Cliff BrownWichita Wings6359305.0233

All-MISL teams

First Team  Position  Second Team
Slobo Ilijevski, St. Louis G Mike Dowler, Wichita
Val Tuksa, New York D Ian Anderson, Cleveland
Helmut Dudek, Memphis D Kevin Kewley, Wichita
Steve Zungul, New York M Steve David, Phoenix
Stan Terlecki, Pittsburgh F Joe Fink, Baltimore
Stan Stamenkovic, Memphis F Tony Glavin, St. Louis
Honorable Mention  Position  
Shep Messing, New York G Krys Sobieski, Pittsburgh
Renato Cila, New York D John O'Hara, Pittsburgh
Dave MacKenzie, Pittsburgh D Carl Rose, St. Louis
Kim Roentved, Wichita
Paul Child, Pittsburgh F Jorgen Kristensen, Wichita
Keith Furphy, Cleveland F Don Ebert, St. Louis

League Awards

  • Most Valuable Player: Steve Zungul, New York/Stan Terlecki, Pittsburgh
  • Scoring Champion: Steve Zungul, New York
  • Pass Master: Steve Zungul, New York
  • Rookie of the Year: Germain Iglesias, Buffalo
  • Defender of the Year: Val Tuksa, New York
  • Goalkeeper of the Year: Slobo Ilijevski, St. Louis
  • Coach of the Year: Dave Clements, Denver
  • Championship Series Most Valuable Player: Steve Zungul, New York

References

  1. ↑ "Jersey Team Joins M.I.S.L." New York Times. September 15, 1981. Retrieved 2011-12-06.
  2. ↑ "Tilts Tonight Open MISL Season". Youngstown Vindicator. November 13, 1981. p. 14. Retrieved 2011-12-06.
  3. ↑ "MISL directors extend league season". St. Petersburg Times. June 9, 1981. p. 2C. Retrieved 2011-12-06.
  4. ↑ "Hellions move now more likely". Record-Journal. May 28, 1981. p. 14. Retrieved 2011-12-06.
  5. ↑ "Kansas City may soon be getting a pro soccer team". Milwaukee Sentinel. April 3, 1981. p. B2. Retrieved 2011-12-06.
  6. ↑ 1981-82 MISL Media Guide. 1981. p. 144.
  7. ↑ Tuscano, Joe (June 19, 1981). "Spirit Bounces Back To MISL". Observer-Reporter. p. C1. Retrieved 2011-12-06.
  8. ↑ "1981–82 MISL season Summary". Our Sports Central. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Late Rally Saves Day For Arrows". Pittsburgh Press. May 3, 1982. p. C1. Retrieved 2011-12-06.
  10. ↑ "Arrows Lose Opener". New York Times. May 15, 1982. Retrieved 2011-12-06.
  11. ↑ "Arrows Tie Series With Steamers". New York Times. May 17, 1982. Retrieved 2011-12-06.
  12. ↑ "Arrows Take 2-1 Lead". New York Times. May 22, 1982. Retrieved 2011-12-06.
  13. ↑ "Arrows Still Champions". New York Times. May 27, 1982. Retrieved 2011-12-06.
  14. ↑ "Arrows Cop 4th Crown". The Hour. May 27, 1982. p. 30. Retrieved 2011-12-06.
  15. ↑ Kaine, Mike (August 11, 1982). "FEVER HALTS OPERATION FOR 1 YEAR". Philadelphia Daily News. p. 62. Retrieved 2011-12-06.
  16. ↑ "MISL Team In Trouble". Observer-Reporter. April 9, 1982. p. B5. Retrieved 2011-12-06.
  17. ↑ "MISL season opens tonight". St. Joseph Gazette. November 5, 1982. p. 2D. Retrieved 2011-12-06.
  18. ↑ 1981-82 MISL Media Guide. 1981. pp. 141–142.
  19. ↑ MISL Official Tenth Anniversary Guide. 1987. p. 54.
  20. ↑ MISL Official Tenth Anniversary Guide. 1987. p. 82.

1981-82 MISL Media Guide. Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania: Major Indoor Soccer League. 1981.

Verb, Doug; Jones-Fearnley, Alaina (1982). 1982-83 MISL Information Guide. Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania: Major Indoor Soccer League.

Leary, Dan; Griffin, John (1987). MISL Official Tenth Anniversary Guide. New York: Major Indoor Soccer League Communications Department.

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