Soccer league season
Football league season
North American Soccer League 1976 seasonSeason | 1976 |
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Champions | Toronto Metros-Croatia |
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Premiers | Tampa Bay Rowdies |
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Matches played | 240 |
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Goals scored | 760 (3.17 per match) |
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Top goalscorer | Derek Smethurst (20 goals) |
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Highest attendance | 58,218 (NY @ Seattle) |
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Lowest attendance | 531 (Chicago @ Boston) |
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Average attendance | 10,295 |
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Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1976. This was the 9th season of the NASL.
Overview
The league's twenty teams were divided into two conferences (Atlantic or Pacific), playing a total of 240 matches. Each team's 24 matches were divided between a round-robin with other teams in the same conference and six matches against different teams in the other conference. Points were awarded for wins (six) and each goal (up to three) regardless of results; ties in regulation were decided by 15 minutes of sudden death overtime followed by a penalty shootout from 35 yards (105 ft). The playoffs were expanded from eight to twelve teams with automatic berths for the top two teams in each of the four divisions and two wild card slots per conference for the remaining best finishing teams.[1]
The Toronto Metros-Croatia defeated the Minnesota Kicks in the Soccer Bowl on August 28 to win the championship. The match was hosted at the Kingdome in Seattle, the new home of the Seattle Sounders. The Tampa Bay Rowdies finished the regular season with the best record, giving them consecutive titles in three different domestic NASL competitions. Though not in a calendar year, within 12 months they won the Soccer Bowl in August 1975, the NASL indoor cup in March 1976, and the regular season shield or premiership in August 1976. Since NASL teams at that time did not participate in the U.S. Open Cup, this would be the closest one would ever come to achieving any sort of a North American treble.
Changes from the previous season
New teams
Teams folding
Teams moving
- Baltimore Comets to San Diego Jaws
- Denver Dynamos to Minnesota Kicks
Name changes
Map of clubs
Northern Division
Eastern Division
Southern Division
Western Division
Regular season
Pld = Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, GD = Goal Differential, BP = Bonus Points, Pts= total points
6 points for a win, 1 point for a shootout 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
Source: [citation needed]
Eastern Division Team | Pld | W | L | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts |
Tampa Bay Rowdies | 24 | 18 | 6 | 58 | 30 | +28 | 46 | 154 |
New York Cosmos | 24 | 16 | 8 | 65 | 34 | +31 | 52 | 148 |
Washington Diplomats | 24 | 14 | 10 | 46 | 38 | +8 | 42 | 126 |
Philadelphia Atoms | 24 | 8 | 16 | 32 | 49 | −17 | 32 | 80 |
Miami Toros | 24 | 6 | 18 | 29 | 58 | −29 | 27 | 63 |
Source: [citation needed]
Pacific Conference
Western Division Team | Pld | W | L | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts |
Minnesota Kicks | 24 | 15 | 9 | 54 | 33 | +21 | 48 | 138 |
Seattle Sounders | 24 | 14 | 10 | 40 | 31 | +9 | 39 | 123 |
Vancouver Whitecaps | 24 | 14 | 10 | 38 | 30 | +8 | 36 | 120 |
Portland Timbers | 24 | 8 | 16 | 23 | 41 | −18 | 23 | 71 |
St. Louis Stars | 24 | 5 | 19 | 29 | 57 | −28 | 28 | 58 |
Source: [citation needed]
Source: [citation needed]
NASL All-Stars
First Team[2] | Position | Second Team | Honorable Mention[3] |
Arnie Mausser, Tampa Bay | G | Eric Martin, Washington | Paolo Cimpiel, Toronto |
Keith Eddy, New York | D | Stewart Jump, Tampa Bay | Dave Gillett, Seattle |
Bobby Moore, San Antonio | D | George Ley, Dallas | Frank Spraggon, Minnesota |
Tommy Smith, Tampa Bay | D | Ron Webster, Minnesota | Jim Holton, Miami |
Mike England, Seattle | D | Bob Smith, Philadelphia | Bruce Wilson, Vancouver |
Rodney Marsh, Tampa Bay | M | Alan West, Minnesota | Dave Clements, New York |
Ramón Mifflin, New York | M | Bobby Hope, Dallas | Wolfgang Sühnholz, Toronto |
António Simões, San Jose | M | Al Trost, St. Louis | Charlie Cooke, Los Angeles |
Pelé, New York | F | Derek Smethurst, Tampa Bay | Jimmy Robertson, Seattle |
George Best, Los Angeles | F | Jeff Bourne, Dallas | Mark Liveric, San Jose |
Giorgio Chinaglia, New York | F | Stewart Scullion, Tampa Bay | Tommy Ord, Vancouver |
Playoffs
All playoff games in all rounds including Soccer Bowl '76 were single game elimination match ups.
Bracket
First round
August 18 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 0–1 | Seattle Sounders | Kingdome • Att. 30,406 |
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Conference semifinals
August 20 | New York Cosmos | 1–3 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Tampa Stadium • Att. 36,863 |
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August 20 | Dallas Tornado | 0–2 | San Jose Earthquakes | Spartan Stadium • Att. 15,135 |
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Conference Championships
Soccer Bowl '76
1976 NASL Champions: Toronto Metros-Croatia
Post season awards
References
- ^ Holt, Gordy (April 25, 1976). "There's a New Look in the NASL". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. F4.
- ^ "St. Petersburg Times - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- ^ "Mid Cities Daily News - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- ^ "History of Shea Stadium | mets.com: Ballpark". Newyork.mets.mlb.com. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
- ^ "The Spokesman-Review - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- ^ "1976 Soccer Bowl Toronto Metro Croatia vs Minnesota Kicks highlights (Film) NASL". YouTube.
- ^ "The Palm Beach Post - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- ^ "The Montreal Gazette - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved January 23, 2014.
External links
- Complete Results and Standings
- "The Year in American Soccer - 1976". homepages.sover.net. Archived from the original on January 7, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
North American Soccer League (1968–1984)
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Seasons | |
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Soccer Bowls | |
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Predecessors | |
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Indoor seasons | |
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Conferences | - 1968
- East
- West
- 1976–1977
- Atlantic
- Pacific
- 1978–1980
- American
- National
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Related | |
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Clubs | |
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† United Soccer Association team that did not join NASL upon merger with NPSL ‡ National Professional Soccer League team that did not join NASL upon merger with USA |