1976 North American Soccer League season

North American Soccer League -1976 Season-

Season	1976
Champions	Toronto Metros-Croatia
Premiers	Tampa Bay Rowdies
Matches played	240
Goals scored	760 (3.17 per match)
Top goalscorer	Derek Smethurst (20 goals)
Highest attendance	58,218 (NY @ Seattle)
Lowest attendance	531 (Chicago @ Boston)
Average attendance	10,295
← 1975 1977 →

Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1976. This was the 9th season of the NASL.

Overview

Twenty teams contested the league. The Toronto Metros-Croatia defeated the Minnesota Kicks in the finals on August 28 to win the championship. Tampa Bay 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. This would be the closest any NASL team would ever come to achieving a treble.

Changes from the Previous Season

• Baltimore Comets moved to San Diego and were renamed the Jaws.
• Denver Dynamos moved to Minnesota and were renamed the Kicks.

Regular season

W = Wins, L = Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PT= point system

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.

Atlantic Conference

Northern Division	W	L	GF	GA	PT
Chicago Sting	15	9	52	32	132
Toronto Metros-Croatia	15	9	38	30	123
Rochester Lancers	13	11	36	32	114
Hartford Bicentennials	12	12	37	56	107
Boston Minutemen	7	17	35	64	74

Eastern Division	W	L	GF	GA	PT
Tampa Bay Rowdies	18	6	58	30	154
New York Cosmos	16	8	65	34	148
Washington Diplomats	14	10	46	38	126
Philadelphia Atoms	8	16	32	49	80
Miami Toros	6	18	29	58	63

Pacific Conference

Western Division	W	L	GF	GA	PT
Minnesota Kicks	15	9	54	33	138
Seattle Sounders	14	10	40	31	123
Vancouver Whitecaps	14	10	38	30	120
Portland Timbers	8	16	23	41	71
St. Louis Stars	5	19	29	57	58

Southern Division	W	L	GF	GA	PT
San Jose Earthquakes	14	10	47	30	123
Dallas Tornado	13	11	44	45	117
Los Angeles Aztecs	12	12	43	44	108
San Antonio Thunder	12	12	38	32	107
San Diego Jaws	9	15	29	47	82

NASL All-Stars

First Team	Position	Second Team	Honorable Mention[1]
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	Bob McNab, San Antonio
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

Bracket

First Round

Division Championships

Conference Championships

Soccer Bowl '76

E2

New York Cosmos

2

E3

Washington Diplomats

0

E1

Tampa Bay Rowdies

3

E2

New York Cosmos

1

E1

Tampa Bay Rowdies

0

N2

Toronto Metros-Croatia

2

N2

Toronto Metros-Croatia

2

N3

Rochester Lancers

1

N1

Chicago Sting

2(1)

N2

Toronto Metros-Croatia

2(3)

N2

Toronto Metros-Croatia

3

W1

Minnesota Kicks

0

S2

Dallas Tornado

2

S3

Los Angeles Aztecs

0

S1

San Jose Earthquakes

2

S2

Dallas Tornado

0

S1

San Jose Earthquakes

1

W1

Minnesota Kicks

3

W2

Seattle Sounders

1

W3

Vancouver Whitecaps

0

W1

Minnesota Kicks

3

W2

Seattle Sounders

0

First round

August 17	Washington Diplomats	0 – 2	New York Cosmos	Shea Stadium • Att. 22,698[2]

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August 18	Los Angeles Aztecs	0 – 2	Dallas Tornado	Ownby Stadium • Att. 9,413

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August 18	Vancouver Whitecaps	0 – 1	Seattle Sounders	Kingdome • Att. 30,406

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August 18	Rochester Lancers	1 – 2	Toronto Metros-Croatia	Varsity Stadium • Att. 6,852

Conference Semifinals

August 20	Toronto Metros-Croatia	3 – 2 (PK, 3–1)	Chicago Sting	Soldier Field • Att. 8,150

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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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August 21	Seattle Sounders	0 – 3	Minnesota Kicks	Metropolitan Stadium • Att. 41,405

Conference Championships

August 24	Toronto Metros-Croatia	2 – 0	Tampa Bay Rowdies	Tampa Stadium • Att. 28,046

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August 25	San Jose Earthquakes	1 – 3	Minnesota Kicks	Metropolitan Stadium • Att. 49,572

Soccer Bowl '76

Toronto Metros-Croatia v Minnesota Kicks

August 28

Toronto Metros-Croatia	3–0	Minnesota Kicks
Eusébio  40:28' Lukačević (Ferriera)  53:57' Ferriera  82:43'

Kingdome, Seattle[3] Attendance: 25,765 Referee: Dante Maglio (Canada)[4]

1976 NASL Champions: Toronto Metros-Croatia

Post season awards

• Most Valuable Player: Pelé, New York
• Coach of the year: Eddie Firmani, Tampa Bay
• Rookie of the year: Steve Pecher, Dallas
• North American Player Of The Year: Arnie Mausser, Tampa Bay^[5][6]

References

1. "St. Petersburg Times - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
2. "History of Shea Stadium | mets.com: Ballpark". Newyork.mets.mlb.com. Retrieved 2014-01-13.
3. "The Spokesman-Review - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
4. "Past Winners | North American Soccer League". Naslsoccerbowl.com. Retrieved 2014-01-13.
5. "The Palm Beach Post - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
6. "The Montreal Gazette - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2014-01-23.

External links

• Complete Results and Standings
• "The Year in American Soccer - 1976". homepages.sover.net. Retrieved 2014-01-23.