New York Cosmos 1976 soccer season
The 1976 New York Cosmos season was the sixth season for the New York Cosmos in the now-defunct North American Soccer League . In the Cosmos' sixth year of existence the club finished second only to the Tampa Bay Rowdies in both the five-team Eastern Division and the 20-team league. The Cosmos returned to the playoffs for the first time in two years, but were eliminated in the conference semifinals by the rival Rowdies. 1976 marked the first year for Giorgio Chinaglia with the club; Chinaglia would go on to become the all-time leading scorer in both Cosmos and NASL history.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Source:[ 4]
Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers March 21, 1976 San Diego Jaws A 1–1 N/A N/A March 28, 1976 Dallas Tornado A 0–1 20,214 N/A March 31, 1976 San Antonio Thunder A 1–0 20,000 April 4, 1976 Los Angeles Aztecs N 0–0 15,000 April 7, 1976 Honda F.C. N 5–0 N/A N/A April 8, 1976 Honda F.C. N 5–0 21,705 N/A April 9, 1976 Seattle Sounders A 1–2 58,125 Pelé, Clements April 11, 1976 Los Angeles Aztecs A 0–1 29,232 Pelé
Pld = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points 6 points for a win, 1 point for a shootout win, 0 points for a loss, 1 point for each goal scored (up to three per game).
Eastern Division Standings [ edit ] Overall League Placing [ edit ] Source:[ 5]
Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers April 18, 1976 Miami Toros A 0–1 9,457 Clements May 2, 1976 Chicago Sting H 1–2 28,536 Pelé May 5, 1976 Connecticut Bicentennials H 3–1 8,439 Pelé, Tinnion, Eddy May 8, 1976 Philadelphia Atoms H 1–2 14,287 Pelé May 15, 1976 Connecticut Bicentennials A 0–3 8,933 Field (2), Tinnion May 17, 1976 Los Angeles Aztecs H 6–0 24,292 Eddy (2), Chinaglia (2), Pelé (2) May 19, 1976 Boston Minutemen A 1–2 7,367 Chinaglia (2) June 6, 1976 Tampa Bay Rowdies A 5–1 42,611 Field June 9, 1976 Minnesota Kicks A 1–2 46,164 Chinaglia, Field June 12, 1976 Portland Timbers A 0–3 32,247 Chinaglia (2), Eddy June 16, 1976 Boston Minutemen H 2–2 (SOL ) 15,101 N/A June 18, 1976 Toronto Metros-Croatia H 3–0 18,612 Tinion, Chinaglia, Clements June 23, 1976 Chicago Sting A 4–1 28,000 Tinnion June 27, 1976 Washington Diplomats A 3–2 11,004 Tinnion, Pelé June 30, 1976 Rochester Lancers H 2–0 6,917 Field (2) July 2, 1976 St. Louis Stars H 3–1 10,123 Mifflin (2), Eddy July 7, 1976 Toronto Metros-Croatia A 0–3 12,123 N/A July 10, 1976 Philadelphia Atoms A 1–2 25,311 Pelé, Garbett July 14, 1976 Tampa Bay Rowdies H 5–4 27,892 Eddy, Mifflin, Field, Pelé (2) July 18, 1976 Washington Diplomats H 5–0 27,398 Mifflin, Chinaglia (2), Pelé, Tinnion July 23, 1976 Rochester Lancers A 2–1 5,728 Chinaglia July 28, 1976 Dallas Tornado H 4–0 19,119 Chinaglia (3), Mifflin August 7, 1976 San Jose Earthquakes A 2–1 23,048 Eddy August 10, 1976 Miami Toros H 8–2 18,103 Dillon, Chinaglia (5), Pelé (2)
Conference semifinals [ edit ] Conference Championships [ edit ] Date Opponent Venue Result Att.Attendance Scorers Ref. March 24 San Diego Jaws A 1–1 18,128 Ord [ 6] March 28 Dallas Tornado A 1–0 20,214 Pelé [ 6] March 31 San Antonio Thunder A 0–1 14,800 – [ 6] April 4 Los Angeles Aztecs N [ n 1] 0–0 15,800 – [ 6] April 8 Honda FC N [ n 2] 5–0 21,705 Pelé (4), ? [ 6] April 9 Seattle Sounders A 3–1 58,125 Pelé (2), Clements [ 6] April 11 Los Angeles Aztecs A 1–0 29,232 Pelé [ 6] June 3 Violette A 2–1 n/a n/a [ 6] September 1 Dallas Tornado N [ n 3] 2–2 14,000 Chinaglia (2) [ 6] September 5 Dallas Tornado N [ n 4] 2–1 12,500 Roth , Mifflin [ 6] September 6 Dallas Tornado N [ n 5] 3–2 23,682 Pele, Morais , Donlic [ 6] September 8 Soccer Canada A 1–1 14,826 Chinaglia [ 6] September 10 Soccer Canada A 3–1 14,366 Chinaglia (3) [ 6] September 14 PSG A 1–3 18,000 Field [ 6] September 16 Royal Antwerp A 1–3 25,000 Pelé [ 6] September 24 West Japan All-Stars A 0–0 11,000 n/a [ 6] September 25 East Japan All-Stars A 2–2 50,000 Dillon , Chinaglia [ 6]
Notes
The Club Stadiums Culture Retired numbers Key personnel