1977 North American Soccer League playoffs

1977 North American Soccer League Playoffs
Tournament details
Country	United States; Canada
Teams	12
Defending champions	Toronto Metros-Croatia
Final positions
Champions	Cosmos
Runner-up	Seattle Sounders
Tournament statistics
Matches played	17
Goals scored	54 (3.18 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Giorgio Chinaglia; (9 goals)
	← 1976 1978 →

The 1977 North American Soccer League playoffs began on August 10 and ended on August 28 with Soccer Bowl '77 at Civic Stadium in Portland, Oregon. 12 out of 18 teams qualified after a 26-match regular season, six from each conference.

Playoff format

The top three teams in each division would quality for the playoffs, similar to the 1976 playoffs.^[1] The first round and the Soccer Bowl were single games, but the division championships and conference championships were two-game series. If 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.^[2]

Playoff seeds

Atlantic Conference

Eastern Division

Fort Lauderdale Strikers – Eastern Division champions, 161 points
Cosmos – 140 points
Tampa Bay Rowdies – 131 points

Northern Division

Toronto Metros-Croatia – Northern Division champions, 111 points
St. Louis Stars – 104 points
Rochester Lancers – 99 points

Pacific Conference

Southern Division

Dallas Tornado – Southern Division champions, 161 points
Los Angeles Aztecs – 147 points
San Jose Earthquakes – 119 points

Western Division

Minnesota Kicks – Western Division champions, 137 points
Vancouver Whitecaps – 124 points
Seattle Sounders – 119 points

Bracket

First Round		Division Championships			Conference Championships			Soccer Bowl '77

		Fort Lauderdale Strikers	3	2(0)
Cosmos	3	Cosmos	8	3(3)
Tampa Bay Rowdies	0				Cosmos	2	4
					Rochester Lancers	1	1
		Toronto Metros-Croatia	0(2)	0
St. Louis Stars	0(2)	Rochester Lancers	1(3)	1
Rochester Lancers	1(4)							Cosmos	2
								Seattle Sounders	1
		Dallas Tornado	1	1
Los Angeles Aztecs	2	Los Angeles Aztecs	3	5
San Jose Earthquakes	1				Los Angeles Aztecs	1	0
					Seattle Sounders	3	1
		Minnesota Kicks	1	0
Vancouver Whitecaps	0	Seattle Sounders	2	1
Seattle Sounders	2

First round

Atlantic Conference

(E2) Cosmos vs. (E3) Tampa Bay Rowdies

August 10

Cosmos	3–0	Tampa Bay Rowdies
Pelé 58:16' (Hunt) Chinaglia 70:24' (Hunt, Field) Pelé 89:51' (Hunt, Chinaglia)	Report

Giants Stadium, East Rutherford

Attendance: 57,828

(N2) St. Louis Stars vs. (N3) Rochester Lancers

August 10

St. Louis Stars	0–1(SO)	Rochester Lancers

Penalties
Burnett Matteson Evans Binney	2–4	Silva Pollihan Reynolds Pedro Stojanovic

Francis Field, St. Louis

Attendance: 7,137

Pacific Conference

(S2) Los Angeles Aztecs vs. (S3) San Jose Earthquakes

August 10

Los Angeles Aztecs	2–1(OT)	San Jose Earthquakes
Best 85:06' Mihailovich 92:28'		Mitic 60:57'

Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles

Attendance: 4,038

(W2) Vancouver Whitecaps vs. (W3) Seattle Sounders

August 10

Vancouver Whitecaps	0–2	Seattle Sounders
		Machin 18:17' (Ord) Ord 83:34' (Robertson)

Empire Stadium, Vancouver

Attendance: 21,925

Division Finals

Atlantic Conference

(E1) Fort Lauderdale Strikers vs. (E2) Cosmos

August 14
Game 1

Cosmos	8–3	Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Hunt 1:37' (Chinaglia) Beckenbauer 11:37' (Hunt, Field) Chinaglia 16:19' (Beckenbauer) Hunt 25:14' Field 55:29' (Alberto, Roth) Chinaglia 56:23' (Alberto) Chinaglia 62:29' (Field) Etherington 67:49' (Morais)		Whittle 17:25' Piper 63:06' (Aguirre) Whittle 68:17'

Giants Stadium, East Rutherford

Attendance: 77,691

August 17
Game 2

Fort Lauderdale Strikers	2–3(SO)	Cosmos
Irving 12:45' (Hudson) Whittle 62:15'		Pelé 61:09' Chinaglia 84:17' (Alberto)
Penalties
Piper Nanchoff Proctor	0–3	Hunt Sono Mifflin Garbett

Lockhart Stadium, Fort Lauderdale

Attendance: 14,152

Cosmos win series 2–0

(N1) Toronto Metros-Croatia vs. (N3) Rochester Lancers

August 13
Game 1

Rochester Lancers	1–0(SO) (3-2)	Toronto Metros-Croatia

Holleder Memorial Stadium, Rochester

Attendance: 10,556

August 16
Game 2

Toronto Metros-Croatia	0–1	Rochester Lancers
Bilecki 78:35'	report	Costa 19:32' Fazlić 43:56' Silva 78:35'

Varsity Stadium, Toronto

Attendance: 8,362

Referee: John Davies (England)

Rochester wins series 2–0

Pacific Conference

(S1) Dallas Tornado vs. (S2) Los Angeles Aztecs

August 14
Game 1

Los Angeles Aztecs	2–1	Dallas Tornado
Mihailovich 23:12' (Best) Cohen 77:05' (Mihailovich)		Pecher 43:24' (Ryan)

Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles

Attendance: 5,295

August 17
Game 2

Dallas Tornado	1–5	Los Angeles Aztecs
O'Hare 72:13'		Cohen 40:30' (Best) Best 66:55' (Mihailovich) Rys 78:04' Backos 80:46' Cooke 81:33' (Best)

Ownby Stadium, Dallas

Attendance: 18,489

Los Angeles wins series 2–0

(W1) Minnesota Kicks vs. (W3) Seattle Sounders

August 14
Game 1

Minnesota Kicks	1–2(OT)	Seattle Sounders
Futcher 81:31' (Price, West)		Ord 86:24' (Butler) Butler 90:21'

Metropolitan Stadium, Minneapolis

Attendance: 35,889

August 17
Game 2

Seattle Sounders	1–0	Minnesota Kicks
Ord 58:28' (pen.)

Kingdome, Seattle

Attendance: 42,091

Seattle wins series 2–0

Conference Finals

Atlantic Conference

(E2) Cosmos vs. (N3) Rochester Lancers

August 21
Game 1

Rochester Lancers	1–2	Cosmos
Stojanovic 16:50' (Costa, Escos)		Chinaglia 39:50' (Pelé, Field) Hunt 42:45' (Pelé)

Holleder Memorial Stadium, Rochester

Attendance: 20,005

August 24
Game 2

Cosmos	4–1	Rochester Lancers
Chinaglia 16:05' (Hunt) Chinaglia 22:59' (Hunt) Dimitrijevic 47:33' (Pelé) Pelé 59:11'		Silva 53:41' (Pedro)

Giants Stadium, East Rutherford

Attendance: 73,669

Cosmos win series 2–0

Pacific Conference

(S2) Los Angeles Aztecs vs. (W3) Seattle Sounders

August 21
Game 1

Los Angeles Aztecs	1–3	Seattle Sounders
McAlinden 15:33' (Cooke)		Robertson 38:45' Buttle 62:47' (McAlister) Cave 66:23' (Robertson)

Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles

Attendance: 9,115

August 25
Game 2

Seattle Sounders	1–0	Los Angeles Aztecs
Scott 13:29' (Robertson)

Kingdome, Seattle

Attendance: 56,256

Seattle wins series 2–0

Soccer Bowl '77

August 28

4 pm EDT

Cosmos	2–1	Seattle Sounders
Hunt 19:05' Chinaglia 77:19' (Hunt)		Ord 23:13' (Cave)

Civic Stadium, Portland

Attendance: 35,548

Referee: Toros Kibritjan (USA)

References

^ "NASL Makes Changes In Schedule, Playoff". Evening Independent. October 15, 1976. p. 5-C. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
^ Saunders, Jack (August 17, 1977). "Some NASL Playoff Victories Worth More". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. p. 5C. Retrieved April 8, 2015.

Henderson, Jim (1978). Volkswagen 1978 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

[1] "NASL Makes Changes In Schedule, Playoff". Evening Independent. October 15, 1976. p. 5-C. Retrieved April 8, 2015.

[2] Saunders, Jack (August 17, 1977). "Some NASL Playoff Victories Worth More". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. p. 5C. Retrieved April 8, 2015.

[1]

[2]

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Tournament details
Country	United States Canada
Teams	12
Defending champions	Toronto Metros-Croatia
Final positions
Champions	Cosmos
Runner-up	Seattle Sounders
Tournament statistics
Matches played	17
Goals scored	54 (3.18 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Giorgio Chinaglia (9 goals)
← 1976 1978 →