1976 North American Soccer League season
Soccer league season
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Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1976. This was the 9th season of the NASL.
| Season | 1976 |
|---|---|
| Teams | 20 |
| Champions | Toronto Metros-Croatia |
| Premiers | Tampa Bay Rowdies |
| Matches | 240 |
| Goals | 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 → | |
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
- None
Teams folding
- None
Teams moving
- Baltimore Comets to San Diego Jaws
- Denver Dynamos to Minnesota Kicks
Name changes
- None
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
| Team | Pld | W | L | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Sting | 24 | 15 | 9 | 52 | 32 | +20 | 42 | 132 |
| Toronto Metros-Croatia | 24 | 15 | 9 | 38 | 30 | +8 | 33 | 123 |
| Rochester Lancers | 24 | 13 | 11 | 36 | 32 | +4 | 36 | 114 |
| Hartford Bicentennials | 24 | 12 | 12 | 37 | 56 | −19 | 35 | 107 |
| Boston Minutemen | 24 | 7 | 17 | 35 | 64 | −29 | 32 | 74 |
| 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 |
Pacific Conference
| 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 |
| Team | Pld | W | L | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose Earthquakes | 24 | 14 | 10 | 47 | 30 | +17 | 39 | 123 |
| Dallas Tornado | 24 | 13 | 11 | 44 | 45 | −1 | 39 | 117 |
| Los Angeles Aztecs | 24 | 12 | 12 | 43 | 44 | −1 | 36 | 108 |
| San Antonio Thunder | 24 | 12 | 12 | 38 | 32 | +6 | 35 | 107 |
| San Diego Jaws | 24 | 9 | 15 | 29 | 47 | −18 | 28 | 82 |
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 | 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 | |||||||||||||||||
| Atlantic Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| 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 | |||||||||||||||||
| Pacific Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| 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[4] |
| August 18 | Los Angeles Aztecs | 0–2 | Dallas Tornado | Ownby Stadium • Att. 9,413 |
| August 18 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 0–1 | Seattle Sounders | Kingdome • Att. 30,406 |
| 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 |
| August 20 | New York Cosmos | 1–3 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Tampa Stadium • Att. 36,863 |
| August 20 | Dallas Tornado | 0–2 | San Jose Earthquakes | Spartan Stadium • Att. 15,135 |
| 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 |
| August 25 | San Jose Earthquakes | 1–3 | Minnesota Kicks | Metropolitan Stadium • Att. 49,572 |
Soccer Bowl '76
| Toronto Metros-Croatia | 3–0 | Minnesota Kicks |
|---|---|---|
Eusébio  (40:28)Lukačević (53:57) Ferriera (82:43) |
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[7][8]
Attendances
| Club | Games | Total | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle Sounders | 12 | 285,941 | 23,828 |
| Minnesota Kicks | 12 | 277,404 | 23,117 |
| Portland Timbers | 12 | 241,996 | 20,166 |
| San Jose Earthquakes | 12 | 231,338 | 19,278 |
| New York Cosmos | 12 | 218,719 | 18,227 |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 12 | 197,429 | 16,452 |
| Dallas Tornado | 12 | 169,113 | 14,093 |
| Vancouver Whitecaps | 12 | 103,877 | 8,656 |
| Los Angeles Aztecs | 12 | 96,606 | 8,051 |
| San Diego Jaws | 12 | 73,822 | 6,152 |
| St. Louis Stars | 12 | 73,795 | 6,150 |
| Washington Diplomats | 12 | 71,554 | 5,963 |
| Philadelphia Atoms | 12 | 67,413 | 5,618 |
| Chicago Sting | 12 | 66,933 | 5,578 |
| Toronto Metros | 12 | 66,663 | 5,555 |
| Rochester Lancers | 12 | 61,906 | 5,159 |
| San Antonio Thunder | 12 | 57,524 | 4,794 |
| Hartford Bicentennials | 12 | 41,037 | 3,420 |
| Miami Toros | 12 | 36,843 | 3,070 |
| Boston Minutemen | 12 | 30,971 | 2,581 |
Source:[9]