1978 NASL Schlitz Indoor Tournament

Four teams, all from the North American Soccer League, participated in the two-day event: the Dallas Tornado, the Los Angeles Aztecs, the San Diego Sockers, and the host Houston Hurricane, who were an expansion team.

Much like ice hockey, matches were 60 minutes long and divided into three 20-minute periods with an intermission between each period. And just as in hockey, it allowed for free substitutions, and power plays on a playing surface measuring 200 feet by 85 feet. The goal dimensions were 4 feet by 16 feet. Standings were tabulated as follows; three points for a victory, plus a bonus point for each goal scored in a victory, no points or bonus points earned in a loss.^[2][3] Each session consisted of two games (i.e. a doubleheader). The opening round of matches (Tuesday evening's Session 1) would feature a pair of Texas vs California match-ups, with the Session 2 matches having the opposite Texas vs California pairings the following evening.^[4] The second game of Session 1, marked Houston’s first ever appearance before their home fans, having first faced NASL competition just 10 days earlier in Tulsa at the Skelly Indoor Invitational.^[5][6][4] That same match marked San Diego's first ever appearance as the Sockers, having played the 1977 season as the Las Vegas Quicksilvers and the 1976 season as the San Diego Jaws.

A total of 8,557 people attended the two sessions.^[7][8] Houston was the only squad to win both of its matches, but Dallas, with 21 points, was crowned champions because of the unusual point awarding system. The Hurricane were runners-up in the invitational with 20 points. San Diego finished in third position with 13 points, while winless Los Angeles was last with zero points.^[3] The tournament's MVPs was Mark Lindsay who had scored five goals in one match for Houston.^[8][9][10] San Diego forward Peter Anderson and Dallas’ Kai Haaskivi led the tournament with 6 goals apiece.^{[10][9][11] [3][8]}

Hurricane

Tornado

Sockers

Aztecs

NASL Schlitz Indoor Tournament Clubs

Session 1: Tuesday, March 14, 1978

Session 2: Wednesday, March 15, 1978

Dallas Tornado v Los Angeles Aztecs

March 14, 1978 Match 1	Dallas Tornado	18–7	Los Angeles Aztecs	Houston, Texas
7:00 PM	Haaskivi , , , , Rote , , Garcia , Kewley , Bourne ,		Best , , (o.g.)	Stadium: The Summit Attendance: 3,930

Houston Hurricane v San Diego Sockers

March 14, 1978 Match 2	Houston Hurricane	10–5	San Diego Sockers	Houston, Texas
9:00 PM	Lindsay , , , , Jump , Orhan , Russell		Anderson , Wark Veee Lindsay (o.g.)	Stadium: The Summit Attendance: 3,930

Houston Hurricane v Los Angeles Aztecs

March 15, 1978 Match	Houston Hurricane	4–3	Los Angeles Aztecs	Houston, Texas
7:00 PM	Anderson 4:05' O'Sullivan 7:36' Megaloudis 11:28' Megaloudis 27:29'		Best Sühnholz 30:53' Mifflin	Stadium: The Summit Attendance: 4,627

San Diego Sockers v Dallas Tornado

March 15, 1978 Match 2	San Diego Sockers	10–6	Dallas Tornado	Houston, Texas
9:00 PM	Anderson , , , Veee , Bachner Milone Wark Harsányi		Garcia , , Kewley Haaskivi Ryan	Stadium: The Summit Attendance: 4,627

G = Games, W = Wins, L = Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, GD = Goal Differential, PTS = *Point System

*3 points for a win, 0 points for a loss, 1 bonus point for each goal scored in a victory^[3]

Leading scorers	Team	Goals*
Peter Anderson	San Diego	6
Kai Haaskivi	Dallas	6
Mark Lindsay	Houston	5
Freddie Garcia	Dallas	5
Juli Veee	San Diego	3
Kyle Rote Jr.	Dallas	3
George Best	Los Angeles	3
Kevin Kewley	Dallas	3

*Five players tied with 2 goals

• Most Valuable Player: Mark Lindsay^[8] (Houston)