1978 NASL Skelly Indoor Invitational
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
March 5, 1978
| Skelly Indoor Invitational | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Dates | March 4, 1978 – March 5, 1978 |
| Teams | 4 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Tulsa Roughnecks (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Minnesota Kicks |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 4 |
| Goals scored | 57 (14.25 per match) |
| Attendance | 3,500 (875 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Nino Zec (5 goals) Randy Garber Milan Dovedan |
| Best player(s) | Nino Zec Tibor Molnár |
← 1976 | |
The 1978 NASL Skelly Invitational was a four-team indoor soccer tournament held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at the Tulsa Assembly Center on the first weekend of March 1978.[1]
Four teams, all from the North American Soccer League, participated in the two-day event: the Houston Hurricane, the Minnesota Kicks, the Washington Diplomats, and the host Tulsa Roughnecks.
Matches were 60 minutes long and divided into three 20-minute periods, with an intermission between each period. Timed overtime periods, featuring a golden goal winner, would be used to decide any matches tied after 60 minutes. Each session consisted of two games (i.e. a doubleheader). The opening round of matches (Saturday evening's Session 1) would be semi-final games, with the Session 2 matches on Sunday afternoon serving as the third place match and Championship Final respectively. The first match of Session 1 was Minnesota's first time playing indoors.[2] The second match of Session 1, played on Saturday, March 4, 1978, between Tulsa and Houston, marked the first time the expansion Hurricane faced NASL competition,[1] and was only the Roughnecks third-ever game.[3][4][5]
Approximately 3,500 people attended the two sessions. Tulsa won both of its matches and was crowned champions of the Skelly Invitational. Roughnecks forward Nino Zec edged out both teammate Milan Dovedan and Washington's Randy Garber by one assist to lead the invitational in scoring with 5 goals and 2 assists. The tournament's co-MVPs were Zec and Tibor Molnár,[6] also of Tulsa.[7] The Kicks were runners-up in the invitational,[8] with the Dips defeating the Hurricane for 3rd place in the consolation match. The all-tournament squad included four Roughnecks: Zec, Molnar, Dovedan, and goalkeeper, Gary Allison.[7]
Map of clubs
Tournament results
Bracket
| Opening round | Championship Final | ||||||||
| Tulsa Roughnecks | 12 | ||||||||
| Houston Hurricane | 3 | ||||||||
| Tulsa Roughnecks | 9 | ||||||||
| Minnesota Kicks | 5 | ||||||||
| Minnesota Kicks | 8(OT) | ||||||||
| Washington Diplomats | 7 | Third place | |||||||
| Washington Diplomats | 8 | ||||||||
| Houston Hurricane | 5 | ||||||||
Sessions
Session 1: Saturday, March 4, 1978
| 7:00 PM CST | Minnesota Kicks | 8–7 (OT) | Washington Diplomats | Attendance: 1,500 (est) |
| 9:00 PM CST | Tulsa Roughnecks | 12–3 | Houston Hurricane | |
Session 2: Sunday, March 5, 1978
| 2:30 PM CST | Washington Diplomats | 8–5 | Houston Hurricane | Attendance: 2,000 (est) |
| 4:30 PM CST | Tulsa Roughnecks | 9–5 | Minnesota Kicks | |
Match reports
Session 1
| March 4, 1978 Game 1 | Minnesota Kicks | 8–7(OT) | Washington Diplomats | Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| 7:00 PM CST | Bailey  7:55'Romero 12:59' (Moran)Want 18:44' (Villa)Willey 23:59' (Vujkovic)Twellman 25:03'Coker 26:23' (Want)Moran 35:25'Bailey  62:46' (Villa) |
Bakić 34:47' Garber 37:08' (Welch)Garber 41:51'Garber 50:45'Mokgojoa 52:14' (Welch)Steele 56:57' (O'Hara)Garber 57:43' |
Stadium: Tulsa Assembly Center Attendance: 1,500 (est) |
| March 4, 1978 Game 2 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 12–3 | Houston Hurricane | Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| 9:00 PM CST | Stamenkovic 3:13' (Gazonas) Zec 14:41' (Stamenkovic)Zec 15:17' (O'Riordan)Dovedon 24:26'Zec 28:09'Dovedon 36:36' (Stamenkovic)Dovedon 40:31'Dovedon 42:39' (Zec)O'Riordan 43:26'McKeown 47:43' (Redfern)Dangerfield 49:05'Molnár 54:31' (Gazonas) |
O'Sullivan 25:00' Voccaro 33:32' (Stremlau)Morielli 35:07' (Geerling) |
Stadium: Tulsa Assembly Center Attendance: 1,500 (est) |
Session 2
| March 5, 1978 3rd Place | Washington Diplomats | 8–5 | Houston Hurricane | Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| 2:30 PM (CST) | Bakić 4:05' (Steele) Cannell 7:36' (Askew)Bakić 11:28'Maseko 27:29' (Mokgojoa)Mokgojoa 28:03'Garber 31:15'Steele 31:35' (Garber)Bakić 51:48' |
Morielli 3:22' (Sremlau) Russell 6:14'Russell 30:53' (O'Sullivan)Voccaro 45:13' (Geerling)O'Sullivan 55:43' (Morielli) |
Stadium: Tulsa Assembly Center Attendance: 2,000 (est) |
| March 5, 1978 Championship | Tulsa Roughnecks | 9–5 | Minnesota Kicks | Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| 4:30 PM (CST) | Stamenkovic 3:51' (Zec) O'Riordan 4:23'Collins 9:01' (Redfern)Dovedon 27:06' (Molnár)Gazonas 33:27' (Dovedon)Waldron 38:33'Zec 47:43'Stamenkovic 58:08' (Dangerfield)Zec 58:36' |
Coker 2:14' Coker 12:35'Moran 29:29'Coker 56:52' (Bailey)Willey 58:22' |
Stadium: Tulsa Assembly Center Attendance: 2,000 (est) |
Final standings
G = Games, W = Wins, L = Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, GD = Goal Differential
| 1978 Skelly Indoor Invitational | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | G | W | L | GF | GA | GD | Position |
| Tulsa Roughnecks | 2 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 8 | +13 | 1st place (champions) |
| Minnesota Kicks | 2 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 16 | –3 | 2nd place (runners-up) |
| Washington Diplomats | 2 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 13 | +2 | 3rd place |
| Houston Hurricane | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 20 | –12 | 4th place |
Statistical leaders
Scoring
Goals (worth 2 points), Assists (worth 1 point)[1][7]
| Leading scorers | Goals | Assists | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nino Zec (Tulsa) | 5 | 2 | 12 |
| Randy Garber (Washington) | 5 | 1 | 11 |
| Milan Dovedan (Tulsa) | 5 | 1 | 11 |
| Mike Bakić (Washington) | 4 | 0 | 8 |
| Ade Coker (Minnesota) | 4 | 0 | 8 |
| Živorad Stamenković (Tulsa) | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| Mark Moran (Minnesota) | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Gerry Morielli (Houston) | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Don O'Riordan (Tulsa) | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Matt O'Sullivan (Houston) | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Jim Steele (Washington) | 2 | 1 | 5 |
*Three players tied with 2 goals 0 assists.
Goalkeeping
GA = Goals Against, GAA = Goals Against Average, SV = Saves, SF = Shots Faced
| Leading Goalkeepers | Minutes | GA | GAA | SV | SF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darryl Wallace (Tulsa) | 60 | 3 | 3.00 | 25 | 30 |
| Gary Allison (Tulsa) | 60 | 5 | 5.00 | unk | unk |
| Bill Irwin (Washington) | 60 | 5 | 5.00 | 19 | 24 |
| Kurt Kuykendall (Washington) | 63 | 8 | 7.875 | unk | unk |
*Minnesota and Houston used multiple goalkeepers in each match.
Tournament awards
- Most Valuable Players: Nino Zec (Tulsa) and Tibor Molnár (Tulsa)
- All-tournament Team: Nino Zec (Tulsa), Milan Dovedan (Tulsa), Randy Garber (Washington), Tibor Molnar (Tulsa), Dale Russell (Houston), Gary Allison (Tulsa)