1978 North American Soccer League Playoffs

Tournament details
Country	United States Canada
Teams	16
Defending champions	Cosmos
Final positions
Champions	Cosmos
Runner-up	Tampa Bay Rowdies
Tournament statistics
Matches played	21
Goals scored	81 (3.86 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Alan Willey (7 goals)

The 1978 North American Soccer League playoffs began on August 8 and ended on August 27 with Soccer Bowl '78 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. 16 out of 24 teams qualified after a 30-match regular season, eight from each conference.

Playoff format

The top two teams in each division would quality for the playoffs. The other spots would go to the next best two teams in the conference, regardless of division. The top three seeds went to the division winners, seeds 4-6 went to the second place teams and the last two seeds were known as 'wild-cards', a nod to the NFL's playoff format. The winners of each successive round would be reseeded within the conference by point total. The first round and the Soccer Bowl were single games, while the conference semifinals and championships were two-game series. As in the 1977 playoffs, if both 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.^[1]

Playoff seeds

Bracket

Conference Quarterfinals

American Conference

(1) Detroit Express vs. (8) Philadelphia Fury

August 8

Detroit Express	1–0	Philadelphia Fury
Francis 35:57' (Davies)

Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac

Attendance: 22,456

(2) New England Tea Men vs. (7) Fort Lauderdale Strikers

August 9

New England Tea Men	1–3	Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Ridley 24:46' (o.g.)		Irving 61:04' (Best, Hudson) Simpson 68:02' (o.g.) Ronson 72:23' (Nanchoff)

Schaefer Stadium, Boston

Attendance: 18,672

(3) San Diego Sockers vs. (6) California Surf

August 8

San Diego Sockers	2–1	California Surf
McCall 18:50' (Smethurst, van der Veen) McCall 49:52' (Willrich, Smethurst)		Suhnholz 3:30'

San Diego Stadium, San Diego

Attendance: 6,238

(4) Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. (5) Chicago Sting

August 8

Tampa Bay Rowdies	3–1	Chicago Sting
Marsh 26:48' (pen.) Marsh 52:17' (Connell, McGuire) Wegerle 74:08'	Report	Granitza 78:06' (Strenicer)

Tampa Stadium, Tampa

Attendance: 26,596

Referee: George Courtney (England)

National Conference

(1) Cosmos vs. (8) Seattle Sounders

August 9

Cosmos	5–2	Seattle Sounders
Bogicevic 39:32' Bogicevic 57:46' (Dimitrijevic, Hunt) Beckenbauer 58:13' Dimitrijevic 58:34' (Beckenbauer) Hunt 80:28' (Tueart, Davis)		England 56:31' (Crossley) Wallace 74:58' (Scott)

Giants Stadium, East Rutherford

Attendance: 47,780

(2) Vancouver Whitecaps vs. (7) Toronto Metros-Croatia

August 9

Vancouver Whitecaps	4–0	Toronto Metros-Croatia
Campbell 16:04' (Hinton) Hinton 17:52' (Hector, B. Lenarduzzi) Campbell 39:55' (Hector, B. Lenarduzzi) B. Lenarduzzi 57:10' (Campbell, Bolitho)

Empire Stadium, Vancouver

Attendance: 30,811

Referee: Gino D'Ippolito (USA)

(3) Minnesota Kicks vs. (6) Tulsa Roughnecks

August 10

Minnesota Kicks	3–1	Tulsa Roughnecks
Futcher 28:03' (Hamilton, Moran) Willey 63:24' (Hamilton, Morgan) Willey 82:11' (Morgan)		Caskey 48:21'

Metropolitan Stadium, Minneapolis

Attendance: 36,478

Referee: John Davies (England)

(4) Portland Timbers vs. (5) Washington Diplomats

August 9

Portland Timbers	2–1(OT)	Washington Diplomats
McNeill 58:57' (Bain) Bain  96:41'  (Seale)		Stokes 89:30'

Civic Stadium, Portland

Attendance: 14,030

Conference semifinals

American Conference

(1) Detroit Express vs. (7) Ft. Lauderdale Strikers

August 13
Game 1

Fort Lauderdale Strikers	4–3(SO)	Detroit Express
Irving 59:10' Whittle 65:41' (Best) Irving 69:31' (Hudson, Whittle)		Francis 3:27' (Brazil) Francis 41:55' Tinnion 67:11'
Penalties
Whelan Fowles Hudson Irving Whittle	3–2	Francis Furphy Bradford Tinnion Davies

Lockhart Stadium, Fort Lauderdale

Attendance: 11,517

Referee: Gino D'Ippolito (USA)

August 16

Detroit Express	1–0	Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Brazil 42:34' (Francis)

Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac

Attendance: 32,819

Mini-game

Detroit Express	0–1	Fort Lauderdale Strikers
		Nanchoff  20:36'  (Hudson)

Fort Lauderdale wins series 2–1

(3) San Diego Sockers vs. (4) Tampa Bay Rowdies

August 14
Game 1

San Diego Sockers	0–1	Tampa Bay Rowdies
	Report	Auguste 60:31'

San Diego Stadium, San Diego

Attendance: 8,014

August 17
Game 2

Tampa Bay Rowdies	1–2	San Diego Sockers
Anderson 64:42' (Paddon, Marsh)	Report	Harsanyi 48:25' McCall 67:49'

Tampa Stadium, Tampa

Attendance: 32,495

Referee: Tony Nobile

Mini-game

Tampa Bay Rowdies	1–0	San Diego Sockers
Marsh  3:41'  (Auguste)	Report

Tampa Bay wins series 2–1

National Conference

(1) Cosmos vs. (3) Minnesota Kicks

August 14
Game 1

Minnesota Kicks	9–2	Cosmos
George 0:52' (Morgan, Want) Roth 18:32' (o.g.) Willey 29:28' (Hamilton, Morgan) Ntsoelengoe 53:14' (George) Willey 63:28' (Morgan) Willey 69:05' (Hamilton, Price) Willey 77:27' (George, Rosul) Willey 84:44' (Hamilton, Lettieri) Hamilton 89:06'		Chinaglia 48:19' Etherington 83:30' (Bogicevic, Hunt)

Metropolitan Stadium, Minneapolis

Attendance: 45,863

August 16
Game 2

Cosmos	4–0	Minnesota Kicks
Chinaglia 10:12' (Tueart, Bogicevic) Tueart 12:23' (Bogicevic) Chinaglia 23:22' (Bogicevic, Tueart) Tueart 50:56'

Giants Stadium, East Rutherford

Attendance: 60,199

Mini-game

Cosmos	1–0(SO)	Minnesota Kicks
Penalties
Bogicevic Tueart Hunt Morais Alberto Beckenbauer	2–1	Hamilton Futcher George Ntsoelengoe Villa Merrick

New York wins series 2–1

(2) Vancouver Whitecaps vs. (4) Portland Timbers

August 12
Game 1

Portland Timbers	1–0	Vancouver Whitecaps
Best 54:53' (Anderson)

Civic Stadium, Portland

Attendance: 16,437

August 16
Game 2

Vancouver Whitecaps	1–2	Portland Timbers
Kember 47:11' (Hinton)		Best 21:19' (Charles) Anderson 40:44' (Scullion, Bain)

Empire Stadium, Vancouver

Attendance: 32,666

Portland wins series 2–0

Conference finals

American Conference

(4) Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. (7) Ft. Lauderdale Strikers

August 20
Game 1

Fort Lauderdale Strikers	3–2	Tampa Bay Rowdies
Whittle 45:44' (pen.) Irving 46:25' (Jones) Best 50:41'	Report	Robb 30:31' (Paddon) McLeod 89:45' (Paddon)

Lockhart Stadium, Fort Lauderdale

Attendance: 16,286

August 23
Game 2

Tampa Bay Rowdies	3–1	Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Anderson 34:07' (McLeod, Marsh) Robb 65:00' (Marsh, Wegerle) Wegerle 83:36'	Report	Irving 88:34'

Tampa Stadium, Tampa

Attendance: 37,360

Referee: John Davies

Mini-game

Tampa Bay Rowdies	1–0 (SO)	Fort Lauderdale Strikers
	Report
Penalties
Anderson Wegerle Paddon Robb Marsh	2–1	Whelan Irving Hudson Fowles Whittle

Referee: John Davies

Tampa Bay wins series 2–1

National Conference

(1) Cosmos vs. (4) Portland Timbers

August 18
Game 1

Portland Timbers	0–1	New York Cosmos
		Tueart 46:03' (Hunt)

Civic Stadium, Portland

Attendance: 24,515

August 23
Game 2

Cosmos	5–0	Portland Timbers
Chinaglia 32:07' (Tueart) Tueart 76:06' (Dimitrijevic) Hunt 77:28' (Tueart) Beckenbauer 80:44' Seninho 88:29' (Beckenbauer, Chinaglia)

Giants Stadium, East Rutherford

Attendance: 57,128

New York wins series 2–0

Soccer Bowl '78

Main article: Soccer Bowl '78

August 27

4 pm

Cosmos	3–1	Tampa Bay Rowdies
Tueart 30:42' (Iarusci, Hunt) Chinaglia 44:38' Tueart 76:49' (Iarusci, Roth)	Report	Mirandinha 73:34' (Robb)

Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Attendance: 74,901

Referee: Jim Highet (Canada)

1978 NASL Champions: Cosmos

Playoff Statistics

Mini-games are not counted as games played when compiling individual statistics. They are included in the minutes played category.

References

Henderson, Jim (1979). Dr. Pepper 1979 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

• The Year in American Soccer – 1978
• Chris Page's NASL Archive
• Complete NASL Results and Standings