1976 North American Soccer League season

Soccer league season February 2023 February 2023 North American Soccer League 1976 season 1976 20 Toronto Metros-Croatia Tampa Bay Rowdies 240 RSA 1928 Derek Smethurst (20 goals) 760 58,218 (NY @ Seattle) 531 (Chicago @ Boston) 10,295 1975 1977 Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1976. This was the 9th season of the NASL. 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 yd 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.Holt Gordy April 25, 1976 There's a New Look in the NASL F4 Seattle Post-Intelligencer 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 left 10px Northern Division 10px Eastern Division 10px Southern Division 10px Western Division 1075 500 300 425 380 North America 870 North America 42.34 -71.17 Blue pog.svg 80 top Minutemen North America 41.86 -87.62 Blue pog.svg 80 bottom Sting North America 41.75 -72.66 Blue pog.svg 80 right Bicentennials North America 43.19 -77.66 Blue pog.svg 80 bottom Lancers North America 43.67 -79.40 Blue pog.svg 80 top Metros-Croatia North America 25.78 -80.22 Red pog.svg 80 bottom Toros North America 40.79 -73.92 Red pog.svg 80 right Cosmos North America 39.95 -75.19 Red pog.svg 80 right Atoms North America 27.98 -82.50 Red pog.svg 80 left Rowdies North America 38.84 -77.28 Red pog.svg 80 bottom Diplomats North America 44.85 -93.24 Green pog.svg 80 bottom Kicks North America 45.52 -122.69 Green pog.svg 80 bottom Timbers North America 47.60 -122.33 Green pog.svg 80 right Sounders North America 38.64 -90.31 Green pog.svg 80 bottom Stars North America 49.28 -123.03 Green pog.svg 80 left Whitecaps North America 32.84 -96.78 Black pog.svg 80 bottom Tornado North America 33.88 -118.33 Black pog.svg 80 right Aztecs North America 29.46 -98.48 Black pog.svg 80 bottom Thunder North America 32.77 -117.07 Black pog.svg 80 bottom Jaws North America 37.32 -121.87 Black pog.svg 80 bottom Earthquakes 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. #B3B7FF darkgray-Premiers (most points). #ccffcc darkgray-Other playoff teams. Atlantic Conference main WL Northern Division y n 6 0 #cfc Q Q Q 1 Chicago Sting 15 9 52 32 42 2 Toronto Metros-Croatia 15 9 38 30 33 3 Rochester Lancers 13 11 36 32 36 4 Hartford Bicentennials 12 12 37 56 35 5 Boston Minutemen 7 17 35 64 32 complete main WL Eastern Division y n 6 0 #b3b7ff C #cfc Q Q 1 Tampa Bay Rowdies 18 6 58 30 46 2 New York Cosmos 16 8 65 34 52 3 Washington Diplomats 14 10 46 38 42 4 Philadelphia Atoms 8 16 32 49 32 5 Miami Toros 6 18 29 58 27 complete Pacific Conference main WL Western Division y n 6 0 #cfc Q Q Q 1 Minnesota Kicks 15 9 54 33 48 2 Seattle Sounders 14 10 40 31 39 3 Vancouver Whitecaps 14 10 38 30 36 4 Portland Timbers 8 16 23 41 23 5 St. Louis Stars 5 19 29 57 28 complete main WL Southern Division y n 6 0 #cfc Q Q Q 1 San Jose Earthquakes 14 10 47 30 39 2 Dallas Tornado 13 11 44 45 39 3 Los Angeles Aztecs 12 12 43 44 36 4 San Antonio Thunder 12 12 38 32 35 5 San Diego Jaws 9 15 29 47 28 complete NASL All-Stars First Teamhttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sB4MAAAAIBAJ&sjid=d10DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6750,214369&dq=rowdies+five+all+star&hl=en St. Petersburg Times - Google News Archive Search 2014-01-23   Position   Second Team Honorable Mentionhttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ov1RAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iTQNAAAAIBAJ&pg=3998,3891044&dq=1977+nasl+all-stars&hl=en Mid Cities Daily News - Google News Archive Search 2014-01-23USA Arnie Mausser, Tampa Bay GSCO Eric Martin, WashingtonITA Paolo Cimpiel, TorontoENG Keith Eddy, New York DENG Stewart Jump, Tampa BaySCO Dave Gillett, SeattleENG Bobby Moore, San Antonio DENG George Ley, DallasENG Frank Spraggon, MinnesotaENG Tommy Smith, Tampa Bay DENG Ron Webster, MinnesotaSCO Jim Holton, MiamiWAL Mike England, Seattle DUSA Bob Smith, PhiladelphiaCAN Bruce Wilson, VancouverENG Rodney Marsh, Tampa Bay MENG Alan West, MinnesotaNIR Dave Clements, New YorkPER Ramón Mifflin, New York MSCO Bobby Hope, DallasGER Wolfgang Sühnholz, TorontoPOR António Simões, San Jose MUSA Al Trost, St. LouisSCO Charlie Cooke, Los AngelesBRA Pelé, New York FRSA 1928 Derek Smethurst, Tampa BaySCO Jimmy Robertson, SeattleNIR George Best, Los Angeles FENG Jeff Bourne, DallasUSA Mark Liveric, San JoseITA Giorgio Chinaglia, New York FSCO Stewart Scullion, Tampa BayENG 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 1 Atlantic Conference Pacific Conference 35px 150px E2 New York Cosmos 2 E3 Washington Diplomats 0 N2 Toronto Metros-Croatia 2 N3 Rochester Lancers 1 S2 Dallas Tornado 2 S3 Los Angeles Aztecs 0 W2 Seattle Sounders 1 W3 Vancouver Whitecaps 0 E1 Tampa Bay Rowdies 3 E2 New York Cosmos 1 N1 Chicago Sting 2(1) N2 Toronto Metros-Croatia 2(3) S1 San Jose Earthquakes 2 S2 Dallas Tornado 0 W1 Minnesota Kicks 3 W2 Seattle Sounders 0 E1 Tampa Bay Rowdies 0 N2 Toronto Metros-Croatia 2 S1 San Jose Earthquakes 1 W1 Minnesota Kicks 3 N2 Toronto Metros-Croatia 3 W1 Minnesota Kicks 0 First round August 17Washington Diplomats0–2New York CosmosShea Stadium • Att. 22,698http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/nym/ballpark/history.jsp https://web.archive.org/web/20070503124837/http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/nym/ballpark/history.jsp dead May 3, 2007 History of Shea Stadium Newyork.mets.mlb.com 2014-01-13 August 18Los Angeles Aztecs0–2Dallas TornadoOwnby Stadium • Att. 9,413 August 18Vancouver Whitecaps0–1Seattle SoundersKingdome • Att. 30,406 August 18Rochester Lancers1–2Toronto Metros-CroatiaVarsity Stadium • Att. 6,852 Conference semifinals August 20Toronto Metros-Croatia3–2 (PK, 3–1)Chicago StingSoldier Field • Att. 8,150 August 20New York Cosmos1–3Tampa Bay RowdiesTampa Stadium • Att. 36,863 August 20Dallas Tornado0–2San Jose EarthquakesSpartan Stadium • Att. 15,135 August 21Seattle Sounders0–3Minnesota KicksMetropolitan Stadium • Att. 41,405 Conference Championships August 24Toronto Metros-Croatia2–0Tampa Bay RowdiesTampa Stadium • Att. 28,046 August 25San Jose Earthquakes1–3Minnesota KicksMetropolitan Stadium • Att. 49,572 Soccer Bowl '76 Soccer Bowl '76 August 28 Toronto Metros-Croatia 3–0 Minnesota Kicks Eusébio 40:28Lukačević 53:57 Ferriera Ferriera 82:43 Kingdome, Seattlehttps://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19760829&id=BCFOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nO0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5541,5535255 The Spokesman-Review - Google News Archive Search 2014-01-23 25,765 Gordon Hillhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZp7u-IiBUI 1976 Soccer Bowl Toronto Metro Croatia vs Minnesota Kicks highlights (Film) NASL YouTube (England) 1976 NASL Champions: Toronto Metros-Croatia Post season awards Most Valuable Player: BRA Pelé, New York Coach of the year: ITA Eddie Firmani, Tampa Bay Rookie of the year: USA Steve Pecher, Dallas North American Player of the Year: USA Arnie Mausser, Tampa Bayhttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=af4sAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qswFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4321,2439347&dq=mausser+player+of+year&hl=en The Palm Beach Post - Google News Archive Search 2014-01-23July 2026 InternetArchiveBot https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cGIxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=vqEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=7019,5705937&dq=mausser+player+of+year&hl=en The Montreal Gazette - Google News Archive Search 2014-01-23 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:All-Time NASL Attendance – kenn.com blog https://kenn.com/blog/soccer/all-time-nasl-attendance-2/ 2026-07-09 en-US References External links Complete Results and Standings http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1976.html The Year in American Soccer - 1976 homepages.sover.net 2014-01-23 https://web.archive.org/web/20150107061400/http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1976.html 2015-01-07 dead Category:North American Soccer League (1968–1984) seasons 1976 Category:1976 in Canadian soccer