1981–82 NASL indoor season

The 1981–82 season was the North American Soccer League's third indoor soccer season.

North American Soccer League
1981–82 indoor season
Season1981–82
ChampionsSan Diego Sockers
PremiersEdmonton Drillers
Matches played117
Goals scored1,392 (11.9 per match)
Top goalscorerJuli Veee
(51 goals)
Highest attendance19,398[1]
(Tampa Bay @ Chicago)
Average attendance6,202
1983

Overview

edit

Thirteen of a possible 14 NASL teams participated. Fort Lauderdale was the only non-participant in the 18-game regular season. The Los Angeles Aztecs and the Minnesota Kicks had been scheduled to participate but were unable to do so, due to mounting financial issues. By early December both teams had folded. Other changes in the indoor structure included the separating of the teams into two conferences, each with two divisions. The Atlantic Conference contained the East and Central Divisions, while the Pacific Conference held the West and Northwest Divisions. During the regular season teams played eighteen matches within their conference only. Four teams from each conference advanced to the playoffs, which included the two division winners, along with the two non-division winners with the best won-loss record.[2][3][4] The championship series was broadcast live on ESPN.[5][6] The San Diego Sockers won the championship with a two-game finals sweep of the Tampa Bay Rowdies. This was the Sockers' first ever NASL title. Juli Veee of San Diego won both the regular season and playoff MVP awards.[7]

Map of clubs

edit
  East Division   Central Division   Northwest Division   West Division

Regular season

edit

W = Wins, L = Losses, GB = Games behind 1st place, % = Winning percentage, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Atlantic Conference

edit
East Division W L GB % GF GA
Montreal Manic 9 9 .500 93 97
Toronto Blizzard 8 10 1 .444 86 96
Jacksonville Tea Men 7 11 2 .389 86 106
New York Cosmos 6 12 3 .333 102 123
Central Division W L GB % GF GA
Chicago Sting 12 6 .667 139 117
Tampa Bay Rowdies 11 7 1 .611 121 113
Tulsa Roughnecks 10 8 2 .556 128 103

Pacific Conference

edit
West Division W L GB % GF GA
San Diego Sockers 10 8 .556 147 110
Portland Timbers 7 11 3 .389 86 103
San Jose Earthquakes 5 13 5 .278 83 141
Northwest Division W L GB % GF GA
Edmonton Drillers 13 5 .722 133 92
Vancouver Whitecaps 10 8 3 .556 93 94
Seattle Sounders 9 9 4 .500 95 97

NASL All-Stars

edit

First team

edit
Pacific Conference   Position[8]   Atlantic Conference
Volkmar Gross, San Diego G Jürgen Stars, Tampa Bay
Alan Hudson, Seattle D Barry Wallace, Tulsa
Martin Donnelly, San Diego D Mike Connell, Tampa Bay
Jan Goossens, Edmonton F Tatu, Tampa Bay
Kai Haaskivi, Edmonton F Karl-Heinz Granitza, Chicago
Juli Veee, San Diego F Gordon Hill, Montreal

Second team

edit
Pacific Conference   Position[9]   Atlantic Conference
John Baretta, Edmonton G Blagoje Tamindžić, Toronto
Bernie James, Edmonton D Derek Spalding, Chicago
Gert Wieczorkowski, San Diego D John Gorman, Tampa Bay
Dale Mitchell, Portland F Pato Margetic, Chicago
Carl Valentine, Vancouver F Laurie Abrahams, Tulsa
Jean Willrich, San Diego F Ingo Peter, Chicago

Playoffs

edit

Bracket

edit
First round
Best-of-3
Conference finals
Best-of-3
Championship series
Best-of-3
               
P1 Edmonton Drillers 8 12
P4 Seattle Sounders 6 4
P1 Edmonton Drillers 2 3
P2 San Diego Sockers 8 12
P2 San Diego Sockers 4 8
P3 Vancouver Whitecaps 3 4
P2 San Diego Sockers 9 10
A3 Tampa Bay Rowdies 7 5
A1 Chicago Sting 4 7(OT) 1
A4 Tulsa Roughnecks 5 6 3
A4 Tulsa Roughnecks 4 4 0
A3 Tampa Bay Rowdies 5 3 1
A2 Montreal Manic 7 3 1
A3 Tampa Bay Rowdies 8(OT) 2 2(3OT)

1st round

edit

If a playoff series is tied after two games, a 15 minute, tie breaker mini-game is played.

Higher seed Lower seed Game 1 Game 2 Mini-game Attendance
Edmonton Drillers - Seattle Sounders 8–6 12–4 x February 17 • Kingdome • 4,112
February 20 • Northlands Coliseum • 6,027
San Diego Sockers - Vancouver Whitecaps 4–3 8–4 x February 19 • Pacific Coliseum • 5,128
February 21 • San Diego Sports Arena • 9,728
Montreal Manic - Tampa Bay Rowdies 7–8 (OT) 3–2 1–2 (3OT) February 18 • Bayfront Center • 5,043
February 21 • Montreal Forum • 15,855
Chicago Sting - Tulsa Roughnecks 4–5 7–6 (OT) 1–3 February 16 • Expo Square Pavilion • 5,482
February 18 • Chicago Stadium • 16,077

Semi-finals

edit
Higher seed Lower seed Game 1 Game 2 Mini-game Attendance
Tampa Bay Rowdies - Tulsa Roughnecks 5–4 3–4 1–0[10] February 25 • Expo Square Pavilion • 7,021
March 1 • Bayfront Center • 5,545
Edmonton Drillers - San Diego Sockers #2–8 3–12[11] x February 25 • San Diego Sports Arena • 8,435
March 1 • San Diego Sports Arena • 12,840

#Although Edmonton was the higher seed, a scheduling conflict forced both games to be played in San Diego.[12]

Championship finals

edit
*Higher seed Lower seed Game 1 Game 2 Mini-game Attendance
Tampa Bay Rowdies - San Diego Sockers 7–9 5–10 x March 3 • San Diego Sports Arena • 12,840
March 8 • Bayfront Center • 6,325

*Championship finals re-seeded based on regular-season won-loss record.

Championship match reports

edit
March 3, 1982 Game 1 San Diego Sockers 9–7 Tampa Bay Rowdies San Diego, California
7:00 P.M. (PST) Veee   2:50' (Nesin)
Veee   3:52' (Nesin, Rohmann)
Coker   14:00' (Wieczorkowski, Donnelly)
Hilkes   15:42' (Willrich)
Veee   19:04' (pen.)
Deyna   29:17' (Veee, Gross)
Coker   42:32' (Willrich)
Willrich   46:22' (Deyna)
Willrich   52:04' (Veee, Geyer)
Report Zequinha   11:04' (Pt. Roe, Kozić)
Roe   13:03' (Zequinha)
Pérez   19:44' (McLeod, Stars)
McLeod   22:26' (Connell, Stars)
Pérez   29:45' (Pt. Roe)
Gruber   44:03' (McLeod)
Gruber   56:33' (McLeod, Stars)
Stadium: San Diego Sports Arena
Attendance: 12,840
Referee: Manuel Ortiz, Sr.
March 8, 1982 Game 2 Tampa Bay Rowdies 5–10 San Diego Sockers St. Petersburg, Florida
8:00 P.M. (EST) Tatu   27:43' (McLeod)
McLeod   30:53' (Gorman, Zequinha)
Tatu   34:08' (Pt. Roe)
Zequinha   35:56' (Gorman)
Roberts   48:17' (McLeod)
Report Veee   8:34'
Veee   12:13'
Deyna   13:31' (Hilkes, Wieczorkowski)
Deyna   19:43' (Rohmann, Fernandez)
Fernandez   24:49' (Deyna, Veee)
Hilkes   36:47' (Willrich)
Willrich   43:02'
Coker   44:27' (Hilkes, Wieczorkowski)
Willrich   55:51' (Fernandez, Veee)
Veee   59:18' (Gross)
Stadium: Bayfront Center
Attendance: 6,325
Referee: Gordon Arrowsmith (Canada)


1981–82 NASL Indoor Champions: San Diego Sockers

Postseason awards

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Beard, Randy (March 5, 1982). "Veee: Future of soccer is indoors". The Evening Independent. p. 1-C. Retrieved September 24, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
  2. ^ "NASL to proceed with season sans three". Ellensburg Daily Record. November 5, 1981. p. 12. Retrieved September 24, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
  3. ^ "NASL cuts indoor entries". The Spokesman-Review. November 5, 1981. p. 42. Retrieved September 24, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
  4. ^ Brockmann, John (December 5, 1981). "Rowdies Indoor Opener With Manic Is A Sellout". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. p. 14-B. Retrieved October 24, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
  5. ^ eddiebear60 (June 26, 2016). "San Diego Sockers vs Tampa Bay Rowdies, 1982 NASL Indoor Finals, Game 1". Retrieved September 24, 2016 – via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ eddiebear60 (March 23, 2013). "San Diego Sockers vs Tampa Bay Rowdies, 1982 NASL Indoor Finals, Game 2". Retrieved September 24, 2016 – via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Reeves, Dave (March 9, 1982). "Sockers sock Rowdies". Lakeland Ledger. p. 1D. Retrieved October 24, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
  8. ^ https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1964&dat=19820331&id=fYBXAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tjsNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6819,8303699 [dead link]
  9. ^ "All-League Teams - Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame". www.indoorsoccerhall.com.
  10. ^ Scheiber, Dave (March 2, 1982). "Rowdies give Tulsa the boot". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1c. Retrieved October 24, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
  11. ^ Flanagan, Mike (March 3, 1982). "Sockers soared after they took indoor seriously". The Evening Independent. p. 1c. Retrieved September 24, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
  12. ^ "Drillers come up empty". The Evening Independent. March 2, 1982. p. 3-C. Retrieved September 24, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.