The 1977 North American Soccer League playoffs began on August 10 and ended on August 28 with
Soccer Bowl '77
Soccer Bowl '77 was the championship final of the 1977 NASL season. The New York Cosmos (who had dropped " New York" from their name in the off-season to simply "Cosmos") took on the Seattle Sounders. The match was played on August 28, 1977 at ...
at
Civic Stadium in
Portland, Oregon. 12 out of 18 teams qualified after a 26-match regular season, six from each conference.
Playoff format
The top three teams in each division would quality for the playoffs, similar to the
1976 playoffs. The first round and the
Soccer Bowl
The Soccer Bowl was the annual championship game of the North American Soccer League, which ran from 1968 to 1984. The two top teams from the playoffs faced off in the final to determine the winner of the NASL Trophy. From the league's founding ...
were single games, but the division championships and conference championships were two-game series. If 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.
Playoff seeds
Atlantic Conference
Eastern Division
#
Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to:
*Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983
*Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994), member of American Soccer League from 1988 to 1989 and American Profes ...
– Eastern Division champions, 161 points
#
Cosmos – 140 points
#
Tampa Bay Rowdies – 131 points
Northern Division
#
Toronto Metros-Croatia
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
– Northern Division champions, 111 points
#
St. Louis Stars – 104 points
#
Rochester Lancers Rochester Lancers may refer to:
* Rochester Lancers (2015), a semi-professional soccer team that competes in the National Premier Soccer League
* Rochester Lancers (MASL), an indoor soccer team that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League 2
* Roch ...
– 99 points
Pacific Conference
Southern Division
#
Dallas Tornado
The Dallas Tornado was a soccer team based in Dallas, Texas that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1967 to 1981. Of the twelve teams that comprised the U.S. in 1967, the Tornado franchise played the longest–15 seasons.
...
– Southern Division champions, 161 points
#
Los Angeles Aztecs – 147 points
#
San Jose Earthquakes
The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...
– 119 points
Western Division
#
Minnesota Kicks – Western Division champions, 137 points
#
Vancouver Whitecaps – 124 points
#
Seattle Sounders – 119 points
Bracket
First round
Atlantic Conference
(E2) Cosmos vs. (E3) Tampa Bay Rowdies
(N2) St. Louis Stars vs. (N3) Rochester Lancers
Pacific Conference
(S2) Los Angeles Aztecs vs. (S3) San Jose Earthquakes
(W2) Vancouver Whitecaps vs. (W3) Seattle Sounders
Division Finals
Atlantic Conference
(E1) Fort Lauderdale Strikers vs. (E2) Cosmos
''Cosmos win series 2–0''
(N1) Toronto Metros-Croatia vs. (N3) Rochester Lancers
''Rochester wins series 2–0''
Pacific Conference
(S1) Dallas Tornado vs. (S2) Los Angeles Aztecs
''Los Angeles wins series 2–0''
(W1) Minnesota Kicks vs. (W3) Seattle Sounders
''Seattle wins series 2–0''
Conference Finals
Atlantic Conference
(E2) Cosmos vs. (N3) Rochester Lancers
''Cosmos win series 2–0''
Pacific Conference
(S2) Los Angeles Aztecs vs. (W3) Seattle Sounders
''Seattle wins series 2–0''
Soccer Bowl '77
References
External links
The Year in American Soccer – 1977Complete NASL Results and Standings
{{1977 in American soccer
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) playoffs