Statistics of

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

in season 1977. This was the 10th season of the NASL.

Overview

The league was made up of 18 teams. The schedule was expanded to 26 games and the playoffs to 12 teams. Team rosters consisted of 17 players, 6 of which had to be US or Canadian citizens. The NASL began using its own variation of the

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

procedure for tied matches. Matches tied at the end of regulation would now go to a

golden goal The golden goal or golden point is a rule used in association football, lacrosse, field hockey, and ice hockey to decide the winner of a match (typically a knock-out match) in which scores are equal at the end of normal time. It is a type of sud ...

overtime period and, if still tied, on to a shoot-out. Instead of penalty kicks however, the shoot-out attempt started 35 yards from the goal and allowed the player 5 seconds to attempt a shot. The player could make as many moves as he wanted in a breakaway situation within the time frame. NASL procedure also called for the box score or score-line to show an additional "goal" given to the winning side of a shoot-out. This "victory goal" however was not credited in the "Goals For" column of the league table. The

Cosmos The cosmos (, ) is another name for the Universe. Using the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos, and understandings of the reasons for its existence and significance, are studied in ...

defeated the

Seattle Sounders Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

in the finals on August 28 to win the championship.

Changes from the previous season

New teams

*None

Teams folding

*Boston Minutemen *Philadelphia Atoms

Teams moving

*Miami Toros - Fort Lauderdale Strikers *San Antonio Thunder - Team Hawaii *San Diego Jaws - Las Vegas Quicksilvers

Name changes

*Hartford Bicentennials to Connecticut Bicentennials *Cosmos drop "New York" from name

Regular season

''W = Wins, L = Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, BP = Bonus Points, Pts= point system'' 6 points for a win, 0 points for a loss, 1 point for each regulation goal scored up to three per game. :''-Premiers (most points). -Other playoff teams.''

Atlantic Conference

Pacific Conference

NASL All-Stars

Playoffs

The first round and the Soccer Bowl were single game match ups, while the conference semifinals and championships were all two-game series.

Bracket

First Round

---- ---- ----

Division Championships

''*Minnesota Kicks hosted Game 1 (instead of Game 2) due to a scheduling conflict with the

Twins Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...

baseball club.''

Conference Championships

''#Seattle Sounders hosted Game 2 (instead of Game 1) due to a scheduling conflict with the Mariners baseball club.''

Soccer Bowl '77

1977 NASL Champions:

Post season awards

*Most Valuable Player: Franz Beckenbauer, Cosmos *Coach of the year:

Ron Newman Ronald Vernon Newman (19 January 1934 – 27 August 2018) was an English professional association football player and coach. He was a member of the American National Soccer Hall of Fame. Life Born in Fareham, Newman, after non-league footbal ...

, Fort Lauderdale *Rookie of the year: Jim McAlister, Seattle

References

External links

The Year in American Soccer – 1977Complete Results and Standings
{{DEFAULTSORT:1977 North American Soccer League Season North American Soccer League (1968–1984) seasons

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

1977 in Canadian soccer