1978 Fort Lauderdale Strikers season

The 1978 Fort Lauderdale Strikers season was the second season of the Fort Lauderdale Striker's team, and the club's twelfth season in professional soccer. This year the team were a finalist in the North American Soccer League American Conference.

Fort Lauderdale Strikers

1978 season
Owner	Elizabeth Robbie
General manager	Beau Rodgers
Manager	Ron Newman
Stadium	Lockhart Stadium
NASL	American Conference: Finalist
Top goalscorer	League: David Irving (16 goals) All: David Irving (23 goals)
Average home league attendance	10,479
Home colors Away colors

Competitions

Friendlies

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
January 7, 1978	Washington Diplomats	D.C. Armory	9–2	2,384 (indoor)	Fearnley, Proctor
January 8, 1978	Washington Diplomats	D.C. Armory	8–5	2,163 (indoor)	Vaniger (2), Hamlyn, Aguirre, Nanchoff
February 6, 1978	Stockport County F.C.	Edgeley Park	2–4		Irving, Whittle, Gemeri, Hughes
February 8, 1978	Blackpool F.C.	Bloomfield Road	3–2
February 10, 1978	Workington A.F.C.	Borough Park	0–0	6,127
February 13, 1978	Portsmouth F.C.	Fratton Park	2–2		Irving (2)
February 15, 1978	Port Vale F.C.	Vale Park	4–2	1,877
February 18, 1978	Swindon Town F.C.	County Ground	6–3	1,173	Irving (2), Fowles
February 26, 1978	FIU Sunblazers	FIU Soccer Stadium	4–2		Irving, Bodonczy
March 4, 1978	Tampa Bay Rowdies	Dade North Stadium	2–0	3,248	Irving, Fowles
March 8, 1978	Detroit Express	Bryant Stadium	2–3	350	Irving (2), Bodonczy
March 18, 1978	Minnesota Kicks	Lockhart Stadium	1–2	2,333	Vaniger
March 23, 1978	Washington Diplomats	Leonard High School	1–0	2,800	Irving
March 25, 1978	Philadelphia Fury	City Stadium	0–1 (SO)		shootout tiebreaker
May 10, 1978	Blackpool F.C.	Lockhart Stadium	2–1	5,173	Gary Jones (2)
May 15, 1978	Blackpool F.C.	Atlanta	0–2	9,658 (in Atlanta)

NASL Playoffs

Conference Quarterfinals

August 9	New England Tea Men	1–3	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	Schaefer Stadium • 18,672

Conference semifinals

In 1978, if a playoff series was tied after two games, a 30 minute, golden goal, mini-game was played. If neither team scored in the mini-game, they would move on to a shoot-out to determine a series winner. *Teams were re-seeded for the Conference Semifinals based on regular season point totals. This affected only one of the four series; Tampa Bay versus San Diego.

Higher seed		Lower seed	Game 1	Game 2	Mini-game	(lower seed hosts Game 1)
Detroit Express	-	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	3–4 (SO, 2–3)	1–0	0–1	August 13 • Lockhart Stadium • 11,517 August 16 • Pontiac Silverdome • 32,219

Conference Championships

Higher seed		Lower seed	Game 1	Game 2	Mini-game	Attendance
Tampa Bay Rowdies	-	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	2–3	3–1	1–0 (SO, 2–1)	August 20 • Lockhart Stadium • 16,286 August 23 • Tampa Stadium • 37,249

Bracket

Conference Quarterfinals

Conference Semifinals

Conference Championships

Soccer Bowl '78

A1

Detroit Express

1

A8

Philadelphia Fury

0

A1

Detroit Express

1

A7

Fort Lauderdale Strikers

2

A2

New England Tea Men

1

A7

Fort Lauderdale Strikers

3

A7

Fort Lauderdale Strikers

1

A4

Tampa Bay Rowdies

2

A3

San Diego Sockers

2

A6

California Surf

1

A3

San Diego Sockers

1

A4

Tampa Bay Rowdies

2

A4

Tampa Bay Rowdies

3

A5

Chicago Sting

1

A4

Tampa Bay Rowdies

1

N1

Cosmos

3

N1

Cosmos

5

N8

Seattle Sounders

2

N1

Cosmos

2

N3

Minnesota Kicks

1

N3

Minnesota Kicks

3

N6

Tulsa Roughnecks

1

N1

Cosmos

2

N4

Portland Timbers

0

N2

Vancouver Whitecaps

4

N7

Toronto Metros-Croatia

0

N2

Vancouver Whitecaps

0

N4

Portland Timbers

2

N4

Portland Timbers

2

N5

Washington Diplomats

1

See also

1978 Fort Lauderdale Strikers