Wikipedia

1980–81 NASL indoor season

The 1980–81 season was the North American Soccer League's second indoor soccer season.

North American Soccer League
1980–81 indoor season
Season1980–81
ChampionsEdmonton Drillers
PremiersChicago Sting
Matches played171
Goals scored1,998 (11.68 per match)
Top goalscorerWest Germany Karl-Heinz Granitza (42 goals)
Average attendance5,146

Overview

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A total of 19 of a possible 21 NASL teams participated. New York and Montreal (who was moving from Philadelphia) were the only hold-outs this indoor season. Just as the season was getting underway, the Jacksonville Tea Men relocated from New England.[1] Teams played an 18-game regular season. The four Canadian teams were realigned into one division and forced to play only one another during the regular season. This was due to early season litigation which restricted NASL teams' travel between the U.S. and Canada.[2][3] The Edmonton Drillers won the championship in a two-game finals-sweep of the Chicago Sting. This was the Drillers' first, and only, NASL indoor title. Kai Haaskivi of Edmonton won both the regular season and playoff MVP awards.[4][5]

Map of clubs

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  Northern Division   Eastern Division   Central Division   Western Division   Southern Division

Regular season

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W = Wins, L = Losses, GB = Games behind 1st place, % = Winning percentage, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against[6]

Eastern Division W L GB % GF GA
Atlanta Chiefs 13 5 – .722 97 75
Tampa Bay Rowdies 9 9 4 .500 126 120
Jacksonville Tea Men 8 10 5 .444 96 102
Fort Lauderdale Strikers 1 17 12 .056 58 125
Central Division W L GB % GF GA
Chicago Sting 13 5 – .722 146 103
Minnesota Kicks 12 6 1 .667 93 73
Detroit Express 7 11 6 .389 90 106
Southern Division W L GB % GF GA
California Surf 10 8 – .556 104 118
Tulsa Roughnecks 9 9 1 .500 111 113
Dallas Tornado 7 11 3 .389 110 125
San Diego Sockers 6 12 4 .333 106 121
Northern Division W L GB % GF GA
Vancouver Whitecaps 11 7 – .611 91 96
Edmonton Drillers 10 8 1 .556 128 109
Calgary Boomers 10 8 1 .556 100 94
Toronto Blizzard 5 13 6 .278 101 121
Western Division W L GB % GF GA
Los Angeles Aztecs 11 7 – .611 118 99
Portland Timbers 10 8 1 .556 110 93
San Jose Earthquakes 10 8 1 .556 118 115
Seattle Sounders 9 9 2 .500 106 98

NASL All-Stars

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All-star selections were made, by region, by the NASL coaches and general managers. Each voter cast ballots for one goalie and five outfield players regardless of position.[7]

All-North team   Position[7]   All-East team   Position[7]   All-West team
Bruce Grobbelaar, Vancouver G Tino Lettieri, Minnesota G Mike Hewitt, San Jose
– D Björn Nordqvist, Minnesota D Mihalj Keri, Los Angeles
Gerry Gray, Vancouver M – M Alan Hudson, Seattle
Carl Valentine, Vancouver F Steve Wegerle, Tampa Bay F Stuart Lee, Portland
Kai Haaskivi, Edmonton F Pato Margetic, Detroit F George Best, San Jose
Drew Ferguson, Edmonton F Keith Furphy, Atlanta F Juli Veee, San Diego
Juan Carlos Molina, Calgary F Karl-Heinz Granitza, Chicago F Chris Dangerfield, Los Angeles
Bobby Prentice, Toronto F

Playoffs

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Bracket

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First round
Best-of-3 		Semifinals
Best-of-3 		Championship series
Best-of-3
               
P1 Chicago Sting 6 8(OT) –
W2 Portland Timbers 2 7 –
P1 Chicago Sting 8 5 4
E1 Atlanta Chiefs 3 9 2
E1 Atlanta Chiefs 10 5(OT) –
C2 Minnesota Kicks 8 4 –
P1 Chicago Sting 6 4 –
N2 Edmonton Drillers 9 5 –
N2 Edmonton Drillers 8 10 –
W1 Los Angeles Aztecs 3 6 –
N2 Edmonton Drillers 9 6 –
C1 Vancouver Whitecaps 7 4 –
C1 Vancouver Whitecaps 0 8 4
S1 California Surf 3 5 0

1st round

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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 - Los Angeles Aztecs 8–3 10–6 x February 16 • L.A. Sports Arena • 1,621
February 19 • Northlands Coliseum • 4,310
Vancouver Whitecaps - California Surf 0–3[8] 8–5 4–0 February 18 • Long Beach Arena • 472
February 21 • Pacific Coliseum • 8,496
Atlanta Chiefs - Minnesota Kicks 10–8 5–4 (OT) x February 16 • Met Center • 6,354
February 20 • The Omni • 6,150
Chicago Sting - Portland Timbers #6–2 8–7 (OT) x February 17 • Chicago Stadium • 3,254
February 19 • Chicago Stadium • 6,286

#Scheduling conflicts at the Portland Coliseum forced both games to be played in Chicago.[9]

Semi-finals

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Higher seed Lower seed Game 1 Game 2 Mini-game Attendance
Vancouver Whitecaps - Edmonton Drillers 7–9 4–6 x February 24 • Northlands Coliseum • 3,420
February 28 • Pacific Coliseum • 11,758
Chicago Sting - Atlanta Chiefs 8–3 5–9 4–2 February 25 • The Omni • 9,187
February 28 • Chicago Stadium • 12,376

Championship finals

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Higher seed Lower seed Game 1 Game 2 Mini-game Attendance
Chicago Sting - Edmonton Drillers *6–9 4–5 x March 2 • Edmonton Gardens • 5,089[10]
March 7 • Chicago Stadium • 16,257

*Scheduling conflicts at the Northlands Coliseum forced Game 1 of the Finals to be moved across the street to the Edmonton Gardens.[11]

Championship match reports

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March 2, 1981 Game 1 Edmonton Drillers 9–6 Chicago Sting Edmonton, Alberta
8:30 P.M. (MST) Raduka   3:09'
Guðmundsson   9:09' (Haaskivi)
Haaskivi   11:58' (Guðmundsson, Raduka)
Haaskivi   19:35' (James, Guðmundsson)
Haaskivi   21:45' (Sweeney, de Luca)
Oostrom   24:53' (Haaskivi, Guðmundsson)
Haaskivi   34:56' (Raduka, Guðmundsson)
Haaskivi   51:03' (Sweeney, Oostrom)
Haaskivi   58:23' (Guðmundsson, Oostrom)		 Report Hall   15:31' (Peter, Granitza)
Hall   23:06' (Glenn, Steele)
Simanton   26:05' (Granitza, Ryan)
Long   34:18' (Granitza)
Fajkus   40:08' (Steele, Glenn)
Simanton   53:54' (Granitza, Spalding)		 Stadium: Edmonton Gardens
Attendance: 5,089
March 7, 1981 Game 2 Chicago Sting 4–5 Edmonton Drillers Chicago, Illinois
2:00 P.M. (CST) Granitza   12:28' (Ryan, Fajkus)
Steffenhagen   23:59' (Simanton, Glenn)
Hall   32:33' (Mishalow)
Peter   58:54' (Hall)		 Report Sweeney   31:15' (Goossens)
Knight   37:57' (Haaskivi)
Oostrom   40:14' (Haaskivi)
Guðmundsson   46:53'
Oostrom   58:49' (Haaskivi)		 Stadium: Chicago Stadium
Attendance: 16,257
Referee: Toros Kibritjan (USA)


1980–81 NASL indoor champions: Edmonton Drillers

Post season awards

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References

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  1. ^ "Tea Men are leaving N.E. for new home in Florida". The Day. November 17, 1980. p. 28. Retrieved October 24, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
  2. ^ Conklin, Mike (March 3, 1981). "Sting may be in for a surprise in finals". Chicago Tribune. p. 3, Sec 5. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  3. ^ "Three NASL team fold". The Phoenix. November 25, 1980. p. C5. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  4. ^ "Timbers-Sounders Game Opens NASL Indoor Season". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. December 3, 1981. p. 15-B. Retrieved October 24, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
  5. ^ Conklin, Mike (March 7, 1981). "It's official –Arno to join Sting's uphill battle". Chicago Tribune. p. Sec 2 p.2. Retrieved January 6, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ 1983 Official North American Soccer League Guide
  7. ^ a b c Henderson, Jim (April 21, 1981). "For Keith Bailey, The Long Wait Is Finally Over". The Tampa Tribune. p. 5-C. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  8. ^ Jones, Graham L. (February 19, 1981). "Surf Beats Whitecaps, 3–0". Los Angeles Times. p. III-12. Retrieved December 20, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Conklin, Mike (February 16, 1981). "Sting home for playoff opener". Chicago Tribune. p. 3, Sec 4. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  10. ^ "Kai Haaskivi 6 goals 1981 NASL Indoor Finals Edmonton Drillers". Archived from the original on December 5, 2021 – via YouTube.
  11. ^ Conklin, Mike (March 3, 1981). "Finn star peppers Sting with 6 goals, Edmonton wins". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, Sec 5. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
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