1977 North American Soccer League season
Statistics of North American Soccer League 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 procedure for tied matches. Matches tied at the end of regulation would now go to a golden goal 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 defeated the Seattle Sounders 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
6 points for a win, 0 points for a loss, 1 point for each regulation goal scored up to three per game.
Atlantic Conference
| Northern Division | W | L | GF | GA | BP | Pts | Home | Road |
| Toronto Metros-Croatia | 13 | 13 | 42 | 38 | 37 | 115 | 8-5 | 5-8 |
| St. Louis Stars | 12 | 14 | 33 | 35 | 32 | 104 | 7-6 | 5-8 |
| Rochester Lancers | 11 | 15 | 34 | 41 | 33 | 99 | 10-3 | 1-12 |
| Chicago Sting | 10 | 16 | 31 | 43 | 28 | 88 | 4-9 | 6-7 |
| Connecticut Bicentennials | 7 | 19 | 34 | 65 | 30 | 72 | 4-9 | 3-10 |
Pacific Conference
| Western Division | W | L | GF | GA | BP | Pts | Home | Road |
| Minnesota Kicks | 16 | 10 | 44 | 36 | 41 | 137 | 11-2 | 5-8 |
| Vancouver Whitecaps | 14 | 12 | 43 | 36 | 40 | 124 | 10-3 | 4-9 |
| Seattle Sounders | 14 | 12 | 43 | 34 | 39 | 123 | 9-4 | 5-8 |
| Portland Timbers | 10 | 16 | 39 | 42 | 38 | 98 | 7-6 | 3-10 |
NASL All-Stars
| First Team | Position | Second Team | Honorable Mention |
| Gordon Banks, Ft. Lauderdale | G | Alan Mayer, Las Vegas | Tony Chursky, Seattle |
| Franz Beckenbauer, Cosmos | D | Ray Evans, St. Louis | Steve Litt, Minnesota |
| Mike England, Seattle | D | Steve Pecher, Dallas | Jim McAlister, Seattle |
| Bruce Wilson, Vancouver | D | Humberto Coelho, Las Vegas | Alan Merrick, Minnesota |
| Mel Machin, Seattle | D | George Ley, Dallas • Arsène Auguste Tampa Bay | Graham Day, Portland |
| George Best, Los Angeles | M | Charlie Cooke, Los Angeles | Tony Simões, San Jose |
| Wolfgang Sühnholz, Las Vegas | M | Vito Dimitrijević, Cosmos | Ace Ntsoelengoe, Minnesota |
| Alan West, Minnesota | M | Rodney Marsh, Tampa Bay | Al Trost, St. Louis |
| Steve David, Los Angeles | F | Mike Stojanović, Rochester | Willie Morgan, Chicago |
| Pelé, Cosmos | F | Steve Wegerle, Tampa Bay | Giorgio Chinaglia, Cosmos |
| Derek Smethurst, Tampa Bay | F | Buzz Parsons, Vancouver | Jimmy Robertson, Seattle |
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
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Division Championships
*Minnesota Kicks hosted Game 1 due to a scheduling conflict with the Twins baseball club.Conference Championships
#Seattle Sounders hosted Game 2 due to a scheduling conflict with the Mariners baseball club.Soccer Bowl '77
1977 NASL Champions: CosmosPost season awards
- Most Valuable Player: Franz Beckenbauer, Cosmos
- Coach of the year: Ron Newman, Fort Lauderdale
- Rookie of the year: Jim McAlister, Seattle