1979 NASL Budweiser Indoor Soccer Invitational


The 1979 NASL Budweiser Indoor Soccer Invitational was a four-team indoor soccer tournament held at the Bayfront Center in St. Petersburg, Florida on the final weekend of January 1979.

Overview

Four teams North American Soccer League teams participated in the two-day event; the Dallas Tornado, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, the Tampa Bay Rowdies, and the Tulsa Roughnecks. Matches were 45 minutes long and divided into three 15-minute periods with an intermission between each. Each session consisted of two games . Nearly 12,700 people attended the two sessions. Dallas and Tampa Bay each won both of their matches, but Dallas Tornado were crowned champions based on a greater goal differential. Dallas forward Jim Ryan lead the invitational in scoring with 7 goals. The tournament's final match saw goalkeeper Winston DuBose of Tampa Bay become only the second NASL goalie to record a rare indoor shut-out. Dallas goalkeeper Ken Cooper had accomplished the feat on two previous occasions.
These were not the only indoor games played that winter. With a fully sanctioned season of NASL indoor soccer still eleven months away, NASL teams were free to schedule their own games at that time. Tampa Bay, for example played three other indoor matches. By contrast, Fort Lauderdale scheduled only the two games of the invitational. The competing Major Indoor Soccer League had already begun their first season in December 1978.

Tournament results

Sessions

Session 1: January 27, 1979
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Session 2: January 28, 1979

Match reports

Session 1

Session 2

Final standings

GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, GD = Goal Differential
*Dallas wins title on goal differential

Statistical leaders

Scoring

Goals, Assists
Leading ScorersGoalsAssistsPoints
Jimmy Ryan 7115
Kai Haaskivi 4513
Mirandinha 419
Rodney Marsh 237
George Ley 215
Steve Earle 135
Laurie Abrahams 204
Chris Collins 204
Tibor Gemeri 204
Al Njie 204
Roy Wiggemansen 124

Goalkeeping

GA = Goals Against, GAA = Goals Against Average, SV = Saves, SF = Shots Faced, % = Save Percentage
Leading GoalkeepersMinutesGAGAASVSF%WonLost
Winston DuBose 9042.001418.77820
Ken Cooper 4522.0068.75010
Colin Boulton 90115.501324.54202
Steve Zerhusen 90136.502235.62902
Billy Phillips 4577.001017.58810

Non-tournament matches

In addition to the tournament itself, several NASL teams participated in international indoor friendlies, and tune-ups for both the tournament and 1979 outdoor season. Dallas and Houston played twice in December 1978. The Rowdies–Hurricane match on January 25 was played using the MISL-size goals, timing and ball, as the arena was already set up for the Hurricane's alter ego, the MISL's Houston Summit. As part of a six-match, NASL tour in February, Russian powerhouse FC Dynamo Moscow scheduled three indoor games.

Match reports