1981–82 NASL indoor season

North American Soccer League
1981–82 indoor season
Season1981–82
ChampionsSan Diego Sockers
PremiersEdmonton Drillers
Matches played117
Goals scored1,392 (11.9 per match)
Top goalscorerJuli Veee
(51 goals)
Highest attendance19,398[1]
(Tampa Bay @ Chicago)
Average attendance6,202
1983

The 1981–82 season was the North American Soccer League's third indoor soccer season.

Overview

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Thirteen of a possible 14 NASL teams participated. Fort Lauderdale was the only non-participant in the 18-game regular season. The Los Angeles Aztecs and the Minnesota Kicks had been scheduled to participate but were unable to do so, due to mounting financial issues. By early December both teams had folded. Other changes in the indoor structure included the separating of the teams into two conferences, each with two divisions. The Atlantic Conference contained the East and Central Divisions, while the Pacific Conference held the West and Northwest Divisions. During the regular season teams played eighteen matches within their conference only. Four teams from each conference advanced to the playoffs, which included the two division winners, along with the two non-division winners with the best won-loss record.[2][3][4] The championship series was broadcast live on ESPN.[5][6] The San Diego Sockers won the championship with a two-game finals sweep of the Tampa Bay Rowdies. This was the Sockers' first ever NASL title. Juli Veee of San Diego won both the regular season and playoff MVP awards.[7]

Map of clubs

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East Division Central Division Northwest Division West Division

Regular season

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

Atlantic Conference

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East Division W L GB % GF GA
Montreal Manic 9 9 .500 93 97
Toronto Blizzard 8 10 1 .444 86 96
Jacksonville Tea Men 7 11 2 .389 86 106
New York Cosmos 6 12 3 .333 102 123
Central Division W L GB % GF GA
Chicago Sting 12 6 .667 139 117
Tampa Bay Rowdies 11 7 1 .611 121 113
Tulsa Roughnecks 10 8 2 .556 128 103

Pacific Conference

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West Division W L GB % GF GA
San Diego Sockers 10 8 .556 147 110
Portland Timbers 7 11 3 .389 86 103
San Jose Earthquakes 5 13 5 .278 83 141
Northwest Division W L GB % GF GA
Edmonton Drillers 13 5 .722 133 92
Vancouver Whitecaps 10 8 3 .556 93 94
Seattle Sounders 9 9 4 .500 95 97

NASL All-Stars

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First team

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Pacific Conference   Position[8]   Atlantic Conference
Volkmar Gross, San Diego G Jürgen Stars, Tampa Bay
Alan Hudson, Seattle D Barry Wallace, Tulsa
Martin Donnelly, San Diego D Mike Connell, Tampa Bay
Jan Goossens, Edmonton F Tatu, Tampa Bay
Kai Haaskivi, Edmonton F Karl-Heinz Granitza, Chicago
Juli Veee, San Diego F Gordon Hill, Montreal

Second team

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Pacific Conference   Position[9]   Atlantic Conference
John Baretta, Edmonton G Blagoje Tamindžić, Toronto
Bernie James, Edmonton D Derek Spalding, Chicago
Gert Wieczorkowski, San Diego D John Gorman, Tampa Bay
Dale Mitchell, Portland F Pato Margetic, Chicago
Carl Valentine, Vancouver F Laurie Abrahams, Tulsa
Jean Willrich, San Diego F Ingo Peter, Chicago

Playoffs

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Bracket

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First round
Best-of-3
Conference finals
Best-of-3
Championship series
Best-of-3
               
P1 Edmonton Drillers 8 12
P4 Seattle Sounders 6 4
P1 Edmonton Drillers 2 3
P2 San Diego Sockers 8 12
P2 San Diego Sockers 4 8
P3 Vancouver Whitecaps 3 4
P2 San Diego Sockers 9 10
A3 Tampa Bay Rowdies 7 5
A1 Chicago Sting 4 7(OT) 1
A4 Tulsa Roughnecks 5 6 3
A4 Tulsa Roughnecks 4 4 0
A3 Tampa Bay Rowdies 5 3 1
A2 Montreal Manic 7 3 1
A3 Tampa Bay Rowdies 8(OT) 2 2(3OT)

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 - Seattle Sounders 8–6 12–4 x February 17 • Kingdome • 4,112
February 20 • Northlands Coliseum • 6,027
San Diego Sockers - Vancouver Whitecaps 4–3 8–4 x February 19 • Pacific Coliseum • 5,128
February 21 • San Diego Sports Arena • 9,728
Montreal Manic - Tampa Bay Rowdies 7–8 (OT) 3–2 1–2 (3OT) February 18 • Bayfront Center • 5,043
February 21 • Montreal Forum • 15,855
Chicago Sting - Tulsa Roughnecks 4–5 7–6 (OT) 1–3 February 16 • Expo Square Pavilion • 5,482
February 18 • Chicago Stadium • 16,077

Semi-finals

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Higher seed Lower seed Game 1 Game 2 Mini-game Attendance
Tampa Bay Rowdies - Tulsa Roughnecks 5–4 3–4 1–0[10] February 25 • Expo Square Pavilion • 7,021
March 1 • Bayfront Center • 5,545
Edmonton Drillers - San Diego Sockers #2–8 3–12[11] x February 25 • San Diego Sports Arena • 8,435
March 1 • San Diego Sports Arena • 12,840

#Although Edmonton was the higher seed, a scheduling conflict forced both games to be played in San Diego.[12]

Championship finals

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*Higher seed Lower seed Game 1 Game 2 Mini-game Attendance
Tampa Bay Rowdies - San Diego Sockers 7–9 5–10 x March 3 • San Diego Sports Arena • 12,840
March 8 • Bayfront Center • 6,325

*Championship finals re-seeded based on regular-season won-loss record.

Championship match reports

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March 3, 1982 Game 1 San Diego Sockers 9–7 Tampa Bay Rowdies San Diego, California
7:00 P.M. (PST) Veee 2:50' (Nesin)
Veee 3:52' (Nesin, Rohmann)
Coker 14:00' (Wieczorkowski, Donnelly)
Hilkes 15:42' (Willrich)
Veee 19:04' (pen.)
Deyna 29:17' (Veee, Gross)
Coker 42:32' (Willrich)
Willrich 46:22' (Deyna)
Willrich 52:04' (Veee, Geyer)
Report Zequinha 11:04' (Pt. Roe, Kozić)
Roe 13:03' (Zequinha)
Pérez 19:44' (McLeod, Stars)
McLeod 22:26' (Connell, Stars)
Pérez 29:45' (Pt. Roe)
Gruber 44:03' (McLeod)
Gruber 56:33' (McLeod, Stars)
Stadium: San Diego Sports Arena
Attendance: 12,840
Referee: Manuel Ortiz, Sr.
March 8, 1982 Game 2 Tampa Bay Rowdies 5–10 San Diego Sockers St. Petersburg, Florida
8:00 P.M. (EST) Tatu 27:43' (McLeod)
McLeod 30:53' (Gorman, Zequinha)
Tatu 34:08' (Pt. Roe)
Zequinha 35:56' (Gorman)
Roberts 48:17' (McLeod)
Report Veee 8:34'
Veee 12:13'
Deyna 13:31' (Hilkes, Wieczorkowski)
Deyna 19:43' (Rohmann, Fernandez)
Fernandez 24:49' (Deyna, Veee)
Hilkes 36:47' (Willrich)
Willrich 43:02'
Coker 44:27' (Hilkes, Wieczorkowski)
Willrich 55:51' (Fernandez, Veee)
Veee 59:18' (Gross)
Stadium: Bayfront Center
Attendance: 6,325
Referee: Gordon Arrowsmith (Canada)


1981–82 NASL Indoor Champions: San Diego Sockers

Postseason awards

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References

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  1. ^ Beard, Randy (March 5, 1982). "Veee: Future of soccer is indoors". The Evening Independent. p. 1-C. Retrieved September 24, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
  2. ^ "NASL to proceed with season sans three". Ellensburg Daily Record. November 5, 1981. p. 12. Retrieved September 24, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
  3. ^ "NASL cuts indoor entries". The Spokesman-Review. November 5, 1981. p. 42. Retrieved September 24, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
  4. ^ Brockmann, John (December 5, 1981). "Rowdies Indoor Opener With Manic Is A Sellout". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. p. 14-B. Retrieved October 24, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
  5. ^ eddiebear60 (June 26, 2016). "San Diego Sockers vs Tampa Bay Rowdies, 1982 NASL Indoor Finals, Game 1". Retrieved September 24, 2016 – via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ eddiebear60 (March 23, 2013). "San Diego Sockers vs Tampa Bay Rowdies, 1982 NASL Indoor Finals, Game 2". Retrieved September 24, 2016 – via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Reeves, Dave (March 9, 1982). "Sockers sock Rowdies". Lakeland Ledger. p. 1D. Retrieved October 24, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
  8. ^ https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1964&dat=19820331&id=fYBXAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tjsNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6819,8303699 [dead link]
  9. ^ "All-League Teams - Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame". www.indoorsoccerhall.com.
  10. ^ Scheiber, Dave (March 2, 1982). "Rowdies give Tulsa the boot". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1c. Retrieved October 24, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
  11. ^ Flanagan, Mike (March 3, 1982). "Sockers soared after they took indoor seriously". The Evening Independent. p. 1c. Retrieved September 24, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
  12. ^ "Drillers come up empty". The Evening Independent. March 2, 1982. p. 3-C. Retrieved September 24, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.