The 1979–80 season was the North American Soccer League's first ever full indoor soccer season with playoffs. It began in November 1979, and the championship occurred in March 1980.

Overview Only 10 of the 24 NASL member-teams chose to field a squad for the 12 game regular season and 6 team, 3 round playoffs. The league decided to make several rule modifications from the NASL indoor tournaments and indoor friendlies of previous years. The most obvious change was the goal. No longer 4 by 16 feet (h x w), the goals now measured a more proportionate 6.5 by 12, with a board or plexiglass panel above the cross bar instead of netting. Rather than being divided into three 20-minute periods (like hockey) as was done previously, or the more recent three 15-minute periods, the game now featured four 15-minute quarters with an extended halftime (similar to American football) and short breaks and the end of the first and third quarters. These modifications were consistent with the rules of the competing Major Indoor Soccer League, which had begun operation in December 1978. Other changes included an extra referee at the bench to keep track of time penalties. Like most American sports, the clock would count down to 00:00 rather than up to "full time" as was done in association football. As before, (like ice hockey) there would be free substitutions, but players now had to touch the wall by their bench before a substitute player could come onto the playing floor. The floor dimensions remained, more or less 200 by 85 feet. Golden goal/sudden death overtime was used to settle games tied at the end of regulation. In the playoffs, 15-minute mini-games were used to decide series that were tied at one victory apiece. Indeed, two playoff series, including the Championship Final between Tampa Bay and Memphis, would need to be settled by means of a mini-game.

Map of clubs

Regular season W = Wins, L = Losses, GB = Games Behind 1st Place, % = Winning Percentage, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Avg Att = Average Home Attendance Eastern DivisionWLGB%GFGAAvg Att Atlanta Chiefs 10 2 – .83370465,069 Tampa Bay Rowdies842.66775645,910 Detroit Express753.58370693,937Fort Lauderdale Strikers 39 7.25058651,724 New England Tea Men 2108.16752813,249

Western DivisionWLGB%GFGAAvg Att Memphis Rogues 93 – .750 65448,249Minnesota Kicks 8 41.667 75529,562Tulsa Roughnecks752.58363644,657California Surf485.33371833,181 Los Angeles Aztecs 2108.16756872,768

Regular season statistics

Scoring leaders GP = Games played, G = Goals (worth 2 points), A = Assists (worth 1 point), Pts = Points Player Team GP G A Pts David Byrne Atlanta 12 23 11 57 Keith Furphy Detroit 12 21 13 55 Laurie Abrahams California 12 18 17 53 Peter Baralić Tampa Bay 12 21 10 52 Iraj Danaifard Tulsa 12 19 10 48 Chris Dangerfield Los Angeles 12 15 9 39 Mark Lindsay California 12 13 12 38 Wes McLeod Tampa Bay 12 13 12 38 Steve Earle Tulsa 12 10 18 38 Alan Willey Minnesota 12 15 6 36

Leading goalkeepers Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; Svs = Saves; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins Player Team Min Svs GA GAA W John Houska Memphis 721 172 43 3.58 9 Victor Nogueira Atlanta 637 164 39 3.67 10 Tino Lettieri Minnesota 658 165 41 3.74 8 Nick Owcharuk Tulsa 441 134 33 4.49 7 Željko Bilecki Tampa Bay 684 173 54 4.74 8

Playoffs

Bracket

1st round February 19Tampa Bay Rowdies12–1Detroit ExpressBayfront Center • 4,880

February 20Minnesota Kicks3–2Tulsa RoughnecksMet Center • 3,170

Division finals If a playoff series is tied after two games, a 15 minute, tie breaker mini-game is played. Higher seedLower seedGame 1Game 2Mini-gameAttendanceAtlanta Chiefs – Tampa Bay Rowdies 3–7 5–6 (OT) x February 23 • Bayfront Center • 5,545February 25 • The Omni • 6,141Memphis Rogues – Minnesota Kicks 3–6 4–3 (OT) 1–0 February 23 • Met Center • 3,701February 26 • Mid-South Coliseum • 7,130

Championship finals Higher seedLower seedGame 1Game 2Mini-gameAttendanceMemphis Rogues – Tampa Bay Rowdies *5–4 4–10 0–1 *February 29 • Mid-South Coliseum • 9,081March 2 • Bayfront Center • 5,545 *Memphis Rogues hosted Game 1 (instead of Game 2 and Mini-game) due to scheduling conflicts at the Mid-South Coliseum.

Championship match reports

1979–80 NASL Indoor Champions: Tampa Bay Rowdies

References