1974_North_American_Soccer_League_season
1974 North American Soccer League season
Soccer league season
Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1974. This was the 7th season of the NASL.[1]
| Season | 1974 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Los Angeles Aztecs |
| Premiers | Los Angeles Aztecs |
| Matches played | 150 |
| Goals scored | 488 (3.25 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Paul Child (15 goals) |
| Longest winning run | 8, Los Angeles |
| Highest attendance | 24,093 (Denver @ Phil) |
| Lowest attendance | 1,153 (NY @ Boston) |
| Average attendance | 7,825 |
← 1973 1975 → | |
Fifteen teams comprised the league with the Los Angeles Aztecs winning the championship in a penalty kick shootout over the Miami Toros.
Rules changes
The league decided to do away with tie games. If a match was tied after 90 minutes, the teams would go directly to a standard penalty shootout with no extra time played. The outcome would appear in the standings as a 'tie-win'. The tie-winner would gain three points, plus goals in regulation, while the loser of the tie-breaker received no points, except for regulation goals.[1] Including the 1974 NASL Final, 33 matches were decided using this method.
New teams
|
|
Teams folding
- Atlanta Apollos
- Montreal Olympique
Teams moving
- None
Name changes
- None
W = Wins, L = Losses, T= PK Shootout Wins, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PT= point system
6 points for a win, 3 points for a PK shootout win, 0 points for a loss, 1 point for each goal scored up to three per game.
- -Premiers (most points). -Other playoff teams.
| Northern Division | W | L | T | GF | GA | PT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Minutemen | 10 | 9 | 1 | 36 | 23 | 94 |
| Toronto Metros | 9 | 10 | 1 | 30 | 31 | 87 |
| Rochester Lancers | 8 | 10 | 2 | 23 | 30 | 77 |
| New York Cosmos | 4 | 14 | 2 | 28 | 40 | 58 |
| Eastern Division | W | L | T | GF | GA | PT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami Toros | 9 | 5 | 6 | 38 | 24 | 107 |
| Baltimore Comets | 10 | 8 | 2 | 42 | 46 | 105 |
| Philadelphia Atoms | 8 | 11 | 1 | 25 | 25 | 74 |
| Washington Diplomats | 7 | 12 | 1 | 29 | 36 | 70 |
| Central Division | W | L | T | GF | GA | PT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas Tornado | 9 | 8 | 3 | 39 | 27 | 100 |
| St. Louis Stars | 4 | 15 | 1 | 27 | 42 | 54 |
| Denver Dynamos | 5 | 15 | 0 | 21 | 42 | 49 |
| Western Division | W | L | T | GF | GA | PT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Aztecs | 11 | 7 | 2 | 41 | 36 | 110 |
| San Jose Earthquakes | 9 | 8 | 3 | 43 | 38 | 103 |
| Seattle Sounders | 10 | 7 | 3 | 37 | 17 | 101 |
| Vancouver Whitecaps | 5 | 11 | 4 | 29 | 31 | 70 |
| First Team[2][3] | Position | Second Team | Honorable Mention |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barry Watling, Seattle | G | Bob Rigby, Philadelphia | Ian McKechnie, Boston |
| Dick Hall, Dallas | D | Ralph Wright, Miami | Bobby Smith, Philadelphia |
| Albert Jackson, Dallas | D | Derek Trevis, Philadelphia | Patrick Greenwood, Boston |
| Chris Dunleavy, Philadelphia | D | Jim Gabriel, Seattle | Laurie Calloway, San Jose |
| Geoff Butler, Baltimore | D | Brian Rowan, Toronto | Charlie Mitchell, Rochester |
| Ronnie Sharp, Miami | M | Hank Liotart, Seattle | Alan Spavin, Washington |
| Ilija Mitic, Dallas | M | Luis Marotte, Los Angeles | Roy Sinclair, Seattle |
| Roberto Aguirre, Miami | M | Fernando Pinto, Toronto | Dieter Zajdel, San Jose |
| Paul Child, San Jose | F | Ade Coker, Boston | Steve David, Miami |
| John Rowlands, Seattle | F | Doug McMillan, Los Angeles | Jim Fryatt, Philadelphia |
| Peter Silvester, Baltimore | F | Warren Archibald, Miami | Randy Horton, New York |
All playoff games in all rounds including the NASL Final were single game elimination match ups.
Bracket
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | NASL Final 1974 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Los Angeles Aztecs | 2 | ||||||||||||
| N1 | Boston Minutemen | 1 | N1 | Boston Minutemen | 0 | |||||||||
| E2 | Baltimore Comets | 0 | W1 | Los Angeles Aztecs | 3(5) | |||||||||
| E1 | Miami Toros | 3(3) | ||||||||||||
| C1 | Dallas Tornado | 1 | ||||||||||||
| C1 | Dallas Tornado | 3 | E1 | Miami Toros | 3 | |||||||||
| W2 | San Jose Earthquakes | 0 | ||||||||||||
Quarterfinals
| August 14 | San Jose Earthquakes | 0–3 | Dallas Tornado | Texas Stadium • Att. 8,652 |
| August 15 | Baltimore Comets | 0–1 | Boston Minutemen | Alumni Stadium • Att. 9,713 |
Semifinals
| August 17 | Boston Minutemen | 0–2 | Los Angeles Aztecs | ELAC Stadium • Att. 5,485 |
| August 17 | Dallas Tornado | 1–3 | Miami Toros | Tamiami Stadium[4][5] • Att. 5,045 |
NASL Final 1974
| Miami Toros | 3–3 | Los Angeles Aztecs |
|---|---|---|
Wright  17' Sharp  48' (pen.) Moraldo 72' (o.g.) Aranguiz 87' |
de Rienzo 26' (pen.) Costa 78' McMillan 88' |
|
| Penalties | ||
Aguirre  Sharp Mallender Verdi |
3–5 | Zanotti Banhoffer Marotte Filotis Douglas |
1974 NASL Champions: Los Angeles Aztecs
- Most Valuable Player: Peter Silvester, Baltimore
- Coach of the year: John Young, Miami
- Rookie of the year: Douglas McMillan, Los Angeles
- "The Year in American Soccer - 1974". Homepages.sover.net. October 4, 2003. Archived from the original on November 5, 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
- "NASL Homepage". May 1, 2008. Archived from the original on May 1, 2008. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
- "Steve Dimitry's NASL Web Page". Oocities.org. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
- "The Press-Courier - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- "St. Petersburg Times - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- Dan Levin (September 2, 1974). "A bizarre overtime kicking contest enabled the Los - 09.02.74 - SI Vault". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
- "Lodi News-Sentinel - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved January 23, 2014.