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North American Soccer League 1974 season
Season1974
Champions Los Angeles Aztecs
Premiers Los Angeles Aztecs
Matches played150
Goals scored488 (3.25 per match)
Top goalscorer Paul Child
(15 goals)
Longest winning run8, Los Angeles
Highest attendance24,093 ( Denver @ Phil)
Lowest attendance1,153 ( NY @ Boston)
Average attendance7,825
1973
1975

Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1974. This was the 7th season of the NASL. [1]

Overview

Fifteen teams comprised the league with the Los Angeles Aztecs winning the championship in a penalty kick shootout over the Miami Toros.

Changes from the previous season

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

Regular season

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

NASL All-Stars

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

Playoffs

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 Toros3–3 Los Angeles Aztecs
Wright 17'
Sharp soccer ball with red X 48' ( pen.)
Moraldo 72' ( o.g.)
Aranguiz 87'
de Rienzo 26' ( pen.)
Costa 78'
McMillan 88'
Penalties
Aguirre soccer ball with check mark
Sharp soccer ball with check mark
Mallender soccer ball with check mark
Verdi soccer ball with red X
3–5 soccer ball with check mark Zanotti
soccer ball with check mark Banhoffer
soccer ball with check mark Marotte
soccer ball with check mark Filotis
soccer ball with check mark Douglas
Attendance: 15,507
Referee: John Davies ( USA) [6] [7] [8] [9]

1974 NASL Champions: Los Angeles Aztecs

Post season awards

References

  1. ^ a b "The Year in American Soccer - 1974". Homepages.sover.net. October 4, 2003. Archived from the original on November 5, 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  2. ^ "NASL Homepage". May 1, 2008. Archived from the original on May 1, 2008. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  3. ^ "Steve Dimitry's NASL Web Page". Oocities.org. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  4. ^ "Football in Miami and Beyond: Ft Lauderdale Strikers History: Part II: PRO SOCCER COMES TO MIAMI". October 13, 2010.
  5. ^ https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2206&dat=19740814&id=UDw0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=yesFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4217,1489454&hl=en [ dead link]
  6. ^ "The Press-Courier - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  7. ^ "St. Petersburg Times - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "Lodi News-Sentinel - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved January 23, 2014.

External links