| NASL Indoor Grand Prix | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Dates | January 21, 1983 – February 20, 1983 |
| Teams | 4 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Tampa Bay Rowdies (3rd title) |
| Runners-up | Montreal Manic |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 16 |
| Goals scored | 199 (12.44 per match) |
| Attendance | 37,111 (2,319 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |
Laurie Abrahams 
Dale Mitchell(12 goals) |
| Best player(s) |
Laurie Abrahams 
Mehdi Cerbah |
The 1983 NASL Grand Prix of Indoor Soccer was an indoor soccer tournament staged by four franchises of the North American Soccer League.
Overview
The NASL franchises from Fort Lauderdale, Tampa Bay, Montreal, and Tulsa opted to play the Grand Prix in early 1983 as a makeshift indoor season, because for various reasons, the eight other NASL clubs had chosen to forego playing a full 1982–83 NASL indoor season. [1] Three of those eight teams ( Chicago, Golden Bay and San Diego) had joined the Major Indoor Soccer League for 1982-83 season, while the remaining five squads chose to sit out winter indoor play completely.
The tournament consisted of three weeks of double round-robin play for the purpose of seeding, followed by a Championship weekend at the Forum in Montreal. [2] [3] Fort Lauderdale did not host a round because there was no suitable venue in the area that also met the minimum seating requirements. Instead, Tulsa hosted Rounds 1 and 3. The tournament would mark the third time NASL teams played in such an event, with the first two coming in 1975 and 1976. Additionally the teams participated in a season-long Shootout Challenge competition, the champions of which would split a $5,000 purse. [4]
Montreal and Tampa Bay finished tied on both points and record after the preliminary rounds, but Montreal held the head-to-head tie-breaker, and with it the top seed. [2] Tampa Bay won the championship final 5–4 on a golden goal by Mark Karpun at 1:58 of the second, seven and a half minute, overtime period. [5] This victory marked the Rowdies' third indoor trophy and fourth title overall in the NASL. Laurie Abrahams of Tulsa led all scorers (12 goals, 6 assists) and was named the offensive MVP, while Montreal goalie Mehdi Cerbah who posted a 4.36 goals-against-average was the defensive MVP of the tournament. Tampa Bay also won the $5,000 Shootout Challenge purse by defeating Ft. Lauderdale, 2–0, with Rowdies goalie Jürgen Stars stopping all three Strikers shots in the final round. [6] [7] [8]
Preliminary rounds
Round 1
played at Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion in Tulsa, Oklahoma [9] [10]
| January 21 | Montreal Manic | 6–3 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Attendance: 3,522 |
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 8–4 | Tulsa Roughnecks | ||
| January 22 | Montreal Manic | 8–6 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | Attendance: 4,341 |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 7–2 | Tulsa Roughnecks | ||
Round 2
played at the Bayfront Center in St. Petersburg, Florida [11] [12]
| February 4 | Montreal Manic | 6–3 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | Attendance: 4,450 |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 7–6 | Tulsa Roughnecks | ||
| February 5 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 7–4 | Montreal Manic | Attendance: 5,545 |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 10–6 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | ||
Round 3
played at the Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion in Tulsa, Oklahoma
| February 11 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 7–5 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | Attendance: 2,064 |
| Tulsa Roughnecks | 8–7 | Montreal Manic | ||
| February 12 | Montreal Manic | 5–4 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Attendance: 3,245 |
| Tulsa Roughnecks | 5–4 (OT) | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | ||
Seeding
G = Games, W = Wins, L = Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, GD = Goal Differential, PTS= point system
6 points awarded for a win. Beginning with the fourth goal, 1 bonus point awarded for each goal scored. Maximum of 5 bonus points per game.
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1* | Montreal Manic | 6 | 4 | 2 | 36 | 31 | +5 | 42 |
| 2 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 6 | 4 | 2 | 38 | 31 | +7 | 42 |
| 3 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 6 | 3 | 3 | 33 | 37 | –4 | 33 |
| 4 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 6 | 1 | 5 | 32 | 40 | –8 | 20 |
*Montreal wins top seed based on 2–0 head-to-head edge over Tampa Bay
Grand Prix Championship rounds
Bracket
| Semifinals | Championship Final | ||||||||
| 1 | Montreal Manic | 11 | |||||||
| 4 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 4 | |||||||
| 1 | Montreal Manic | 4 | |||||||
| 2 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 5( 2OT) | |||||||
| 3 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 6 | |||||||
| 2 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 8 | Third place | ||||||
| 3 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 9 | |||||||
| 4 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 4 | |||||||
Semi-finals
played at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec
| February 18 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 8–6 | Tulsa Roughnecks | Attendance: 6,049 [13] |
| Montreal Manic | 11–4 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | ||
Third-place match
played at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec (1:30 PM EST)
| February 20 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 9–4 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | |
Championship final
| Montreal Manic | 4–5 (2OT) | Tampa Bay Rowdies |
|---|---|---|
Mitchell  16:17'Mitchell 19:51' (McGrane)Mitchell 24:53' (Uremovich)Lodeweges 44:01' |
Report (p. 2C) |
Tatu 7:06' (McLeod, Perez) Perez 11:12'Nogly 31:46'Zequinha 58:05' (Gruber, Tatu)Karpun  69:28' (Nogly) |
1983 Indoor Grand Prix Champions: Tampa Bay Rowdies
Tournament awards
- Most Valuable Players:
- Offensive:
Laurie Abrahams (Tulsa) - Goals: 12 Assists: 6 Total Pts: 30
- Defensive:
Mehdi Cerbah (Montreal) Goals-against-average: 4.36 - $5,000 Shootout Challenge:
- Semi-finals: Tampa Bay 3 – 1 Tulsa • Fort Lauderdale 3 – 1 Montreal
- Finals: Tampa Bay 2 – 0 Fort Lauderdale
Final rankings
G = Games, W = Wins, L = Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, GD = Goal Differential
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 8 | 6 | 2 | 51 | 41 | +10 |
| 2 | Montreal Manic | 8 | 5 | 3 | 51 | 40 | +11 |
| 3 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 8 | 4 | 4 | 48 | 49 | -1 |
| 4 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 8 | 1 | 7 | 40 | 60 | -20 |
Statistics
| Leading Scorers | Goals | Assists | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laurie Abrahams (Tulsa) | 12 | 6 | 30 |
| Dale Mitchell (Montreal) | 12 | 4 | 28 |
| Branko Šegota (Fort Lauderdale) | 10 | 8 | 28 |
| Dragan Vujović (Montreal) | 9 | 7 | 25 |
| Teófilo Cubillas (Fort Lauderdale) | 8 | 9 | 25 |
| Hugo Pérez (Tampa Bay) | 10 | 4 | 24 |
| Tatu (Tampa Bay) | 9 | 5 | 23 |
| Keith Weller (Tulsa) | 8 | 7 | 23 |
| Wes McLeod (Tampa Bay) | 5 | 12 | 22 |
| Njego Pesa (Tulsa) | 9 | 4 | 22 |
| Alan Willey (Montreal) | 8 | 6 | 22 |
| Steve Wegerle (Fort Lauderdale) | 7 | 6 | 20 |
| Leading Goalkeepers | Minutes | GA | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mehdi Cerbah (Montreal) | 330 | 24 | 4.36 |
| Jürgen Stars (Tampa Bay) | 377 | 32 | 5.09 |
| Craig Scarpelli (Fort Lauderdale) | 330 | 33 | 5.99 |
| Winston DuBose (Tulsa) | 486 | 49 | 6.05 |
Non-grand prix matches
In addition to the Grand Prix tournament, the four teams took part in other indoor matches as tune-ups for both the outdoor season and the Grand Prix itself.
Match reports
| January 14, 1983 1 | Tea Men All-Stars | 3–4 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | Jacksonville, Florida |
|
Zec |
Report |
Whelan , 59:22' Bolitho Šegota |
Stadium:
Jacksonville Coliseum Attendance: 5,000 |
| January 15, 1983 2 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 3–6 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Dallas, Texas |
|
Belfiore 8:42' (Krupa, DuBose) Danaeifard 36:17'Pesa 55:57' (Abrahams) |
Report p. 2-C |
McLeod 6:59' (Nogly, Perez) Karpun 37:23'Zequinha 39:53' (Molina, Nogly)Van der Beck 42:30' (Roe)McLeod 51:45'Pérez 56:33' (Zequinha) |
Stadium:
Reunion Arena Attendance: 5,451 |
| January 18, 1983 3 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 3–5 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
|
Saldana 21:07' Saldana 21:29' (Danaiford)Saldana 52:00' (Riordan) |
Report 1 (p. 5-C) Report 2 |
Nogly 18:08' (Oliveira) Van der Beck 19:14'McLeod (Myernick)Karpun (Myernick)Roe (Karpun, Nogly) |
Stadium:
Myriad Arena Attendance: 2,500 |
| January 29, 1983 4 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 7–5 | Montreal Manic | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 7:30 PM (EST) |
Karpun 7:38' (Myernick) Tatu 34:32' (Molina, Kozic)Oliveira 35:46' (Molina, Myernick)Tatu 39:05' (Molina)Pérez 40:28' (McLeod)Nogly 48:47' (Pérez)Van der Beck 58:37' |
Report p. 2-C |
Mitchell 18:46' Willey 24:27' (Falzon, Knight)Usiyan 37:56' (Marcantonio, Lodeweges)Usiyan 39:40'Mitchell 40:40' (O'Brien) |
Stadium:
Bayfront Center Attendance: 5,525 |
| February 25, 1983 5 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 8–5 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | Lakeland, Florida |
| 8:00 PM (EST) |
Tatu 6:15' (Gruber, Easton) Karpun 13:04'Miller 22:55' (Pérez, Kozic)Karpun 31:35' (Fall)Gruber 44:42' (Fall)Molina 46:43' (Thompson)Bates 53:38' (Molina, McLeod)Oliveira 57:51' (Pérez, Molina) |
Report p. 2-C |
Kidd 13:26' (Segota) Cubillas 23:55' (Kidd)Kidd 36:14' (Whelan)Meschbach 39:31' (Kadupski, Cubillas)Kidd 54:16' (Kadupski) |
Stadium:
Lakeland Civic Center Attendance: 3,506 |
References
- ^ "Rowdies take on Montreal". Lakeland Ledger. January 21, 1983. p. 3D. Retrieved January 23, 2014 – via Google News Archive Search.
- ^ a b Beard, Randy (February 15, 1983). "Rowdies' pair united in feelings toward Team America and coach". The Evening Independent. p. 3-C. Retrieved January 23, 2014 – via Google News Archive Search.
- ^ "Manic, Rowdies Clash Today". Youngstown Vindicator. February 20, 1983. p. D-4. Retrieved January 23, 2014 – via Google News Archive Search.
- ^ "Rowdies enter touney". Lakeland Ledger. December 12, 1982. p. 3D. Retrieved January 23, 2014 – via Google News Archive Search.
- ^ Johnson, Mark (February 21, 1983). "Rowdies win Grand Prix on Karpun's goal in OT". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1C. Retrieved October 4, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Allen, Diane Lacy (February 23, 1983). "Rowdies meet Strikers at Civic Center". Lakeland Ledger. p. 3D. Retrieved January 23, 2014 – via Google News Archive Search.
- ^ Beard, Randy (February 21, 1983). "Championship effort carried Rowdies to title". The Evening Independent. p. 1-C. Retrieved January 23, 2014 – via Google News Archive Search.
- ^ "Miller resigns as Rowdies coach". Lakeland Ledger. October 4, 1983. p. 1D. Retrieved January 23, 2014 – via Google News Archive Search.
- ^ "Manic win opener". The Montreal Gazette. October 4, 1983. p. H-2. Retrieved January 23, 2014 – via Google News Archive Search.
- ^ "Injury takes edge off Rowdies' victory". The Evening Independent. January 24, 1983. p. 8-C. Retrieved January 23, 2014 – via Google News Archive Search.
- ^ "Rowdies whip Strikers in Grand Prix Soccer". Lakeland Ledger. February 7, 1983. p. 6D. Retrieved January 23, 2014 – via Google News Archive Search.
- ^ "Manic triumph". The Montreal Gazette. February 5, 1983. p. H-1. Retrieved January 23, 2014 – via Google News Archive Search.
- ^ Beard, Randy (February 19, 1983). "Power play went short-handed Rowdies' way". The Evening Independent. p. 3-C. Retrieved January 23, 2014 – via Google News Archive Search.