1980 North American Soccer League season


Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1980. This was the 13th season of the NASL.

Overview

The league comprised 24 teams; for the only time in NASL history, the lineup of teams was identical to the year before, with no clubs joining or dropping out, franchise shifts or even name changes. The New York Cosmos defeated the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the finals on September 21 to win the championship. For the third time in league history the team with the most wins did not win the regular season due to the NASL's system of awarding bonus points for goals scored.

Changes from the previous season

The 1980 season saw the regular season expand from 30 games to 32 games. Three North Americans were required to be among the eleven playing in the match for each team, up from two during the previous season.

New teams

  • None

Teams folding

  • None

Teams moving

  • None

Name changes

  • None

Regular season

W = Wins, L = Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PT= point system
6 points for a win,
0 points for a loss,
1 point for each regulation goal scored up to three per game.

American Conference

Central DivisionWLGFGAPT
Chicago Sting 21118050187
Houston Hurricane 14185669130
Detroit Express14185152129
Memphis Rogues14184957126

Western DivisionWLGFGAPT
Edmonton Drillers 17155851149
California Surf 15176167144
San Diego Sockers 16165351140
San Jose Earthquakes923456895

National Conference

Central DivisionWLGFGAPT
Dallas Tornado 18145758157
Minnesota Kicks 16166656147
Tulsa Roughnecks 15175662139
Atlanta Chiefs725348474

Western DivisionWLGFGAPT
Seattle Sounders 2577431207
Los Angeles Aztecs 20126152174
Vancouver Whitecaps 16165247139
Portland Timbers15175053133

NASL All-Stars

First Team Position Second TeamHonorable Mention

Playoffs

The top two teams from each division qualified for the playoffs automatically. The last two spots would go to the next best teams in the conference, regardless of division. The top three conference seeds went to the division winners, seeds 4-6 went to the second place teams and the last two seeds were given wild-card berths. The winners of each successive round would be reseeded within the conference by regular season point total, regardless of first-round seeding. The Soccer Bowl remained a single game final.
''In 1979 and 1980, if a playoff series was tied at one win apiece, a full 30 minute mini-game was played. If there was no winner after the 30 minutes ended, the teams would then move on to a shoot-out to determine a series winner.''

Soccer Bowl '80

1980 NASL Champions: New York Cosmos

Post season awards

Average home attendance

TeamAverage
New York Cosmos42,754
Tampa Bay Rowdies28,345
Vancouver Whitecaps26,834
Seattle Sounders24,246
Tulsa Roughnecks19,787
Washington Diplomats19,205
Minnesota Kicks18,279
Toronto Blizzard15,043
Fort Lauderdale Strikers14,279
San Jose Earthquakes13,169
San Diego Sockers12,753
Los Angeles Aztecs12,057
Chicago Sting11,672
Detroit Express11,198
Edmonton Drillers10,920
Portland Timbers10,210
Memphis Rogues9,864
New England Tea Men8,748
Rochester Lancers7,757
California Surf7,593
Dallas Tornado6,752
Houston Hurricane5,818
Atlanta Chiefs4,884
Philadelphia Fury4,465