North American Soccer League 1971 season
Season1971
ChampionsDallas Tornado
PremiersRochester Lancers
Matches played112
Goals scored306 (2.73 per match)
Top goalscorerCarlos Metidieri
(19 goals)
Highest attendance19,437 Rochester @ NY
Average attendance4,154
← 1970
1972 →

Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1971. This was the 4th season of the NASL.

Overview

Eight teams competed in the 1971 season. The Dallas Tornado won the league championship after playing several playoff matches under the new sudden death rule, which replaced the penalty shootout. In Game 1 of the best-of-three semifinal against the Rochester Lancers, league scoring champion Carlos Metidieri of Rochester scored to end the match at 2–1 in the 176th minute after six periods of overtime—shortly before midnight. Three days later, Dallas tied the series with a 3–1 regulation win. In the deciding match, the two teams ended regulation with a 1–1 tie and played four overtime periods before Bobby Moffat scored in the 148 minute for a 2–1 victory. Four days later, Dallas lost Game 1 of the NASL Championship Series, 2–1, in the 3rd overtime to the Atlanta Chiefs after 123 minutes.[1] All totaled, Dallas had played 537 minutes of soccer (3 minutes short of six games) in 13 days. The Tornado won 4–1 in Game 2 and 2–0 in Game 3 to clinch the league championship.[2]

Changes From the previous season

Rule changes

Playoffs series switched from a two-game aggregate score to a best-two-out-of-three match format. Any playoff games tied after 90 minutes would now be settled by golden goal (or sudden death) overtime periods lasting 15 minutes each.[2]

New teams

Teams folding

Teams moving

Name changes

Regular season

W = Wins, L = Losses, T= Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PT= point system

6 points for a win, 3 points for a tie, 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
Rochester Lancers 13 5 6 48 31 141
New York Cosmos 9 10 5 51 55 117
Toronto Metros 5 10 9 32 47 89
Montreal Olympique 4 15 5 29 59 65
Southern Division W L T GF GA PT
Atlanta Chiefs 12 7 5 35 29 120
Dallas Tornado 10 6 8 38 24 119
Washington Darts 8 6 10 36 34 111
St. Louis Stars 6 13 5 37 47 86

1971 NASL All-Stars

First Team[3][4]   Position   Second Team Honorable Mention
Mirko Stojanovic, Dallas G Leonel Conde, Washington Manfred Kammerer, Atlanta • Claude Campos, Rochester
Dick Hall, Dallas D Clive Charles, Montreal Frank Donlavey, Washington
Willie Evans, Washington D Uriel da Veiga, Atlanta Oreco, Dallas
Peter Short, Rochester D John Cocking, Atlanta Gabbo Gavrić, Dallas
John Best, Dallas D Charlie Mitchell, Rochester Mick Hoban, Atlanta • Roberto Lonardo, Rochester
Dragan Popovic, St. Louis M Francisco Escos, Rochester Freddie Mwila, Atlanta • Barrie Lynch, Atlanta
Siggy Stritzl, New York M Felix Correia, Toronto Billy Fraser, Washington • Keith Pointer, Montreal • Roy Turner, Dallas
Carlos Metidieri, Rochester F Warren Archibald, Washington Tommy Youlden, Dallas
Randy Horton, New York F Casey Frankiewicz, St. Louis Iris DeBrito, Rochester
Kaizer Motaung, Atlanta F Franco Gallina, Montreal Mike Renshaw, Dallas
Manfred Seissler, Rochester F Jorge Siega, New York Leroy DeLeon, Washington • Ian MacHattie, Toronto

Playoffs

Bracket

Semifinals
Best-of-3 		NASL Final 1971
Best-of-3
          
N1 Rochester Lancers 2 1 1
S2 Dallas Tornado 1 3 2
S2 Dallas Tornado 1 4 2
S1 Atlanta Chiefs 2 1 1
S1 Atlanta Chiefs 1 2 –
N2 New York Cosmos 0 0 –

Semifinals

Higher seed Series Lower seed Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Attendance
Rochester Lancers 1 - 2 Dallas Tornado 2–1 (6ot) 1–3 1–2 (4ot) September 1 • Aquinas Memorial Stadium • 8,309
September 4 • Franklin Stadium • 6,131[5]
September 8 • Aquinas Memorial Stadium • 7,635
Atlanta Chiefs 2 - 0 New York Cosmos 1–0(3ot) 2–0 x September 2 • Atlanta Stadium • 3,160[6]
September 5 • Hofstra Stadium • 3,800[7]

NASL Final 1971

Main article: NASL Final 1971
Higher seed Series Lower seed Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Attendance
Atlanta Chiefs 1 - 2 Dallas Tornado 2–1 (3ot) 1–4 0–2 September 12 • Atlanta Stadium • 3,218[8]
September 15 • Franklin Stadium • 6,456
September 19 • Atlanta Stadium • 4,687

Game one

September 12 Atlanta Chiefs 2–1 (a.e.t.) Dallas Tornado Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Uriel da Veiga 71:53'
Kaizer Motaung gold-colored soccer ball 123:58' 		Report Tibor Molnár 40:39' Attendance: 3,218

Game two

September 15 Dallas Tornado 4–1 Atlanta Chiefs Franklin Stadium, Dallas, Texas
Phil Tinney 45'
Luiz Juracy 54'
Luiz Juracy 76'
Tony McLoughlin 		Report 1
Report 2		 Henry Largie 44' (Paton) Attendance: 6,456

Game three

September 19 Atlanta Chiefs 0–2 Dallas Tornado Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Report Mike Renshaw 2:34' (Tinney)
Bobby Moffat 44:30'		 Attendance: 4,687


1971 NASL Champions: Dallas Tornado

Post season awards

References

  1. ^ Lewis, Michael (September 1, 2015). "Exhaustion and a 176th minute winner: The NASL game that lasted nearly three hours". The Guardian. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "The Year in American Soccer - 1971". Homepages.sover.net. Archived from the original on November 5, 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  3. ^ "NASL Homepage". May 1, 2008. Archived from the original on May 1, 2008. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  4. ^ "Steve Dimitry's NASL Web Page". Oocities.org. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  5. ^ "Dallas Evens Soccer Series". Atlanta Journal and Constitution. September 5, 1971. p. 6-D. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  6. ^ Roberts, Charles (September 3, 1971). "Chiefs Topple Cosmos In Sudden Death, 1-0". Atlanta Constitution. p. 1-D. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  7. ^ "Atlanta Moves into Finals". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. September 6, 1971. p. 3D. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  8. ^ "Previo Campeones: Dallas Tornado Ganan Titulo en 1971". September 22, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
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