1984 United Soccer League season
| Season | 1984 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Fort Lauderdale Sun |
| Premiers | Oklahoma City Stampede |
| Matches played | 108 |
| Goals scored | 400 (3.7 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Jose Neto (22 goals) |
← First 1985 → | |
The 1984 USL season was the United Soccer League's first and only full season.
History[edit]
The creation of Ingo Krieg, owner of the Jacksonville Tea Men, the United Soccer League formally announced its existence on February 1, 1984. The roots go back to Krieg's frustration over the direction taken by the second division American Soccer League which was declining after a period of overexpansion and financial excesses. Krieg proposed the creation of a financially sound league. In late January 1984, three ASL teams, the Dallas Americans, Detroit Express and Jacksonville Tea Men informed the ASL that they intended to move to the USL for the upcoming season.[1] When the league announced its formal creation on the first of February, it added to the list of teams by including the Oklahoma City Stampede and Charlotte Gold (reorganized and re-branded versions of the ASL's Oklahoma City Slickers and Carolina Lightnin').[2] In the following weeks, the list of teams expanded to include another ASL defector, the Rochester Flash, as well as new organizations the Buffalo Storm, Houston Dynamos, Fort Lauderdale Sun and New York Nationals. On March 18, 1984, the league announced a final line-up of nine teams in three divisions (Detroit ultimately dropped out due to the league not being sanctioned by the USSF). Dr. William Burfiend, who had resigned as ASL president in January, agreed to be the USL's first commisioner. The ASL, left with no active teams, quietly closed up shop.[3][4]
The 1984 Season[edit]
The season ran from May 12 through August 15,[5] and it went fairly smoothly for a recently founded league. Because the NASL was shedding franchises rapidly in the early 80's, a number of skilled and experienced professionals were available and bolstered rosters around the league. The standings reflected a relatively balanced and competitive group of clubs with no dominant or glaringly weak members. Though some franchises seemed to be on more stable footing than others, all nine teams completed their full 24-game schedules. Buffalo, Fort Lauderdale and Oklahoma City finished atop their respective divisions to earn postseason berths, and Houston and Dallas qualified for a one-game Wild Card match to compete to be the fourth team in the playoff semifinals.[6]
The semifinal round began with considerable confusion. To determine teams' place in the standings, the league had adopted a points system that awarded five points for any win, two for a shootout loss (there were no ties), and up to three bonus points per game for regulation goals scored.[7] In July, the league had announced a playoff format that would have the team with the most standings points face the team with the lowest points on one side of the bracket while the teams with the 2nd and 3rd most points would square off on the other. Teams therefore expected the semifinals matchups to be top seed Oklahoma City (127 points) vs. Buffalo (96 points) and Fort Lauderdale (122 points) vs. wild card winner Houston (112 points), with Oklahoma City and Fort Lauderdale earning home field advantage for the three-game series. However, on Friday, August 17, just a few days before the first semifinal games, league officials held a conference call in which, after reviewing the minutes of an organizational meeting from April, they determined that their plan then had been for the top seed to face the wild card game winner regardless of points totals. The matchups were adjusted accordingly to be Oklahoma City vs. Houston and Fort Lauderdale vs. Buffalo.[8] The Storm owner, Sal DeRosa, announced that all games between his team and Fort Lauderdale would take place in Florida because he did not feel optimistic about his club's ability to attract fans to a mid-week game at a field with no lights on short notice.[9] The Sun made quick work of Buffalo, while Houston upset Oklahoma City.[10] The best-of-three championship round was tightly contested. The first game had to be settled by a shootout, with Houston coming out on top at home. Fort Lauderdale would rally to win Game 2 in South Florida by a score of 3-0, setting up a rubber match the next day. This game, too, would end in a tie and be decided in a shootout, but this time Fort Lauderdale prevailed to claim the first (and ultimately only) USL championship.[11]
League standings[edit]
Northern Division[edit]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | T | L | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buffalo Storm | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 48 | 41 | +7 | 41 | 96 | .313 |
| 2 | New York Nationals | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 32 | 53 | −21 | 34 | 84 | .125 |
| 3 | Rochester Flash | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 27 | 49 | −22 | 30 | 65 | .917 |
Southern Division[edit]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | T | L | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fort Lauderdale Sun | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 53 | 34 | +19 | 47 | 122 | .604 |
| 2 | Charlotte Gold | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 48 | 59 | −11 | 50 | 105 | .500 |
| 3 | Jacksonville Tea Men | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 46 | 50 | −4 | 43 | 98 | .354 |
Western Division[edit]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | T | L | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma City Stampede | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 55 | 42 | +13 | 52 | 127 | .708 |
| 2 | Houston Dynamos | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 54 | 38 | +16 | 47 | 112 | .521 |
| 3 | Dallas Americans | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 37 | 34 | +3 | 40 | 110 | .417 |
Playoffs[edit]
Wild card[edit]
| Houston Dynamos (TX) | 2–1 | Dallas Americans (TX) |
|---|---|---|
| Jose Neto Jose Neto  69' |
Semifinal 1[edit]
| Houston Dynamos (TX) | 3–1 (a.e.t.) | Oklahoma City Stampede (OK) |
|---|---|---|
| Walter Schlothauer 2' Jose Neto 94' (pen.) Manny Neves 109' (pen.) |
12',  110' Thompson Usiyan |
| Oklahoma City Stampede (OK) | 1–2 | Houston Dynamos (TX) |
|---|---|---|
| Kenny Killingsworth 13' |
 28' Manny Andruszewski 55', 69' Jose Neto |
Semifinal 2[edit]
| Fort Lauderdale Sun (FL) | 3–0 | Buffalo Storm (NY) |
|---|---|---|
| Mark Schwartz 59:20' (Cubillas) Teófilo Cubillas 62:58', 76:59' (Crescitelli)Tom Groark 70:13'John Lignos 76:59' |
| Fort Lauderdale Sun (FL) | 5–1 | Buffalo Storm (NY) |
|---|---|---|
| Mark Schwartz 12:16', 17:49', 45:21' Teófilo Cubillas 42:20'Christiansen 52'Dave Watson 56:53' |
49:12', 52' Jerry Martello 55' Corney |
Final[edit]
| Houston Dynamos (TX) | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | Fort Lauderdale Sun (FL) |
|---|---|---|
| Giulio Bernardi 105:30' |
78' Tom Mulroy 83' Asa Hartford 98:12' Keith Weller (Christensen) David Irving |
|
| Penalties | ||
Jose Neto  Walter Schlothauer Giulio Bernardi Lesh Shkreli |
4–2 |  Mark Longwell Boris Bandov Ronil Dufrene Tom Groark |
| Fort Lauderdale Sun (FL) | 3–0 | Houston Dynamos (TX) |
|---|---|---|
| Mark Schwartz (Crescitelli) 11:04' Mark Schwartz (Cubillas) 22:43' Teófilo Cubillas (Dufrene) 33:15' |
Report |
| Fort Lauderdale Sun (FL) | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | Houston Dynamos (TX) |
|---|---|---|
| Dave Watson (Bandov) 41:08' |
Report | 33:20' Jose Neto (Hilton) |
| Penalties | ||
| Teófilo Cubillas Mark Schwartz John Lignos Tom Mulroy Boris Bandov ? ? ? Dave Watson |
3–2 | Jose Neto ? ? Nathan Sacks Beto Dos Santos ? ? Manny Andruszewski Glenn Davis[17] |
Honors[edit]
- MVP: Jose Neto
- Leading goal scorer: Jose Neto
- Leading goalkeeper: Jim Tietjens
- Rookie of the Year: Mark Schwartz
- Coach of the Year: Gary Hindley
- Playoffs MVP: Mark Schwartz[18]
- Executive of the Year: Peter Kane
Points leaders[edit]
| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals | Assists | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jose Neto | Houston Dynamos | 22 | 8 | 30 |
| 2 | David Kemp | Oklahoma City Stampede | 28 | ||
| 3 | Thompson Usiyan | Oklahoma City Stampede | 26 | ||
| 4 | Mark Schwartz | Fort Lauderdale Sun | 13 | 6 | 19 |
| 5 | Carlos Salguero | Buffalo Storm | 19 | ||
| 6 | Tony Johnson | Houston Dynamos | 11 | 7 | 18 |
References[edit]
- ^ 3 ASL Clubs Plan to Join New League The Daily Oklahoman - Monday, January 30, 1984
- ^ UNITED LEAGUE BRINGS SOCCER BACK TO TOWN Miami Herald, The (FL) - Wednesday, February 1, 1984
- ^ "What can only be described as "Soccapocalypse"". Protagonist Soccer. March 6, 2019. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
- ^ Donovan, Kevin. "Eager Owner Brings Soccer Back to City". The Oklahoman. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
- ^ Soccer League Officially Formed The Daily Oklahoman - Sunday, March 18, 1984
- ^ "The Year in American Soccer - 1984". Soccer History USA – Audio Essays on the Beautiful Game. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
- ^ unknown, unknown (July 12, 2024). "United Soccer League Directory" (PDF).
- ^ Donovan, Kevin. "Stampede Playoff Query When?". The Oklahoman. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
- ^ SUN TO PLAY HOST TO BUFFALO Miami Herald, The (FL) - Saturday, August 18, 1984
- ^ Donovan, Kevin. "Dynamos Eliminate Stampede". The Oklahoman. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
- ^ "Fort Lauderdale News from Fort Lauderdale, Florida". Newspapers.com. September 3, 1984. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
- ^ Sarni, Jim (August 24, 1984). "High-pressure tactics net Sun playoff win". Fort Lauderdale News. p. 1C. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- ^ Sarni, Jim (August 26, 1984). "Sun rout Storm advance USL finals". Fort Lauderdale News. p. 1C. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- ^ Sarni, Jim (August 30, 1984). "Dynamos upset Sun in Game 1". Fort Lauderdale News. p. 1C. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
- ^ Sarni, Jim (September 1, 1984). "Sun ties series; title at stake tonight". Fort Lauderdale News. p. 1C. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
- ^ Sarni, Jim (September 2, 1984). "Sun wins USL crown with shootout victory". Fort Lauderdale News. p. 1C. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
- ^ "Sun Beats Houston 2–1 To Win Title". Palm Beach Post. September 2, 1984. p. D9. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
- ^ Sarni, Jim (September 3, 1984). "Taste of championship sweet for Cubillas, Sun". Fort Lauderdale News. p. 11C. Retrieved February 20, 2017.