1984 United Soccer League season

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United Soccer League
Season1984
ChampionsFort Lauderdale Sun
PremiersOklahoma City Stampede
Matches played108
Goals scored400 (3.7 per match)
Top goalscorerJose Neto
(22 goals)
← First
1985 →

The 1984 USL season was the United Soccer League's first and only full season.

History

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 rapid expansion to the west coast in the 1970s and southern states in the 1980s had produced a string of short-lived franchises that were not able to make ends meet financially. Krieg joined with the owner of the Dallas Americans, Bob Spears, to found a new second division league called the United Soccer League that would try to operate within its means, feature primarily American players, promote regional rivalries to reduce travel expenses, and embrace a "grass roots" approach to growing the game in their towns.[1] In late January 1984, the Detroit Express joined Jacksonville and Dallas in announcing their intention to move to the USL for the upcoming season.[2] By late February, the USL had added the Oklahoma City Stampede and Charlotte Gold (reorganized and re-branded versions of the ASL's Oklahoma City Slickers and Carolina Lightnin') as well as new organizations the Buffalo Storm, Fort Lauderdale Sun and New York Nationals.[3] In the following weeks, the list of teams grew to include one last ASL defector, the Rochester Flash, and one more new organization, the Houston Dynamos. 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 Burfeind, 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.[4][5]

The 1984 Season

The season ran from May 12 through August 15,[6] 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 were signed to 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 defeated Dallas in a one-game wild card match to earn the fourth spot in the playoff semifinals.[7]

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.[8] 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. 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.[9] 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.[10] The Sun made quick work of Buffalo, while Houston upset Oklahoma City.[11] 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.[12]

League standings

Northern Division

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
Source: [citation needed]

Southern Division

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
Source: [citation needed]

Southwest Division

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
Source: [citation needed]

Playoffs

Wild card

Houston Dynamos (TX)2–1Dallas Americans (TX)
Jose Neto
Jose Neto 69'
J.K. Butler Stadium, Houston, Texas

Semifinal 1

Houston Dynamos (TX)3–1 (a.e.t.)Oklahoma City Stampede (OK)
Walter Schlothauer 2'
Jose Neto 94' (pen.)
Manny Neves 109' (pen.)		 12', Red card 110' Thompson Usiyan
J.K. Butler Stadium, Houston, Texas
Attendance: 2,431
Referee: Bob Evans (USA)


Oklahoma City Stampede (OK)1–2Houston Dynamos (TX)
Kenny Killingsworth 13' Yellow card 28' Manny Andruszewski
55', 69' Jose Neto
Referee: Bill Schofield (USA)

Semifinal 2

Fort Lauderdale Sun (FL)3–0Buffalo Storm (NY)
Mark Schwartz 59:20' (Cubillas)
Teófilo Cubillas 62:58', 76:59' (Crescitelli)
Tom Groark Yellow card 70:13'
John Lignos Yellow card 76:59'
Attendance: 3,186[13]


Fort Lauderdale Sun (FL)5–1Buffalo Storm (NY)
Mark Schwartz 12:16', 17:49', 45:21'
Teófilo Cubillas 42:20'
Christiansen Yellow card 52'
Dave Watson 56:53'		 49:12', Yellow card 52' Jerry Martello
Yellow card 55' Corney
Attendance: 4,502[14]

Final

Houston Dynamos (TX)1–1 (a.e.t.)Fort Lauderdale Sun (FL)
Giulio Bernardi 105:30' Red card 78' Tom Mulroy
Red card 83' Asa Hartford
98:12' Keith Weller (Christensen)
Red card David Irving
Penalties
Jose Neto soccer ball with check mark
Walter Schlothauer soccer ball with check mark
Giulio Bernardi soccer ball with check mark
Lesh Shkreli soccer ball with check mark		 4–2 soccer ball with red X Mark Longwell
soccer ball with check mark Boris Bandov
soccer ball with red X Ronil Dufrene
soccer ball with check mark Tom Groark
J.K. Butler Stadium, Houston, Texas
Referee: Manuel Ortiz (USA)[15]


Fort Lauderdale Sun (FL)3–0Houston Dynamos (TX)
Mark Schwartz (Crescitelli) 11:04'
Mark Schwartz (Cubillas) 22:43'
Teófilo Cubillas (Dufrene) 33:15'		 Report
Attendance: 4,250
Referee: Ron Miller[16]


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 soccer ball with check mark
Mark Schwartz soccer ball with red X
John Lignos soccer ball with red X
Tom Mulroy soccer ball with red X
Boris Bandov soccer ball with check mark
? soccer ball with red X
? soccer ball with red X
? soccer ball with red X
Dave Watson soccer ball with check mark		 3–2 soccer ball with check mark Jose Neto
soccer ball with red X ?
soccer ball with red X ?
soccer ball with check mark Nathan Sacks
soccer ball with red X Beto Dos Santos
soccer ball with red X ?
soccer ball with red X ?
soccer ball with red X Manny Andruszewski
soccer ball with red X Glenn Davis[18]
Attendance: 4,642[17]

Honors

Points leaders

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

  1. ^ "What can only be described as "Soccapocalypse"". Protagonist Soccer. March 6, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  2. ^ 3 ASL Clubs Plan to Join New League The Daily Oklahoman - Monday, January 30, 1984
  3. ^ "United Soccer League Names Six Franchises". The Oklahoman. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  4. ^ "What can only be described as "Soccapocalypse"". Protagonist Soccer. March 6, 2019. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  5. ^ Donovan, Kevin. "Eager Owner Brings Soccer Back to City". The Oklahoman. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  6. ^ Soccer League Officially Formed The Daily Oklahoman - Sunday, March 18, 1984
  7. ^ "The Year in American Soccer - 1984". Soccer History USA – Audio Essays on the Beautiful Game. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  8. ^ unknown, unknown (July 12, 2024). "United Soccer League Directory" (PDF).
  9. ^ Donovan, Kevin. "Stampede Playoff Query When?". The Oklahoman. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  10. ^ SUN TO PLAY HOST TO BUFFALO Miami Herald, The (FL) - Saturday, August 18, 1984
  11. ^ Donovan, Kevin. "Dynamos Eliminate Stampede". The Oklahoman. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  12. ^ "Fort Lauderdale News from Fort Lauderdale, Florida". Newspapers.com. September 3, 1984. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  13. ^ Sarni, Jim (August 24, 1984). "High-pressure tactics net Sun playoff win". Fort Lauderdale News. p. 1C. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  14. ^ Sarni, Jim (August 26, 1984). "Sun rout Storm advance USL finals". Fort Lauderdale News. p. 1C. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  15. ^ Sarni, Jim (August 30, 1984). "Dynamos upset Sun in Game 1". Fort Lauderdale News. p. 1C. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  16. ^ Sarni, Jim (September 1, 1984). "Sun ties series; title at stake tonight". Fort Lauderdale News. p. 1C. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  17. ^ Sarni, Jim (September 2, 1984). "Sun wins USL crown with shootout victory". Fort Lauderdale News. p. 1C. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  18. ^ "Sun Beats Houston 2–1 To Win Title". Palm Beach Post. September 2, 1984. p. D9. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  19. ^ Sarni, Jim (September 3, 1984). "Taste of championship sweet for Cubillas, Sun". Fort Lauderdale News. p. 11C. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
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