1981 North American Soccer League season

North American Soccer League

Season	1981
Champions	Chicago Sting
Premiers	New York Cosmos
Top goalscorer	Giorgio Chinaglia
← 1980 1982 →

Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1981. This was the 14th season of the NASL.

Overview

There were a total of 21 teams participating. The Chicago Sting defeated the New York Cosmos in the final on September 26 to win the championship.

Changes from the Previous Season

Teams Folding

• Houston Hurricane
• Rochester Lancers
• Washington Diplomats

Teams Moving

• Memphis Rogues to Calgary Boomers
• Detroit Express to Washington Diplomats
• New England Tea Men to Jacksonville Tea Men
• Philadelphia Fury to Montreal Manic

Regular season

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

6 points for a win 1 point for a shootout win 0 points for a loss 1 point for each regulation goal scored up to three per game

Eastern Division

	W	L	GF	GA	PT
New York Cosmos	23	9	80	49	200
Montreal Manic	15	17	63	57	141
Washington Diplomats	15	17	59	58	135
Toronto Blizzard	7	25	39	82	77

Southern Division

	W	L	GF	GA	PT
Atlanta Chiefs	17	15	62	60	151
Fort Lauderdale Strikers	18	14	54	46	144
Jacksonville Tea Men	18	14	51	46	141
Tampa Bay Rowdies	15	17	63	64	139

Central Division

	W	L	GF	GA	PT
Chicago Sting	23	9	84	50	195
Minnesota Kicks	19	13	63	57	163
Tulsa Roughnecks	17	15	60	49	154
Dallas Tornado	5	27	27	71	54

Western Division

	W	L	GF	GA	PT
San Diego Sockers	21	11	67	49	173
Los Angeles Aztecs	19	13	53	55	160
California Surf	11	21	60	77	117
San Jose Earthquakes	11	21	44	78	108

Northwest Division

	W	L	GF	GA	PT
Vancouver Whitecaps	21	11	74	43	186
Calgary Boomers	17	15	59	54	151
Portland Timbers	17	15	52	49	141
Seattle Sounders	15	17	60	62	137
Edmonton Drillers	12	20	60	79	123

Playoffs

First round

			Game 1	Game 2	Game 3
Tulsa Roughnecks	-	Minnesota Kicks	1 - 3	0 - 1		August 22 , 26
Portland Timbers	-	San Diego Sockers	2 - 1	1 - 5	0 - 2	August 22 , 26 , 30
Jacksonville Tea Men	-	Atlanta Chiefs	3 - 2	2 - 1		August 23 , 25
Calgary Boomers	-	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	1 - 3	0 - 2		August 23 , 26
Tampa Bay Rowdies	-	Vancouver Whitecaps	4 - 1	1 - 0		August 23 , 26
Seattle Sounders	-	Chicago Sting	2 - 3	2 - 0	2 - 3	August 22 , 26 , 30
Montreal Manic	-	Los Angeles Aztecs	5 - 3	2 - 3	2 - 1	August 24 , 27 , 30

Quarter-finals

			Game 1	Game 2	Game 3
Tampa Bay Rowdies	-	New York Cosmos	3 - 6	3 - 2	0 - 2	September 2 , 5 , 9
Montreal Manic	-	Chicago Sting	3 - 2	2 - 4	2 - 4	September 2 , 5 , 10
Fort Lauderdale Strikers	-	Minnesota Kicks	3 - 1	3 - 0		September 2 , 6
Jacksonville Tea Men	-	San Diego Sockers	2 - 1	1 - 2	1 - 3	September 2 , 6 , 9

Semi-finals

			Game 1	Game 2	Game 3
Fort Lauderdale Strikers	-	New York Cosmos	3 - 4	1 - 4		September 12 , 16
San Diego Sockers	-	Chicago Sting	2 - 1	1 - 2	0 - 1	September 12 , 16 , 21

Soccer Bowl '81

September 26	Chicago Sting	1 – 0	New York Cosmos	Toronto (ON), Exhibition Stadium

Post season awards

• Most Valuable Player: Giorgio Chinaglia, New York
• Coach of the year: Willy Roy, Chicago
• Rookie of the year: Joe Morrone, Tulsa