| NASL Indoor Tournament | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Dates | March 12, 1976 – March 27, 1976 |
| Teams | 12 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Tampa Bay Rowdies (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Rochester Lancers |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 16 |
| Goals scored | 175 (10.94 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Juli Veee (8 goals) |
| Best player(s) |  Clyde Best (Tampa Bay) |
← 1975 1978 → | |
Over the course of three weekends in March 1976, the North American Soccer League hosted its second league-wide indoor soccer tournament. Twelve of the twenty NASL teams participated.
In 1976, instead of playing a full indoor schedule (and despite the hopes of Tampa Bay owner George Strawbridge, Jr.),[1] the North American Soccer League opted to stage a two-tiered indoor tournament for the second consecutive year. Of the league's 20 teams, 12 participated in three regions, which was down from 16 in four regions in the previous year's tournament. The regional winners along with the "best" second-place team would advance to the final four in St. Petersburg, Florida. While the goals remained 4 × 16, the games would be shortened to three 15-minute periods, instead of the 20-minute frames played the previous year.[2][3][4][5] The tournament also saw the first-ever indoor overtime and penalty shootout, as Miami and Boston played to a 6–6 draw in the opening match. After 45 minutes of regulation time and two 5-minute golden goal extra sessions, the match was ultimately decided by spot kicks.[6]
Playing in their home arena, the Bayfront Center, the Tampa Bay Rowdies defeated the Rochester Lancers 6–4 in the Championship Final. Juli Veee of San Jose scored eight goals to lead the tournament, while Clyde Best of Tampa Bay earned the MVP honors.
Eastern Regional 
Midwest Regional 
Western Regional
played at the Bayfront CenterinSt. Petersburg, Florida[7][8][9]
| March 12 | Miami Toros | 7–6 (PK, 4–3) | Boston Minutemen | Attendance: 4,762 |
| March 12 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 9–5 | Washington Diplomats | |
| March 13 | Washington Diplomats | 9–3 | Miami Toros | Attendance: 5,785 |
| March 13 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 5–3 | Boston Minutemen | |
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 2 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 8 | +6 | 4 |
| 2 | Washington Diplomats | 2 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 12 | +2 | 2 |
| 3 | Miami Toros | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 15 | –6 | 2 |
| 4 | Boston Minutemen | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 11 | –2 | 0 |
*Tampa Bay wins region, advances to semifinals
played at International AmphitheatreinChicago, Illinois[10]
| March 13 | Toronto Metros-Croatia | 8–6 | St. Louis Stars | Attendance: 1,700 (est.)[11] |
| March 13 | Rochester Lancers | 5–2 | Chicago Sting | |
| March 14 | Rochester Lancers | 5–4 | St. Louis Stars | Attendance: 1,700 (est.)[11] |
| March 14 | Chicago Sting | 6–2 | Toronto Metros-Croatia | |
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rochester Lancers | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 4 |
| 2 | Chicago Sting | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 2 |
| 3 | Toronto Metros-Croatia | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 12 | –2 | 2 |
| 4 | St. Louis Stars | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 13 | –3 | 0 |
*Rochester wins region, advances to semifinals
played at the Cow PalaceinDaly City, California[15][16][17]
| March 19 | Dallas Tornado | 5–2 | San Diego Jaws | Attendance: 6,671[18] |
| March 19 | San Jose Earthquakes | 18–6 | Vancouver Whitecaps | |
| March 21 | Dallas Tornado | 11–2 | Vancouver Whitecaps | Attendance: 5,438[19] |
| March 21 | San Jose Earthquakes | 8–4 | San Diego Jaws | |
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Jose Earthquakes | 2 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 10 | +16 | 4 |
| 2 | Dallas Tornado | 2 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 4 | +12 | 4 |
| 3 | San Diego Jaws | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 13 | –7 | 0 |
| 4 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 29 | –21 | 0 |
*San Jose wins region on goal differential, while Dallas is the top second-place team in any region, so both advance to semifinals
| Semifinals | Championship Final | ||||||||
| M1 | Rochester Lancers | 6 | |||||||
| W1 | San Jose Earthquakes | 4 | |||||||
| M1 | Rochester Lancers | 4 | |||||||
| E1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 6 | |||||||
| E1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 6 | |||||||
| W2 | Dallas Tornado | 2 | Third place | ||||||
| W1 | San Jose Earthquakes | 5 | |||||||
| W2 | Dallas Tornado | 2 | |||||||
played at the Bayfront CenterinSt. Petersburg, Florida[21]
| March 26 | Rochester Lancers | 6–4 | San Jose Earthquakes | Attendance: 5,365 |
| March 26 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 6–2 | Dallas Tornado | |
played at the Bayfront CenterinSt. Petersburg, Florida
| March 27 | San Jose Earthquakes | 5–2 | Dallas Tornado | |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 6–4 | Rochester Lancers |
|---|---|---|
Smethurst  3:37' (Scullion)Lindsay 12:43'Best 20:11'Smethurst 30:26' (Best)Smethurst 41:42'Best 44:58' (Scullion) |
Report 1 Report 2 |
Garcia 2:31' (Escos) Escos 9:54'Silva Moia 35:43' |
Attendance: 5,787[22]
Referee: Larry King / Gino D'Ippolito / Rene Imar
1975 NASL Indoor Champions: Tampa Bay Rowdies
G = Games, W = Wins, L = Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, GD = Goal Differential
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 4 | 4 | 0 | 26 | 14 | +12 |
| 2 | Rochester Lancers | 4 | 3 | 1 | 20 | 16 | +4 |
| 3 | San Jose Earthquakes | 4 | 3 | 1 | 35 | 18 | +17 |
| 4 | Dallas Tornado | 4 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 15 | +5 |
| 5 | Washington Diplomats | 2 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 12 | +2 |
In addition to the tournament itself, a few teams staged other indoor matches as tune-ups for both the outdoor season and the indoor tournament itself.
| March 6, 1976 1Int'l friendly | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 11–4 | Santos F.C. (Jamaica) | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 7:30 PM (EST) | Wark 8:08' (Garber) Austin 14:11' (Marsh)Lindsay 17:19' (Marsh)Best 24:13' (Garber)Marsh 25:54' (Auguste)Marsh 26:31' (Bleum)Best 27:40'Best 29:23' (Scullion)Scullion 35:28' (Marsh)Scullion 51:34' (Marsh)Best 55:18' (Wark) |
Report 1 Report 2 |
P. Marston 13:56' (Taylor) L. Anderson 30:57' (Taylor)E. Reid 39:29' (Taylor)McKenzie 41:46' (Blair) |
Stadium: Bayfront Center Attendance: 5,620 |
| March 17, 1976 2 | San Jose Earthquakes | 9–4 | Dallas Tornado | Daly City, California |
| Child , Kemp , Samuelsson , B. Demling Moore Mitić |
Report 1 Report 2 |
Chadwick , (pen.), Cohen |
Stadium: Cow Palace Attendance: 3,983[24] |
| April 8, 1976 3 | Philadelphia Atoms | 4–3 | Washington Diplomats | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Herrada 7:05' (Camacho) Navarro 21:53'Galati 32:05' (Lopez)López 39:45' |
Report 1 Report 2 Report 3 |
Minor 26:52' Grell 27:04'Minor 33:40' |
Stadium: Spectrum Attendance: 4,234[25] |
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† United Soccer Association team that did not join NASL upon merger with NPSL | |
