| Season | 1971 |
|---|---|
| Teams | 8 |
| Champions | Dallas Tornado |
| Premiers | Rochester Lancers |
| Matches | 112 |
| Goals | 306 (2.73 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Carlos Metidieri (19 goals) |
| Highest attendance | 19,437Rochester @NY |
| Average attendance | 4,154 |
←1970 1972 → | |
Statistics ofNorth American Soccer League in season 1971. This was the 4th season of the NASL.
Eight teams competed in the 1971 season. TheDallas Tornado won theleague championship after playing several playoff matches under the newsudden death rule, which replaced thepenalty shootout. In Game 1 of the best-of-three semifinal against theRochester Lancers, league scoring championCarlos 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 beforeBobby Moffat scored in the 148 minute for a 2–1 victory. Four days later, Dallas lostGame 1 of the NASL Championship Series, 2–1, in the 3rd overtime to theAtlanta 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 inGame 2 and 2–0 inGame 3 to clinch the league championship.[2]
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 bygolden goal (or sudden death) overtime periods lasting 15 minutes each.[2]
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.
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 | – | |||||||||
| 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] |
| 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 |
| September 12 | Atlanta Chiefs | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Dallas Tornado | Atlanta Stadium,Atlanta, Georgia |
Uriel da Veiga 71:53'Kaizer Motaung  123:58' | Report | Tibor Molnár 40:39' | Attendance: 3,218 |
| 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 |
| 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
