1972 North American Soccer League season

North American Soccer League 1972 season
Season	1972
Teams	8
Champions	New York Cosmos
Premiers	New York Cosmos
Matches	56
Goals	156 (2.79 per match)
Top goalscorer	Randy Horton; (9 goals)
Longest winning run	5, St. Louis Stars
Highest attendance	24,742 ; (Mosc. Dynamo @ Dallas)
Lowest attendance	1,100 (Dallas @ Montreal)
Average attendance	5,340
	← 1971 1973 →

Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1972. This was the 5th season of the NASL.

Overview

Eight teams took part in the league with the New York Cosmos winning the championship.

Changes from previous season

Rules changes

The league changed its offside rule during the season on June 26. They created a "Blue Line" which was an offside line across the field, 35 yards from the goal line. Thereafter, no player could be offside unless he had crossed the 35-yard line. This made the NASL unique in the soccer world; the league received temporary approval for the change from FIFA on an experimental basis only. The league also switched the playoff format to single-match elimination contests rather than series.^[1]

New teams

None

Teams folding

None

Teams moving

Washington Darts to Miami Gatos

Name changes

None

Map of clubs

Olympique

Cosmos

Lancers

Metros

Chiefs

Tornado

Gatos

Stars

Northern Division

Southern Division

Regular season

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.

-Premiers (most points). -Other playoff teams.

Northern Division	W	L	T	GF	GA	PT
New York Cosmos	7	3	4	28	16	77
Rochester Lancers	6	5	3	20	22	64
Montreal Olympique	4	5	5	19	20	57
Toronto Metros	4	6	4	18	22	53

Southern Division	W	L	T	GF	GA	PT
St. Louis Stars	7	4	3	20	14	69
Dallas Tornado	6	5	3	15	12	60
Atlanta Chiefs	5	6	3	19	18	56
Miami Gatos	3	8	3	17	32	44

NASL All-Stars

First Team^[2]^[3]	Position	Second Team	Honorable Mention
Ken Cooper, Dallas	G	Dick Howard, Toronto	Sam Nusum, Montreal
John Best, Dallas	D	Dick Hall, Dallas	Adolfo Gori, Rochester
John Sewell, St. Louis	D	Clive Charles, Montreal	Charlie Mitchell, Rochester
Peter Short, Rochester	D	Wilf Tranter, St. Louis	John Cocking, Atlanta
Willie Evans, Miami	D	Brian Rowan, Toronto	Joe Puls, St. Louis
John Kerr, New York	M	Francisco Escos, Rochester	Mick Hoban, Atlanta
Graeme Souness, Montreal	M	Dave Metchick, Miami	Larry Hausmann, St. Louis
Pat McBride, St. Louis	M	Siggy Stritzl, New York	Billy Fraser, Miami
Randy Horton, New York	F	Carlos Metidieri, Rochester	Mike Renshaw, Dallas
Paul Child, Atlanta	F	Art Welch, Atlanta	Warren Archibald, Miami
Michael Dillon, Montreal	F	Jorge Siega, New York	Casey Frankiewicz, St. Louis

Playoffs

All playoff games in all rounds including the NASL Final were single game elimination match ups.

Bracket

Semifinals			NASL Final 1972

N1	New York Cosmos	1

S2	Dallas Tornado	0
			N1	New York Cosmos	2

			S1	St. Louis Stars	1
S1	St. Louis Stars	2

N2	Rochester Lancers	0

Semifinals

August 15	Rochester Lancers	0–2	St. Louis Stars	Busch Memorial Stadium • Att. 5,319

August 19	Dallas Tornado	0–1	New York Cosmos	Hofstra Stadium • Att. 5,026

NASL Final 1972

August 26

8 pm EDT

New York Cosmos	2–1	St. Louis Stars
Horton 5' (Young) Jelinek 86' (pen.)	Report	Frankiewicz 52' (Sewell)

Hofstra Stadium, Hempstead, New York

Attendance: 6,102^[4]

Referee: Roger Schott (USA)^[5]

1972 NASL Champions: New York Cosmos

Post season awards

Most Valuable Player: Randy Horton, New York
Coach of the year: Casey Frankiewicz, St. Louis
Rookie of the year: Mike Winter, St. Louis

Team	Average^[6]^{[unreliable source]}
St. Louis Stars	7,773
Toronto Metros	7,173
Rochester Lancers	5,505
Atlanta Chiefs	5,034
New York Cosmos	4,282
Dallas Tornado	4,093
Montreal Olympique	2,308
Miami Gatos	2,112

References

↑ "The Year in American Soccer - 1972". homepages.sover.net. Archived from the original on March 25, 2015. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
↑ Christopher S. Page. "NASL Homepage". Archived from the original on May 1, 2008. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
↑ "Steve Dimitry's NASL Web Page". oocities.org. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
↑ Flachsbart, Harold (August 27, 1972). "Stars Lose Title Match". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 1C. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
↑ "The Montreal Gazette - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved January 16, 2014.
↑ "All-Time NASL Attendance". kenn.com blog. Retrieved August 10, 2026.

External links

Complete Results and Standings

[sover-1] "The Year in American Soccer - 1972". homepages.sover.net. Archived from the original on March 25, 2015. Retrieved January 16, 2014.

[att-2] Christopher S. Page. "NASL Homepage". Archived from the original on May 1, 2008. Retrieved January 16, 2014.

[oocities-3] "Steve Dimitry's NASL Web Page". oocities.org. Retrieved January 16, 2014.

[4] Flachsbart, Harold (August 27, 1972). "Stars Lose Title Match". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 1C. Retrieved November 26, 2019.

[google-5] "The Montreal Gazette - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved January 16, 2014.

[6] "All-Time NASL Attendance". kenn.com blog. Retrieved August 10, 2026.

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v t e North American Soccer League
Broadcasters USSF CSA Portal NASL (2011–2017) First overall draft picks
Seasons	1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984
Soccer Bowls	1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984
Predecessors	USA 1967 Final NPSL 1967 Final
Indoor seasons	1971 1975 1976 1978 (Skelly) 1978 (Schlitz) 1979 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1983 1983–84
Conferences	1968 East West 1976–1977 Atlantic Pacific 1978–1980 American National
Related	Soccer Bowl broadcasters NASL Indoor Championship
Clubs	Atlanta Apollos Atlanta Chiefs Baltimore Bays Baltimore Comets Boston Beacons Boston Minutemen Boston Shamrock Rovers¹ Calgary Boomers California Surf Chicago Mustangs Chicago Spurs² Chicago Sting Cleveland Stokers Caribous of Colorado Connecticut Bicentennials Dallas Tornado Denver Dynamos Detroit Cougars Detroit Express Edmonton Drillers Fort Lauderdale Strikers Golden Bay Earthquakes Hartford Bicentennials Houston Hurricane Houston Stars Jacksonville Tea Men Kansas City Spurs Las Vegas Quicksilvers Los Angeles Aztecs Los Angeles Wolves Memphis Rogues Miami Gatos Miami Toros Minnesota Kicks Minnesota Strikers Montreal Manic Montreal Olympique New England Tea Men New York Cosmos New York Generals New York Skyliners¹ Oakland Clippers Oakland Stompers Philadelphia Spartans² Philadelphia Atoms Philadelphia Fury Pittsburgh Phantoms² Portland Timbers Rochester Lancers San Antonio Thunder San Diego Jaws San Diego Sockers San Diego Toros San Francisco Golden Gate Gales¹ San Jose Earthquakes Seattle Sounders St. Louis Stars Tampa Bay Rowdies Team America Team Hawaii Toronto Blizzard Toronto City¹ Toronto Falcons Toronto Metros Toronto Metros-Croatia Tulsa Roughnecks Vancouver Royals Vancouver Whitecaps Washington Darts Washington Diplomats Washington Whips
¹ United Soccer Association team that did not join NASL upon merger with NPSL. ² National Professional Soccer League team that did not join NASL upon merger with USA.