1983 NASL Grand Prix of Indoor Soccer
| NASL Indoor Grand Prix | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Dates |
January 21, 1983 – February 20, 1983 |
| Teams | 4 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Tampa Bay Rowdies (3rd title) |
| Runners-up | Montreal Manic |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 16 |
| Goals scored | 199 (12.44 per match) |
| Attendance | 37,111 (2,319 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |
 Laurie Abrahams  Dale Mitchell(12 goals) |
| Best player |
Laurie Abrahams  Mehdi Cerbah |
The 1983 NASL Grand Prix of Indoor Soccer was an indoor soccer tournament staged by four franchises of the North American Soccer League.
Overview
The Fort Lauderdale, Tampa Bay, Montreal, and Tulsa franchises opted to play the Grand Prix in early 1983 as a makeshift season, because for various reasons, the eight other NASL clubs had chosen to forego playing a full 1982–83 NASL indoor season.[1] Three of those eight teams (Chicago, Golden Bay and San Diego) had joined the Major Indoor Soccer League for 1982-83 season, while the remaining five squads chose to sit-out winter indoor play completely.
The tournament consisted of three weeks of double round-robin play for the purpose of seeding, followed by a Championship weekend at the Forum in Montreal.[2][3] Fort Lauderdale did not host a round because there was no suitable venue in the area that also met the minimum seating requirements. Instead, Tulsa hosted Rounds 1 and 3. The tournament would mark the third time NASL teams played in such an event, with the first two coming in 1975 and 1976. Additionally the teams participated in the Shootout Challenge competition, with the overall champs splitting a $5000 purse on the final day.[4]
Montreal finished the preliminary rounds with the top seed.[2] Tampa Bay won the championship final 5–4 on a golden goal by Mark Karpun in double overtime. This victory marked the Rowdies' third indoor title and fourth overall in the NASL. Laurie Abrahams of Tulsa led all scorers (12 goals, 6 assists) and was named the offensive MVP, while Montreal goalie Mehdi Cerbah who posted a 4.36 goals-against-average was the defensive MVP of the tournament. Tampa Bay also won the $5000 Shootout Challenge purse by defeating Ft. Lauderdale 2–0, with Rowdies goalie Jürgen Stars stopping all three Strikers shots in the final round.[5][6][7]
Preliminary rounds
Round 1
played at Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion in Tulsa, Oklahoma[8][9]
| January 21 | Montreal Manic | 6–3 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Attendance: 3,522 |
| Ft. Lauderdale Strikers | 8–4 | Tulsa Roughnecks | ||
| January 22 | Montreal Manic | 8–6 | Ft. Lauderdale Strikers | Attendance: 4,341 |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 7–2 | Tulsa Roughnecks | ||
Round 2
played at the Bayfront Center in St. Petersburg, Florida[10][11]
| February 4 | Montreal Manic | 6–3 | Ft. Lauderdale Strikers | Attendance: 4,450 |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 7–6 | Tulsa Roughnecks | ||
| February 5 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 7–4 | Montreal Manic | Attendance: 5,545 |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 10–6 | Ft. Lauderdale Strikers | ||
Round 3
played at the Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion in Tulsa, Oklahoma
| February 11 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 7–5 | Ft. Lauderdale Strikers | Attendance: 2,064 |
| Tulsa Roughnecks | 8–7 | Montreal Manic | ||
| February 12 | Montreal Manic | 5–4 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Attendance: 3,245 |
| Tulsa Roughnecks | 5–4 (OT) | Ft. Lauderdale Strikers | ||
Seeding
G = Games, W = Wins, L = Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, GD = Goal Differential, PTS= point system
6 points awarded for a win. Beginning with the fourth goal, 1 bonus point awarded for each goal scored. Maximum of 5 bonus points per game.
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1* | Montreal Manic | 6 | 4 | 2 | 36 | 31 | +5 | 42 |
| 2 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 6 | 4 | 2 | 38 | 31 | +7 | 42 |
| 3 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 6 | 3 | 3 | 33 | 37 | -4 | 33 |
| 4 | Ft. Lauderdale Strikers | 6 | 1 | 5 | 32 | 40 | -8 | 20 |
*Montreal wins top seed based on 2–0 head-to-head edge over Tampa Bay
Grand Prix Championship rounds
Bracket
| Semifinals | Championship Final | ||||||||
| 1 | Montreal Manic | 11 | |||||||
| 4 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 4 | |||||||
| 1 | Montreal Manic | 4 | |||||||
| 2 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 5(2OT) | |||||||
| 3 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 6 | |||||||
| 2 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 8 | |||||||
Semi-finals
played at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec
| February 18 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 8–6 | Tulsa Roughnecks | Attendance: 6,049[12] |
| February 18 | Montreal Manic | 11–4 | Ft. Lauderdale Strikers | |
Third place match
played at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec (1:30 PM EST)
| February 20 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 9–4 | Ft. Lauderdale Strikers | |
Championship Final
| Montreal Manic | 4–5 (2OT) | Tampa Bay Rowdies |
|---|---|---|
Mitchell  16:17', 19:51', 24:53'Lodeweges 44:01' |
Report (p. 2C) | Tatu 7:06' Perez 11:12'Nogly 31:46'Zequinha 58:05'Karpun  76:58' |
Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec Attendance: 7,895 |
Tournament awards
- Most Valuable Players:
- Offensive: Laurie Abrahams (Tulsa) - Goals: 12 Assists: 6 Total Pts: 30
- Defensive: Mehdi Cerbah (Montreal) Goals-against-average: 4.36 - $5000 Shootout Challenge:
- Semi-finals: Tampa Bay 3 – 1 Tulsa • Ft. Lauderdale 3 – 1 Montreal
- Finals: Tampa Bay 2 – 0 Ft. Lauderdale
Final rankings
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 8 | 6 | 2 | 51 | 41 | +10 |
| 2 | Montreal Manic | 8 | 5 | 3 | 51 | 40 | +11 |
| 3 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 8 | 4 | 4 | 48 | 49 | -1 |
| 4 | Ft. Lauderdale Strikers | 8 | 1 | 7 | 40 | 60 | -20 |
| Leading Scorers | Goals | Assists | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laurie Abrahams (Tulsa) | 12 | 6 | 30 |
| Dale Mitchell (Montreal) | 12 | 4 | 28 |
| Branko Šegota (Ft. Lauderdale) | 10 | 8 | 28 |
| Dragan Vujovic (Montreal) | 9 | 7 | 25 |
| Teófilo Cubillas (Ft. Lauderdale) | 8 | 9 | 25 |
| Hugo Pérez (Tampa Bay) | 10 | 4 | 24 |
| Tatu (Tampa Bay) | 9 | 5 | 23 |
| Keith Weller (Tulsa) | 8 | 7 | 23 |
| Wes McLeod (Tampa Bay) | 5 | 13 | 23 |
| Njego Pesa (Tulsa) | 9 | 4 | 22 |
| Alan Willey (Montreal) | 8 | 6 | 22 |
| Steve Wegerle (Ft. Lauderdale) | 7 | 6 | 20 |
| Leading Goalkeepers | Minutes | GA | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mehdi Cerbah (Montreal) | 330 | 24 | 4.36 |
| Jürgen Stars (Tampa Bay) | 377 | 32 | 5.09 |
| Craig Scarpelli (Ft. Lauderdale) | 330 | 33 | 5.99 |
| Winston DuBose (Tulsa) | 486 | 49 | 6.05 |
Non-grand prix matches
In addition to the Grand Prix tournament, the four teams staged other indoor matches as tune-ups for both the outdoor season and the Grand Prix itself.
Match reports
| January 15, 1983 1 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 3–6 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Dallas, Texas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belfiore 8:42' (Krupa, DuBose) Danaeifard 36:17'Pesa 55:57' (Abrahams) |
Report p. 2-C | McLeod 6:59' (Nogly, Perez) Karpun 37:23'Zequinha 39:53' (Molina, Nogly)Van der Beck 42:30' (Roe)McLeod 51:45'Pérez 56:33' (Zequinha) |
Stadium: Reunion Arena Attendance: 5,451 |
| January 18, 1983 2 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 3–5 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saldana , , |
Report p. 5-C | Nogly 18:08' Van der Beck 19:14'McLeod Karpun Roe |
Attendance: 2,500 |
| January 29, 1983 3 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 7–5 | Montreal Manic | St. Petersburg, Florida |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7:30 PM (EST) | Karpun 7:38' (Myernick) Tatu 34:32' (Molina, Kozic)Oliveira 35:46' (Molina, Myernick)Tatu 39:05' (Molina)Pérez 40:28' (McLeod)Nogly 48:47' (Pérez)Van der Beck 58:37' |
Report p. 2-C | Mitchell 18:46' Willey 24:27' (Falzon, Knight)Usiyan 37:56' (Marcantonio, Lodeweges)Usiyan 39:40'Mitchell 40:40' (O'Brien) |
Stadium: Bayfront Center Attendance: 5,525 |
| February 25, 1979 4 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 8–5 | Ft. Lauderdale Strikers | Lakeland, Florida |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8:00 PM (EST) | Tatu 6:15' (Gruber, Easton) Karpun 13:04'Miller 22:55' (Pérez, Kozic)Karpun 31:35' (Fall)Gruber 44:42' (Fall)Molina 46:43' (Thompson)Bates 53:38' (Molina, McLeod)Oliveira 57:51' (Pérez, Molina) |
Report p. 2-C | Kidd 13:26' (Segota) Cubillas 23:55' (Kidd)Kidd 36:14' (Whelan)Meschbach 39:31' (Kadupski, Cubillas)Kidd 54:16' (Kadupski) |
Stadium: Lakeland Civic Center Attendance: 3,506 |
References
- ↑ "Rowdies take on Montreal". Lakeland Ledger. January 21, 1983. p. 3D. Retrieved 2014-01-23 – via Google News Archive Search.
- 1 2 Beard, Randy (February 15, 1983). "Rowdies' pair united in feelings toward Team America and coach". The Evening Independent. p. 3-C. Retrieved 23 January 2014 – via Google News Archive Search.
- ↑ "Manic, Rowdies Clash Today". Youngstown Vindicator. February 20, 1983. p. D-4. Retrieved 23 January 2014 – via Google News Archive Search.
- ↑ "Rowdies enter touney". Lakeland Ledger. December 12, 1982. p. 3D. Retrieved 23 January 2014 – via Google News Archive Search.
- ↑ Allen, Diane Lacy (February 23, 1983). "Rowdies meet Strikers at Civic Center". Lakeland Ledger. p. 3D. Retrieved 23 January 2014 – via Google News Archive Search.
- ↑ Beard, Randy (February 21, 1983). "Championship effort carried Rowdies to title". The Evening Independent. p. 1-C. Retrieved 23 January 2014 – via Google News Archive Search.
- ↑ "Miller resigns as Rowdies coach". Lakeland Ledger. October 4, 1983. p. 1D. Retrieved 23 January 2014 – via Google News Archive Search.
- ↑ "Manic win opener". The Montreal Gazette. October 4, 1983. p. H-2. Retrieved 23 January 2014 – via Google News Archive Search.
- ↑ "Injury takes edge off Rowdies' victory". The Evening Independent. January 24, 1983. p. 8-C. Retrieved 23 January 2014 – via Google News Archive Search.
- ↑ "Rowdies whip Strikers in Grand Prix Soccer". Lakeland Ledger. February 7, 1983. p. 6D. Retrieved 23 January 2014 – via Google News Archive Search.
- ↑ "Manic triumph". The Montreal Gazette. February 5, 1983. p. H-1. Retrieved 23 January 2014 – via Google News Archive Search.
- ↑ Beard, Randy (February 19, 1983). "Power play went short-handed Rowdies' way". The Evening Independent. p. 3-C. Retrieved 23 January 2014 – via Google News Archive Search.