1980–81 NASL Indoor season

North American Soccer League -1980–81 Indoor Season-

Season	1980–81
Champions	Edmonton Drillers
Premiers	Chicago Sting
Matches played	171
Goals scored	1998 (11.68 per match)
Top goalscorer	Karl-Heinz Granitza (42 goals)
Average attendance	5,146
← 1979–80 1981–82 →

The 1980–81 season was the North American Soccer League's second indoor soccer season.

Overview

A total of 19 of a possible 21 NASL teams participated. New York and Montreal (who was moving from Philadelphia) were the only hold-outs this indoor season. Just as the season was getting underway, the Jacksonville Tea Men relocated from New England.^[1] Teams played an 18-game regular season. The Edmonton Drillers won the championship with a two-game finals-sweep of the Chicago Sting. This was the Drillers' first ever NASL title.

Regular season

W = Wins, L = Losses, GB = Games Behind 1st Place, % = Winning Percentage, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against

Eastern Division	W	L	GB	%	GF	GA
Atlanta Chiefs	13	5	--	.722	97	75
Tampa Bay Rowdies	9	9	4	.500	126	120
Jacksonville Tea Men	8	10	5	.444	96	102
Fort Lauderdale Strikers	1	17	12	.056	58	125

Central Division	W	L	GB	%	GF	GA
Chicago Sting	13	5	--	.722	146	103
Minnesota Kicks	12	6	1	.667	93	73
Detroit Express	7	11	6	.389	90	106

Southern Division	W	L	GB	%	GF	GA
California Surf	10	8	--	.556	91	96
Tulsa Roughnecks	9	9	1	.500	128	109
Dallas Tornado	7	11	3	.389	100	94
San Diego Sockers	6	12	4	.333	101	121

Northern Division	W	L	GB	%	GF	GA
Vancouver Whitecaps	11	7	--	.611	91	96
Edmonton Drillers	10	8	1	.556	128	109
Calgary Boomers	10	8	1	.556	100	94
Toronto Blizzard	5	13	6	.278	101	121

Western Division	W	L	GB	%	GF	GA
Los Angeles Aztecs	11	7	--	.611	118	99
Portland Timbers	10	8	1	.556	110	93
San Jose Earthquakes	10	8	1	.556	118	115
Seattle Sounders	9	9	2	.500	106	98

Playoffs

Bracket

	First Round Best-of-3							Semifinals Best-of-3							Championship Series Best-of-3
	P1	Chicago Sting	6	8(OT)	-
	W2	Portland Timbers	2	7	-
								P1	Chicago Sting	8	5	4
								E1	Atlanta Chiefs	3	9	2
	E1	Atlanta Chiefs	10	5(OT)	-
	C2	Minnesota Kicks	8	4	-
															P1	Chicago Sting	6	4	-
															N2	Edmonton Drillers	9	5	-
	N2	Edmonton Drillers	8	10	-
	W1	Los Angeles Aztecs	3	6	-
								N2	Edmonton Drillers	9	6	-
								C1	Vancouver Whitecaps	7	4	-
	C1	Vancouver Whitecaps	0	8	4
	S1	California Surf	3	5	0

1st round

If a playoff series is tied after two games, a 15 minute, tie breaker mini-game is played.

			Game 1	Game 2	Mini-game	Attendance
Edmonton Drillers	-	Los Angeles Aztecs	8–3	10–6	x	February 16 -1,621 • February 19 -4,310
Vancouver Whitecaps	-	California Surf	0–3[2]	8–5	4–0	February 18 -1,000+ • February 21 -8,496
Atlanta Chiefs	-	Minnesota Kicks	10–8	5–4 (OT)	x	February 16 -6,354 • February 20 -6,150
Chicago Sting	-	Portland Timbers	6–2	8–7 (OT)	x	February 17 -3,254 • February 19 -6,286

Semi-finals

			Game 1	Game 2	Mini-game	Attendance
Vancouver Whitecaps	-	Edmonton Drillers	7–9	4–6	x	February 24 -3,420 • February 28 -?
Chicago Sting	-	Atlanta Chiefs	8–3	5–9	4–2	February 25 -9,187 • February 28 -12,376

Championship Finals

			Game 1	Game 2	Mini-game	Attendance
Chicago Sting	-	Edmonton Drillers	6–9	4–5	x	March 2 -5,089 • March 7 -16,257

Post season awards

• Finals MVP: Kai Haaskivi, Edmonton^[3]

References

1. "Tea Men are leaving N.E. for new home in Florida". The Day. November 17, 1980. p. 28. Retrieved October 24, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
2. "Surf breaks over Whitecaps". Vancouver Sun. February 19, 1981. p. D1. Retrieved October 24, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
3. "Timbers-Sounders Game Opens NASL Indoor Season". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. December 3, 1981. p. 15-B. Retrieved October 24, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.