1980–81 Major Indoor Soccer League season

The 1980–81 Major Indoor Soccer League season was the third in league history and would end with the New York Arrows repeating once again as MISL champions.

Major Indoor Soccer League

Season	1980–81
Champions	New York Arrows (3rd title)
Matches played	240
Top goalscorer	Steve Zungul (108 goals)
Average attendance	6,839
← 1979–80 1981–82 →

Recap

There were plenty of changes as the league began its third year. The Houston Summit would move to Baltimore and the Detroit Lightning moved to San Francisco. Three new clubs were added – the Chicago Horizons, the Denver Avalanche and the Phoenix Inferno.

With 12 teams, the league moved to three divisions. To accommodate the three-division setup, the playoff format was tweaked once again. The top two teams in each division would qualify, along with the next best two teams for eight qualifiers in total.[1] While the first round was a best of three series, Commissioner Earl Foreman announced in early November 1980 that there would be single-game semifinals and a final set to be played in St. Louis on the weekend of March 27, 1981.[2]

As it turned out, St. Louis pulled off a worst-to-first turnaround in their division with the second-best record in the MISL and made the championship game. In their semifinal against Wichita, the Steamers rallied from a 6-1 third quarter deficit to tie the game and win in a shootout. Over 33,000 fans attended both nights at the St. Louis Arena.[3][4]

New York's Steve Zungul won regular season MVP honors for the third time, and added the playoff MVP.[5] Zungul scored four goals and an assist in both the semifinal win over Baltimore and the championship game.[6][7] Zungul scored the game-winning goal with less than 30 seconds left against St. Louis,[8] the last of his combined 123 goals (108 regular season and 15 playoff goals, respectively). The 108 goals would remain an MISL record through the end of the league in 1992.

After the season, Chicago folded. The league wanted to return to the market, but Chicago Sting owner Lee Stern paid to keep the Chicago market for himself and the Sting.[9]

Teams

Team	City/Area	Arena
Baltimore Blast	Baltimore, Maryland	Baltimore Arena
Buffalo Stallions	Buffalo, New York	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
Chicago Horizons	Rosemont, Illinois	Rosemont Horizon
Cleveland Force	Cleveland, Ohio	Richfield Coliseum
Denver Avalanche	Denver, Colorado	McNichols Sports Arena
Hartford Hellions	Hartford, Connecticut	New Haven Coliseum Hartford Civic Center
New York Arrows	Uniondale, New York	Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Philadelphia Fever	Philadelphia	The Spectrum
Phoenix Inferno	Phoenix, Arizona	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
San Francisco Fog	Daly City, California	Cow Palace
St. Louis Steamers	St. Louis, Missouri	St. Louis Arena
Wichita Wings	Wichita, Kansas	Kansas Coliseum

Regular Season Schedule

The 1980–81 regular season schedule ran from November 7, 1980, to March 8, 1981. The 40 games per team was an increase of eight over the 1979–80 schedule of 32 games.[10]

Final standings

Playoff teams in bold.

Atlantic Division	W	L	Pct.	GB	GF	GA	Home	Road
New York Arrows	35	5	.875	--	285	176	17-3	18-2
Baltimore Blast	21	19	.525	14	182	190	13-7	8-12
Philadelphia Fever	18	22	.450	17	212	245	10-10	8-12
Hartford Hellions	13	27	.188	22	165	192	10-10	3-17

Central Division	W	L	Pct.	GB	GF	GA	Home	Road
St. Louis Steamers	25	15	.625	--	222	196	15-5	10-10
Cleveland Force	21	19	.525	4	209	214	14-6	7-13
Chicago Horizons	20	20	.500	5	216	187	13-7	7-13
Buffalo Stallions	20	20	.500	5	246	210	15-5	5-15

Western Division	W	L	Pct.	GB	GF	GA	Home	Road
Wichita Wings	23	17	.575	--	228	181	18-2	5-15
Phoenix Inferno	17	23	.425	6	210	254	12-8	5-15
Denver Avalanche	16	24	.400	7	174	217	12-8	4-16
San Francisco Fog	11	29	.275	12	175	271	7-13	4-16

Playoffs

	Quarterfinals					Semifinals					Championship Game
	1	New York Arrows	2
	8	Phoenix Inferno	1
						1	New York Arrows	10
						4	Baltimore Blast	1
	4	Baltimore Blast	2
	5	Cleveland Force	1
											1	New York Arrows	6
											2	St. Louis Steamers	5
	2	St. Louis Steamers	2
	7	Buffalo Stallions	0
						2	St. Louis Steamers	7 (3)
						3	Wichita Wings	7 (1)
	3	Wichita Wings	2
	6	Chicago Horizons	1

Quarterfinals

New York vs. Phoenix Date Away Home Attendance March 19 New York 6 Phoenix 10 8,719 March 21 Phoenix 6 New York 10 12,488 March 24 Phoenix 5 New York 6 6,315 New York wins series 2-1

Baltimore vs. Cleveland Date Away Home Attendance March 12 Cleveland 5 Baltimore 6 7,461 Dan Counce scored at 14:06 of overtime March 14 Baltimore 1 Cleveland 7 10,639 March 15 Cleveland 5 Baltimore 6 7,692 Baltimore wins series 2-1

St. Louis vs. Buffalo Date Away Home Attendance March 13 Buffalo 4 St. Louis 6 11,667 March 21 St. Louis 6 Buffalo 5 16,329 St. Louis wins series 2-0

Wichita vs. Chicago Date Away Home Attendance March 12 Wichita 3 Chicago 4 4,313 March 18 Chicago 4 Wichita 6 7,309 March 23 Chicago 6 Wichita 8 7,753 Wichita wins series 2-1

Semifinals

New York vs. Baltimore Date Away Home Attendance March 27 Baltimore 1 New York 10 16,236

St. Louis vs. Wichita Date Away Home Attendance March 27 Wichita 7 St. Louis 7 16,236 St. Louis wins shootout 3-1

Championship Game

St. Louis vs. New York Date Away Home Attendance March 29 New York 6 St. Louis 5 17,206

Regular Season Player Statistics

[11]

Scoring leaders

GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts
Steve Zungul	New York Arrows	40	108	44	152
Branko Segota	New York Arrows	35	38	45	83
Charlie Cordas	Buffalo Stallions	36	40	41	81
Vic Davidson	Phoenix Inferno	30	50	29	79
Iubo Petrovic	Buffalo Stallions	39	44	33	77
Joe Fink	Philadelphia Fever	39	51	18	69
Fred Grgurev	Philadelphia Fever	37	44	25	69
Jorgen Kristensen	Wichita Wings	38	14	52	66
Don Ebert	St. Louis Steamers	40	46	19	65
Dave MacWilliams	Philadelphia Fever	37	37	28	65

Leading Goalkeepers

Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes Played; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; W = Wins; L = Losses

Player	Team	GP	Min	GA	GAA	W	L
Enzo DiPede	Chicago Horizons	16	931	63	4.06	9	6
Mike Dowler	Wichita Wings	28	1616	111	4.12	16	12
Sepp Gantenhammer	Baltimore Blast	33	1862	130	4.19	17	14
Zoltán Tóth	New York Arrows	22	1005	73	4.36	14	2
Shep Messing	New York Arrows	27	1411	103	4.38	21	3
Aly Anderson	Denver Avalanche	10	506	38	4.51	4	4
Richard But	Hartford Hellions	39	2262	175	4.64	12	25
Slobo Ilijevski	St. Louis Steamers	33	1878	146	4.66	21	11
Pascal Antoine	Denver Avalanche	13	698	56	4.81	7	5
Scott Manning	Buffalo Stallions	29	1380	112	4.87	13	12

Playoff Player Statistics

[12]

Scoring leaders

GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts
Steve Zungul	New York Arrows	3	15	4	19
Branko Segota	New York Arrows	3	9	6	15
Andy Chapman	Wichita Wings	4	11	0	11
Tony Glavin	St. Louis Steamers	4	8	2	10
George Nanchoff	Phoenix Inferno	3	6	4	10

Leading Goalkeepers

Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes Played; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; W = Wins; L = Losses

Player	Team	GP	Min	GA	GAA	W	L
Cliff Brown	Cleveland Force	3	188	12	3.83	1	2
Mike Dowler	Wichita Wings	4	225	19	5.07	2	1
Scott Manning	Buffalo Stallions	2	94	8	5.09	0	1
Slobo Ilijevski	St. Louis Steamers	4	255	22	5.18	3	1
Zoltán Tóth	New York Arrows	2	69	6	5.22	1	0

All-MISL Teams

First Team	Position	Second Team
Shep Messing, New York	G	Richard But, Hartford
Dave D'Errico, New York	D	Doc Lawson, Philadelphia
Steve Pecher, St. Louis	D	Jim Pollihan, Baltimore
Ian Anderson, Cleveland
Tony Glavin, St. Louis	M	Vic Davidson, Phoenix
Steve Zungul, New York	F	Paul Kitson, Chicago
Branko Segota, New York	F	Charlie Cordas, Buffalo

Honorable Mention	Position
Sepp Gantenhammer, Baltimore	G	Slobo Ilijevski, St. Louis
Ty Keough, St. Louis	D	Tony Bellinger, St. Louis
Adrian Brooks, Denver	M	Johnny Moore, San Francisco
Joe Fink, Philadelphia	F	Jorgen Kristensen, Wichita

League awards

• Most Valuable Player: Steve Zungul, New York
• Scoring Champion: Steve Zungul, New York
• Pass Master: Jorgen Kristiansen, Wichita
• Rookie of the Year: Don Ebert, St. Louis
• Goalkeeper of the Year: Enzo DiPede, Chicago
• Coach of the Year: Don Popovic, New York
• Championship Series Most Valuable Player: Steve Zungul, New York

References

1. 1980-81 MISL Media Guide. 1980. p. 43.
2. "Indoor soccer won't be hurt by expansion". The Day (New London). November 7, 1980. p. 26. Retrieved 2011-12-03.
3. "St. Louis Steamers face problem in big contest". Daily Union. March 29, 1981. p. 16. Retrieved 2011-12-03.
4. "St. Louis Indoor Soccer History". Jim Fossell. Archived from the original on August 7, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
5. "1980-81 MISL Season Summary". Our Sports Central. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
6. "Steamers, Arrows triumph". The Bulletin (Bend). March 28, 1981. p. 21. Retrieved 2011-12-03.
7. "Arrows Were On Target". Evening Independent. March 29, 1981. p. 8C. Retrieved 2011-12-03.
8. 1982-83 MISL Information Guide. 1982. p. 52.
9. "The Year In American Soccer - 1981". Dave Litterer. Archived from the original on January 7, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
10. 1980-81 MISL Media Guide. 1980. pp. 107–108.
11. MISL Official Tenth Anniversary Guide. 1987. p. 55.
12. MISL Official Tenth Anniversary Guide. 1987. p. 82.

1980-81 MISL Media Guide. Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania: Major Indoor Soccer League. 1980.

Verb, Doug; Jones-Fearnley, Alaina (1982). 1982-83 MISL Information Guide. Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania: Major Indoor Soccer League.

Leary, Dan; Griffin, John (1987). MISL Official Tenth Anniversary Guide. New York: Major Indoor Soccer League Communications Department.

External links

• The Year in American Soccer - 1981
• 1980-81 summary at The MISL: A Look Back