Football league season
The 1981–82 Major Indoor Soccer League season was the fourth in league history and would end with the New York Arrows repeating once again as MISL champions.
It was a year of expansion, as the New Jersey Rockets [ 1] were added and the schedule was lengthened by almost two months. The 44-game regular-season schedule was an increase of four games, and the playoff schedule was expanded to two best-of-three rounds and one best-of-five championship series.[ 2] This was done to, as a league spokesman put it, force players to decide on either the indoor or outdoor game [ 3]
With the Hartford Hellions moving to Memphis[ 4] and the San Francisco Fog moving to Kansas City,[ 5] the league went back to a two-division setup. The top four finishers in each division would advance to the MISL playoffs.[ 6] The Pittsburgh Spirit returned,[ 7] and had the second-best record in the league.
While the Arrows had the best record in the league and Steve Zungul won the scoring title again,[ 8] New York was pushed hard in the playoffs. In their first round matchup with the Buffalo Stallions , the Stallions won the first game of the series in New York and held a 4-2 lead with 1:20 remaining in Game 2. Zungul and Omar Gomez scored 36 seconds apart to tie the match, and Dragan Simic scored in overtime to even the series.[ 9] New York won Game 3 to advance.
New York and St. Louis would eventually meet in a five-game championship series that would see every game decided by two goals or less, including two in overtime.[ 10] [ 11] [ 12] [ 13] [ 14]
After the season, the Philadelphia Fever would fold [ 15] and the New Jersey Rockets [ 16] and Denver Avalanche [ 17] suspended operations.
Eastern Division
Western Division
Regular season schedule [ edit ]
The 1981–82 regular season schedule ran from November 13, 1981, to April 25, 1982. The 44 games per team was an increase of four over the 1980–81 schedule of 40 games.[ 18]
Playoff teams in bold .
New York vs. Buffalo
Date
Away
Home
Attendance
April 30
Buffalo 9
New York 7
4,223
May 2
New York 5
Buffalo 4
9,640
Dragan Simic scored at 6:05 of overtime
May 5
Buffalo 6
New York 10
3,345
New York wins series 2-1
Pittsburgh vs. Baltimore
Date
Away
Home
Attendance
April 30
Baltimore 1
Pittsburgh 3
6,594
May 1
Pittsburgh 5
Baltimore 6
8,513
Miguel Filardo scored at 5:12 of overtime
May 5
Baltimore 6
Pittsburgh 2
5,985
Baltimore wins series 2-1
St. Louis vs. Denver
Date
Away
Home
Attendance
April 28
Denver 2
St. Louis 4
11,641
April 30
St. Louis 7
Denver 6
7,306
St. Louis wins series 2-0
Wichita vs. Memphis
Date
Away
Home
Attendance
April 29
Memphis 5
Wichita 3
6,613
May 1
Wichita 6
Memphis 3
5,682
May 2
Memphis 3
Wichita 12
7,573
Wichita wins series 2-1
New York vs. Baltimore
Date
Away
Home
Attendance
May 7
Baltimore 5
New York 6
10,244
Paul Kitson scored at 10:19 of overtime
May 8
New York 6
Baltimore 2
9,643
New York wins series 2-0
St. Louis vs. Wichita
Date
Away
Home
Attendance
May 7
Wichita 5
St. Louis 10
12,436
May 9
St. Louis 6
Wichita 7
9,643
Andy Chapman scored at :39 of overtime
May 12
Wichita 1
St. Louis 4
11,498
St. Louis wins series 2-1
Championship Series [ edit ]
New York vs. St. Louis
Date
Away
Home
Attendance
May 14
St. Louis 3
New York 2
7,921
Tony Glavin scored at 5:55 of overtime
May 16
St. Louis 3
New York 5
7,431
May 21
New York 9
St. Louis 8
18,160
Steve Zungul scored at 4:13 of overtime
May 23
New York 4
St. Louis 6
18,116
May 26
St. Louis 6
New York 8
11,023
New York wins series 3-2
Regular season player statistics [ edit ]
[ 19]
GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists , Pts = Points
Player
Team
GP
G
A
Pts
Steve Zungul
New York Arrows
40
103
60
163
Stan Terlecki
Pittsburgh Spirit
43
74
43
117
Stan Stamenkovic
Memphis Americans
36
46
47
83
Steve David
Phoenix Inferno
44
58
23
81
Paul Child
Pittsburgh Spirit
44
52
29
81
Omar Gomez
New York Arrows
40
40
36
76
Keith Furphy
Cleveland Force
44
50
25
75
Joe Fink
Baltimore Blast
43
51
22
73
Germain Iglesias
Buffalo Stallions
44
46
25
71
Don Ebert
St. Louis Steamers
44
52
19
71
Leading goalkeepers [ edit ]
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
Slobo Ilijevski
St. Louis Steamers
36
2103
135
3.85
24
11
Keith Van Eron
Baltimore Blast
32
1664
110
3.97
18
12
Pascal Antoine
Denver Avalanche
18
881
60
4.09
6
7
Krys Sobieski
Pittsburgh Spirit
29
1498
105
4.20
19
7
Victor Petroni
Kansas City Comets
18
898
63
4.21
7
8
Zoltán Tóth
New York Arrows
17
1022
74
4.34
15
2
Van Taylor
Phoenix Inferno
29
1217
89
4.39
10
8
Mike Dowler
Wichita Wings
37
2149
162
4.52
22
14
Shep Messing
New York Arrows
27
1652
125
4.54
21
6
Alan Mayer
New Jersey Rockets
27
1527
116
4.56
8
16
Playoff player statistics [ edit ]
[ 20]
GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists , Pts = Points
Player
Team
GP
G
A
Pts
Steve Zungul
New York Arrows
10
24
8
32
Omar Gomez
New York Arrows
10
11
11
22
Greg Villa
St. Louis Steamers
10
7
9
16
Tony Glavin
St. Louis Steamers
8
9
4
13
Carl Rose
St. Louis Steamers
10
8
4
12
Leading goalkeepers [ edit ]
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
Krys Sobieski
Pittsburgh Spirit
2
120
5
2.50
1
1
Zoltán Tóth
New York Arrows
5
306
21
4.12
4
1
Keith Van Eron
Baltimore Blast
5
298
21
4.22
2
3
Slobo Ilijevski
St. Louis Steamers
10
611
49
4.81
6
4
Cliff Brown
Wichita Wings
6
359
30
5.02
3
3
First Team
Position
Second Team
Slobo Ilijevski, St. Louis
G
Mike Dowler, Wichita
Val Tuksa, New York
D
Ian Anderson, Cleveland
Helmut Dudek, Memphis
D
Kevin Kewley, Wichita
Steve Zungul, New York
M
Steve David, Phoenix
Stan Terlecki, Pittsburgh
F
Joe Fink, Baltimore
Stan Stamenkovic, Memphis
F
Tony Glavin, St. Louis
Honorable Mention
Position
Shep Messing, New York
G
Krys Sobieski, Pittsburgh
Renato Cila, New York
D
John O'Hara, Pittsburgh
Dave MacKenzie, Pittsburgh
D
Carl Rose, St. Louis
Kim Roentved, Wichita
Paul Child, Pittsburgh
F
Jorgen Kristensen, Wichita
Keith Furphy, Cleveland
F
Don Ebert, St. Louis
Most Valuable Player : Steve Zungul, New York/Stan Terlecki, Pittsburgh
Scoring Champion : Steve Zungul, New York
Pass Master : Steve Zungul, New York
Rookie of the Year : Germain Iglesias, Buffalo
Defender of the Year : Val Tuksa, New York
Goalkeeper of the Year : Slobo Ilijevski, St. Louis
Coach of the Year : Dave Clements, Denver
Championship Series Most Valuable Player : Steve Zungul, New York
^ "Jersey Team Joins M.I.S.L." The New York Times . September 15, 1981. Retrieved December 6, 2011 .
^ "Tilts Tonight Open MISL Season" . Youngstown Vindicator . November 13, 1981. p. 14. Retrieved December 6, 2011 .
^ "MISL directors extend league season" . St. Petersburg Times . June 9, 1981. p. 2C. Retrieved December 6, 2011 .
^ "Hellions move now more likely" . Record-Journal . May 28, 1981. p. 14. Retrieved December 6, 2011 .
^ "Kansas City may soon be getting a pro soccer team" . Milwaukee Sentinel . April 3, 1981. p. B2. Retrieved December 6, 2011 .
^ 1981-82 MISL Media Guide . 1981. p. 144.
^ Tuscano, Joe (June 19, 1981). "Spirit Bounces Back To MISL" . Observer-Reporter . p. C1. Retrieved December 6, 2011 .
^ "1981–82 MISL season Summary" . Our Sports Central. Retrieved December 6, 2011 .
^ "Late Rally Saves Day For Arrows" . Pittsburgh Press . May 3, 1982. p. C1. Retrieved December 6, 2011 .
^ "Arrows Lose Opener" . The New York Times . May 15, 1982. Retrieved December 6, 2011 .
^ "Arrows Tie Series With Steamers" . The New York Times . May 17, 1982. Retrieved December 6, 2011 .
^ "Arrows Take 2-1 Lead" . The New York Times . May 22, 1982. Retrieved December 6, 2011 .
^ "Arrows Still Champions" . The New York Times . May 27, 1982. Retrieved December 6, 2011 .
^ "Arrows Cop 4th Crown" . The Hour . May 27, 1982. p. 30. Retrieved December 6, 2011 .
^ Kaine, Mike (August 11, 1982). "FEVER HALTS OPERATION FOR 1 YEAR" . Philadelphia Daily News . p. 62. Retrieved December 6, 2011 .
^ "MISL Team In Trouble" . Observer-Reporter . April 9, 1982. p. B5. Retrieved December 6, 2011 .
^ "MISL season opens tonight" . St. Joseph Gazette . November 5, 1982. p. 2D. Retrieved December 6, 2011 .
^ 1981-82 MISL Media Guide . 1981. pp. 141–142.
^ MISL Official Tenth Anniversary Guide . 1987. p. 54.
^ MISL Official Tenth Anniversary Guide . 1987. p. 82.
1981-82 MISL Media Guide . Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania: Major Indoor Soccer League. 1981.
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.