1981 American Soccer League

Football league season
American Soccer League
1981 season
Season1981
ChampionsCarolina Lightnin'
PremiersNew York United (5th title)
Top goalscorerBilly Boljevic (25)
← 1980
1982 →

Statistics of American Soccer League II in season 1981.

League standings

Liberty Conference
Team Pld W D L GF GA BP Pts
New York United 28 19 4 5 53 28 51 154
Pennsylvania Stoners 28 17 7 4 51 28 47 146
New York Eagles 28 13 2 13 57 49 47 116
New England Sharks 28 4 0 24 16 41 15 35
Source: [citation needed]
Freedom Conference
Team Pld W D L GF GA BP Pts
Carolina Lightnin' 28 16 3 9 46 31 41 127
Detroit Express 28 15 2 11 58 46 46 125
Rochester Flash 28 11 5 12 38 51 35 100
Cleveland Cobras 28 5 1 22 33 78 29 56
Source: [citation needed]

ASL All-Stars

First Team[1]   Position   Second Team
George Taratsides, NY United G Scott Manning, Carolina
Chris Tyson, NY United D Curtis Leeper, Carolina
Jeff Tipping, Pennsylvania D Mack Garrigan, Cleveland
Billy Boljevic, Pennsylvania D Fernando Clavijo, NY United
Dennis Mepham, Rochester D Redmond Lane, NY United
Don Tobin, Carolina M Mike Barry, Cleveland
John Dolinsky, Rochester M Rich Reice, Pennsylvania
Steve Westbrook, Detroit M Mike Powers, Detroit
Tony Suarez, Carolina F Ricky Kren, NY Eagles
Andy Chapman, Detroit F Mike Laschev, Rochester
Billy Boljevic, NY Eagles F Mal Roche, Carolina

Playoffs

Bracket

First round
(single match) 		Division finals
(2-match aggregate) 		ASL Championship Final
(single match)
New York United 1 1(4) 2
Detroit Express 4 Detroit Express 1 1(2) 2
New York Eagles 1 New York United 1
Carolina Lightnin' 2
Pennsylvania Stoners 1 2 3
Carolina Lightnin' 2 Carolina Lightnin' 3 1 4
Rochester Flash 0

1st Round

September 3 Carolina Lightnin' 2–0 Rochester Flash Memorial Stadium • Att. 5,312
September 4 Detroit Express 4–1 New York Eagles Pontiac Silverdome • Att. 7,318

Semifinals

Higher Seed Aggregate Lower Seed First leg Second leg Attendance
Carolina Lightnin' 4–3 Pennsylvania Stoners 3–1 1–2 September 5 • Memorial Stadium • 6,021[2]
September 9 • ASD Stadium • 2,207[3]
New York United 2–2 (4–2) Detroit Express 1–1 1–1 PK (4–2) September 8 • Pontiac Silverdome • 3,414[4]
September 10 • Hofstra Stadium • 1,274[5]

Championship final

Carolina Lightnin' (NC)2–1(OT)New York United (NY)
Don Tobin 69'
Hugh O'Neill gold-colored soccer ball 115' 		Report Soloman Hilton 64'
Attendance: 20,163
Referee: (USA)

Post season awards

References

  1. ^ Upchurch, Gene (September 29, 1981). "Suarez, Tobin top five Lightnin' all-stars". Charlotte News. p. 2B. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  2. ^ Scott, David (September 6, 1981). "Lightnin' Gets Leg Up, Turns Back Stoners 3-1". Charlotte Observer. p. 1D. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  3. ^ Shope, Dan (September 10, 1981). "Stoners win 2-1 but fall short on total goals". The Morning Call (Allentown, PA). p. C1. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  4. ^ Pepper, Jon (September 9, 1981). "Express tie United, hit the road". Detroit Free Press. p. 1F. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  5. ^ Elliot, Helene (September 11, 1981). "United's kicks end Express season, 2-1". Detroit Free Press. p. 1F. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  6. ^ "Soccer ASL". Arizona Republic. September 30, 1981. p. F6. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
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