1978 North American Soccer League playoffs

The 1978 North American Soccer League playoffs began on August 8 and ended on August 27 with Soccer Bowl '78 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. 16 out of 24 teams qualified after a 30-match regular season, eight from each conference.

The top two teams in each division would quality for the playoffs. The other spots would go to the next best two teams in the conference, regardless of division. The top three seeds went to the division winners, seeds 4-6 went to the second place teams and the last two seeds were known as 'wild-cards', a nod to the NFL's playoff format. The winners of each successive round would be reseeded within the conference by point total. The first round and the Soccer Bowl were single games, while the conference semifinals and championships were two-game series. As in the 1977 playoffs, if both teams were tied at one win apiece at the conclusion of Game 2, there would be a 30-minute sudden-death mini-game and a shootout if necessary.

1. Detroit Express – Central Division champions, 176 points

2. New England Tea Men – Eastern Division champions, 165 points

3. San Diego Sockers – Western Division champions, 164 points

4. Tampa Bay Rowdies – 165 points

5. Chicago Sting – 123 points

6. California Surf – 115 points

7. Fort Lauderdale Strikers – 143 points

8. Philadelphia Fury – 111 points

9. Cosmos – Eastern Division champions, 212 points

10. Vancouver Whitecaps – Western Division champions, 199 points

11. Minnesota Kicks – Central Division champions, 156 points

12. Portland Timbers – 167 points

13. Washington Diplomats – 145 points

14. Tulsa Roughnecks – 132 points

15. Toronto Metros-Croatia – 144 points

16. Seattle Sounders – 138 points

Fort Lauderdale wins series 2–1

Tampa Bay wins series 2–1

New York wins series 2–1

Portland wins series 2–0

Tampa Bay wins series 2–1

New York wins series 2–0

1978 NASL Champions: Cosmos

Mini-games are not counted as games played when compiling individual statistics. They are included in the minutes played category.

GP = Games Played, G = Goals (worth 2 points), A = Assists (worth 1 point), Pts = Points

Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; SO = Shutouts

Henderson, Jim (1979). Dr. Pepper 1979 Pro Soccer Guide. Tampa, Florida: Snibbe Publications.

1979 Official North American Soccer League Guide. New York: North American Soccer League. 1979.

Jose, Colin (1989). NASL: A Complete Record of the North American Soccer League. Derby, England: Breedon Books.

Jose, Colin (2003). North American Soccer League Encyclopedia. Haworth, New Jersey: St. Johann Press.

• The Year in American Soccer – 1978
• Chris Page's NASL Archive
• Complete NASL Results and Standings