Soccer Bowl '77

The New York Cosmos (who had dropped "New York" from their name in the off-season to simply "Cosmos") took on the Seattle Sounders. The match was played on August 28, 1977 at Civic Stadium, in Portland, Oregon. The game was also noteworthy as the final competitive match for Pelé, the Brazilian star widely acknowledged as the sport's greatest player. The Cosmos won the match, 2–1, to claim their second North American championship. The match was broadcast on TVS.

Soccer Bowl '77

Civic Stadium was the venue for Soccer Bowl '77
Event	Soccer Bowl
New York Cosmos Seattle Sounders 2 1
Date	August 28, 1977 (1977-08-28)
Venue	Civic Stadium, Portland, Oregon
Man of the Match	Stephen Hunt
Referee	Toros Kibritjan (United States)
Attendance	35,548
← 1976 1978 →

Civic Stadium (now called Providence Park) in Portland, Oregon, was selected as the host of Soccer Bowl '77 by the NASL on October 15, 1976. It was initially scheduled for August 27, but was moved a day later.

New York Cosmos

The Cosmos qualified for the playoffs by virtue of a second-place finish in the Eastern Division of the Atlantic Conference with 140 points. The Cosmos defeated the Tampa Bay Rowdies in a first round single-match, 3–0, on August 10, 1977, before a home crowd of 57,828 fans. They then faced the Eastern Division winner and number one seed, Ft. Lauderdale Strikers in a best-of three-series. The first game of the series was witnessed by an all-time record NASL crowd of 77,691 and saw the Cosmos win convincingly, 8–3, on August 14, 1977. The second leg, played in Fort Lauderdale on August 17, 1977, finished regulation as a 2–2 draw. After 15 minutes of scoreless golden goal extra time the teams moved on to an NASL shoot-out, which the Cosmos won, 3–0. The win advanced them to the Conference finals. In the Atlantic Conference finals series the Cosmos went up against the upset-minded Rochester Lancers, who had already dispatched two higher seeded opponents. Game 1 of the series was played on August 21, 1977 in Rochester, and saw the Cosmos win a close-fought contest, 2–1. The second leg was played before another large Meadowlands crowd of 73,669 on August 24, 1977. In that game, as with the two previous home playoff games, the Cosmos proved to be a decisive winner, 4–1. By winning the series two games to none, the Cosmos won the Atlantic Conference title and advanced to the Soccer Bowl.

Seattle Sounders

The Seattle Sounders qualified for the playoffs by virtue of a third-place finish in the Western Division of the Pacific Conference with 123 points. The Sounders defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps in a first round single-match, 2–0, on August 10, 1977. They then faced the Western Division winner, Minnesota Kicks in a best-of three-series. The first game of the series, which was played on August 14, 1977, saw the Sounders edge ahead, 2–1, on a sudden death goal in overtime. In the second leg, the Sounders hung on for a 1–0 win on August 17, 1977. The two victories advanced them to the conference finals. In the Pacific Conference finals series, the Sounders went up against the Los Angeles Aztecs, who themselves had just upset Dallas, the number one seed in the conference. Game 1 of the series was played on August 21, 1977 in Los Angeles, and the Sounders won, 3–1. The second leg was played before an impressive Kingdome crowd of 56,256 on August 25, 1977. In that game, the Sounders gutted out a 1–0 result. In doing so, they won the series two games to none, and the Pacific Conference title to advance to the Soccer Bowl.

August 28

12:00 p.m. (PDT)

New York Cosmos	2–1	Seattle Sounders
Hunt   20' Chinaglia   78'	Report	Ord   24'

Civic Stadium, Portland

Attendance: 35,548

Referee: Toros Kibritjan (United States)

New York Cosmos

Seattle Sounders

GK 1   Shep Messing DF 12   Bobby Smith DF 4   Werner Roth (c) DF 25   Carlos Alberto   74:29' MF 14   Nelsi Morais MF 8   Terry Garbett   45:00' MF 6   Franz Beckenbauer   63:21' FW 7   Tony Field FW 10   Pelé FW 9   Giorgio Chinaglia FW 11   Steve Hunt Substitutes: MF 3   Vito Dimitrijević   66:34'   45:00' GK 19   Erol Yasin Manager:   Eddie Firmani

GK 1   Tony Chursky DF 4   Mel Machin DF 3   Jim McAlister DF 5   Mike England DF 17   Dave Gillett MF 16   Adrian Webster (c) MF 15   Steve Buttle MF 19   Jimmy Robertson   79:49' MF 2   Jocky Scott FW 18   Tommy Ord   16:58' FW 12   Micky Cave   68:07' Substitutes: MF 8   David Butler   68:07' FW 6   Tommy Jenkins   79:49' GK 26   Mike Ivanow Manager:   Jim Gabriel

Television: TVS
Announcers: Jon Miller, Paul Gardner
Touchline reporter: Walt Chyzowych

Notes