1978–79 Major Indoor Soccer League season


The 1978–79 Major Indoor Soccer League season was the first in league history and would end with the New York Arrows winning the first MISL title.

Recap

The league would begin with six teams and a 24-game schedule beginning in December 1978 and ending in March 1979. The top four teams would advance to a single-game semifinal and a best of three championship series. League attendance would average 4,453 per game.
Signs were good that the league would have a long-time presence. The early games drew strong crowds, as Philadelphia sold out the Spectrum for their opener, leading the league in attendance. The first expansion team was announced on December 13, nine days before the first game in league history, as the Buffalo Stallions were slated to start play in the 1979-80 season. 10,386 fans were in the Nassau Coliseum to see the Cincinnati Kids play the Arrows in the league's first game.
Despite finishing in a solid third place, Cincinnati folded after the season.

Teams

Regular season

Schedule

The 1978–79 regular season schedule ran from December 22, 1978, to March 18, 1979.
Each team played a schedule of 24 games.

Final standings

Playoff teams in bold.
WLPct.GBGFGAHomeRoad
Houston Summit186.750--17511411-17-5
New York Arrows168.66721761368-48-4
Cincinnati Kids168.667215412910-26-6
Philadelphia Fever1113.45871411545-76-6
Pittsburgh Spirit618.250121231714-82-10
Cleveland Force519.20813941594-81-11

Team attendance

Regular season statistics

Scoring leaders

GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
PlayerTeamGPGAPts
Fred GrgurevPhiladelphia Fever24462874
Steve ZungulNew York Arrows18432568
Kai HaaskiviHouston Summit22392564
Branko SegotaNew York Arrows21252247
Doug WarkCincinnati Kids22291645
Joey FinkPhiladelphia Fever22301444
Ian AndersonHouston Summit21291342
Stewart JumpHouston Summit21211839
John StremlauHouston Summit24162137
Alberto AlvesPhiladelphia Fever24201636

Goalkeeping leaders

Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes Played; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; W = Wins; L = Losses
PlayerTeamGPMinGAGAAWL
Paul HammondHouston Summit171010704.16133
Keith Van EronCincinnati Kids2312371045.04157
Shep MessingNew York Arrows2212361075.19147
Woody HartmanPhiladelphia Fever2212371205.821010
Roland SkinnerHouston Summit8453445.8353
Jim MayCleveland Force12529536.0116
Pete MannosPittsburgh Spirit168801593.0259
Rich BrandsCleveland Force13533717.9918

Playoffs

Bracket

Semifinals

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Championship Series

Playoff statistics

Playoff scoring

GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
PlayerTeamGPGAPts
Steve ZungulNew York Arrows315419
Branko SegotaNew York Arrows37310
Pat ErcoliNew York Arrows3178
Alberto AlvesPhiladelphia Fever3257
Luis AlbertoNew York Arrows3156

Playoff goalkeeping

Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes Played; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; W = Wins; L = Losses
PlayerTeamGPMinGAGAAWL
Ian AndersonHouston Summit1100.0000
Shep MessingNew York Arrows3170155.3030
Enzo DiPedeNew York Arrows21015.8800
Paul HammondHouston Summit15966.1201
Woody HartmanPhiladelphia Fever293106.4511

League awards