1979 Fort Lauderdale Strikers season

The 1979 Fort Lauderdale Strikers season was the third season of the Fort Lauderdale Striker's team, and the club's thirteenth season in professional soccer. The Strikers finished the regular season in second place in the Eastern Division of the North American Soccer League's American Conference, and qualified for the playoffs. They were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

Fort Lauderdale Strikers

1979 season
Owner	Elizabeth Robbie
General manager	Beau Rodgers
Manager	Ron Newman
Stadium	Lockhart Stadium
NASL	Eastern Division: Second place Quartefinalist
Top goalscorer	League: Gerd Müller (19 goals) All: Gerd Müller (19 goals)
Average home league attendance	13,774
Home colors Away colors

Competitions

Friendlies

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
February 18, 1979	FIU Sunblazers	A	0–3	1,100	Gary Jones (2), Tibor Gemeri
February 25, 1979	Washington Diplomats	H	0–1	616
March 1, 1979	Atlanta Chiefs	A	2–3	1,049	Denny Vaninger, Nico Bodonczy, Tibor Gemeri
March 4, 1979	Memphis Rogues	H	4–1	771	David Irving, Gary Jones, Maurice Whittle, Nico Bodonczy
March 7, 1979	Washington Diplomats	A	3–0		(played in Santo Domingo)
March 10, 1979	Haitian All-Stars	A	1–2		David Irving, Al Njie
March 12, 1979	Don Bosco FC	A	1–2		Nico Bodonczy, David Irving
March 14, 1979	Memphis Rogues	H	2–0	4,036	Nico Bodonczy, David Irving
March 17, 1979	Minnesota Kicks	H	1–0	4,931	Ray Hudson
May 2, 1979	Miami Hurricanes	A	0–12	1,068	Irving (3), Müller (2), Njie (2), Jones, Cubillas, Best, Ortiz-Valez, Bodonczy
May 23, 1979	Crystal Palace F.C.	H	0–2	7,121
September 14, 1979	Tampa Bay Rowdies	A	0–3	20,655	(Rodney Marsh testimonial game)
September 14, 1979	Miami Dade North Falcons	A	?
October 2, 1979	FCI Miami	A	2–9		(exhibition vs. inmates)

NASL regular season

Regular season W = Wins, L = Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, BP = Bonus Points, Pts = Point System

6 points for a win, 1 point for a shootout win, 0 points for a loss, 1 point for each regulation goal scored up to three per game.

American Conference

Eastern Division	W	L	GF	GA	BP	Pts	Home	Road
Tampa Bay Rowdies	19	11	67	46	55	169	14-1	5-10
Fort Lauderdale Strikers	17	13	75	64	63	165	9-6	8-7
Philadelphia Fury	10	20	55	60	51	111	10-5	0-15
New England Tea Men	12	18	41	56	41	110	8-7	4-11

NASL Playoffs

First round

Lower seed		Higher seed	Game 1	Game 2	Mini-game	(lower seed hosts Game 1)
Chicago Sting	-	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	2–0	1–0	x	August 15 • Soldier Field • 10,019 August 18 • Lockhart Stadium • 13,691

Bracket

	Conference Quarterfinals							Conference Semifinals							Conference Championships							Soccer Bowl '79
	1	Houston Hurricane	1	1	-
	16	Philadelphia Fury	2	2	-
								Philadelphia Fury		2(0)	0	-
								Tampa Bay Rowdies		3(2)	1	-
	8	Tampa Bay Rowdies	3	3	-
	9	Detroit Express	0	1	-
															Tampa Bay Rowdies		1	3(3)	1
															San Diego Sockers		2	2(0)	0
	5	San Diego Sockers	4	7	-
	12	California Surf	2	2	-
								San Diego Sockers		2	1	-
								Chicago Sting		0	0	-
	4	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	0	0	-
	13	Chicago Sting	2	1	-
																						Tampa Bay Rowdies		1
																						Vancouver Whitecaps		2
	6	New York Cosmos	3	2	-
	11	Toronto Blizzard	1	0	-
								New York Cosmos		0	3	3
								Tulsa Roughnecks		3	0	1
	3	Minnesota Kicks	1	1	-
	14	Tulsa Roughnecks	2	2	-
															New York Cosmos		0	3(3)	0(2)
															Vancouver Whitecaps		2	2(1)	1(3)
	7	Vancouver Whitecaps	3	2	-
	10	Dallas Tornado	2	1	-
								Vancouver Whitecaps		2(1)	1	1
								Los Angeles Aztecs		3(2)	0	0
	2	Washington Diplomats	1	3	-
	15	Los Angeles Aztecs	3	4	-

See also

1979 Fort Lauderdale Strikers