1972 New York Cosmos season

New York Cosmos
1972 season
Manager Gordon Bradley[1]
StadiumHofstra Stadium
NASLDivision: 1st
Overall: 1st
Playoffs: Champions
National
Challenge Cup
Did not enter
Top goalscorerLeague:
Randy Horton (9 goals)

All:
Randy Horton (13 goals)
Highest home attendanceAll: 13,205
(Aug. 30 vs. Dynamo Moscow)
League: 7,324
(May 7 vs. St. Louis)
Lowest home attendance1,200
(Jun. 18 vs. Toronto)
Average home league attendance4,282[2]

The 1972 New York Cosmos season was the second season for the New York Cosmos in the now-defunct North American Soccer League. In the Cosmos' second year of existence, the club finished 1st in the Northern Division and 1st in the overall league table. In the playoffs, the Cosmos defeated the Dallas Tornado in the semifinal and the St. Louis Stars in the final, winning their first league championship and completing the first double by a club in the national era.

Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
0 GK  ENG Richard Blackmore
1 GK  GHA Emmanuel Kofie
2 DF  USA Barry Mahy
3 DF  USA Charlie McCully
4 DF  USA Werner Roth
5 DF  GER Robert Neubauer
6 MF  CAN John Kerr, Sr.
7 FW  BRA Cinesinho
8 FW  ISR Roby Young
9 FW  ESP Helenio Herrera
9  USA Paul LeSueur
No. Pos. Nation Player
10 FW  TCH Josef Jelinek
11 FW  USA Jorge Siega
14 MF  USA Stan Startzell
15 MF  USA Siegfried Stritzl
16 FW  BER Randy Horton
17 FW  GHA Wilberforce Mfum
19 DF  POL Karol Kapcinski
20 MF  TRI Everald Cummings
22 MF  POL Dieter Zajdel
24 DF  USA Gordon Bradley

Source:[3]

Results

Source:[4]

Regular season

Pld = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, D = Draws, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
6 points for a win, 3 points for a draw, 0 points for a loss, 1 point for each goal scored (up to three per game).

Northern Division Standings

Pos Club Pld W L D GF GA GD Pts
1 New York Cosmos 14 7 3 4 28 16 +12 77
2 Rochester Lancers 14 6 5 3 20 22 -2 64
3 Montreal Olympique 14 4 5 5 19 20 -1 57
4 Toronto Metros 14 4 6 4 18 22 -4 53

Overall League Placing

Pos Club Pld W L D GF GA GD Pts
1 New York Cosmos 14 7 3 4 28 16 +12 77
2 St. Louis Stars 14 7 4 3 20 14 +6 69
3 Rochester Lancers 14 6 5 3 20 22 -2 64
4 Dallas Tornado 14 6 5 3 15 12 +3 60
5 Montreal Olympique 14 4 5 5 19 20 -1 57

Source:[5]

Matches

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
May 7, 1972 St. Louis Stars H 3-3 7,324 Young, Horton (2)
May 14, 1972 Rochester Lancers A 1-1 4,100 Stritzl
May 20, 1972 Miami Gatos H 6-1 1,302 Horton (2), Cummings (2), Jelinek, Siega
May 27, 1972 Atlanta Chiefs H 4-2 4,445 Kerr, Horton (2), Cummings
June 3, 1972 Dallas Tornado A 1-0 2,157
June 18, 1972 Toronto Metros H 2-1 1,200 Cummings, Siega
June 25, 1972 Atlanta Chiefs A 2-0 N/A
July 1, 1972 Montreal Olympique H 2-0 4,571 Kerr, Mfum
July 8, 1972 Miami Gatos A 0-2 1,438 Horton, Mfum
July 16, 1972 Montreal Olympique A 2-2 2,996 Mfum, Cummings
July 22, 1972 Dallas Tornado H 1-0 6,518 Mfum
July 29, 1972 St. Louis Stars A 1-0 4,385
August 6, 1972 Toronto Metros A 1-1 1,255 Horton
August 12, 1972 Rochester Lancers H 4-1 4,616 Mfum, Horton, Jelinek, Kerr

Postseason

Overview

Semi-finals
August 15 Rochester Lancers 0–2 St. Louis Stars St. Louis, Busch Memorial

August 19 Dallas Tornado 0–1 New York Cosmos New York, Hofstra Stadium
Final
August 26 St. Louis Stars 1–2 New York Cosmos New York, Hofstra Stadium

Matches

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
August 19, 1972 Dallas Tornado H 1-0 5,026 Kerr
August 26, 1972 St. Louis Stars H 2-1 6,102 Jelinek, Horton

Friendlies

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
July 31 Birmingham City H 0-3 N/A
August 16 Maccabi Tel Aviv H 5-2 5,126 Horton (3), Kerr, Stritzl
August 30 Dynamo Moscow H 1-2 13,205 Zajdel

See also

References

  1. ^ Bell, Jack (May 2008). "Gordon Bradley, Who Nurtured U.S. Soccer, Dies at 74". The New York Times.
  2. ^ "North American Soccer League".
  3. ^ "NASL New York Cosmos Rosters".
  4. ^ "All-time American soccer statistics | SoccerStats.us".
  5. ^ "The Year in American Soccer - 1972". Archived from the original on March 25, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2012.