The Dallas Tornado won the league championship after playing several playoff matches under the new sudden death rule, which replaced the penalty shootout.
In Game 1 of the best-of-three semifinal against the Rochester Lancers, league scoring champion Carlos Metidieri of Rochester scored to end the match at 2–1 in the 176th minute after six periods of overtime—shortly before midnight.
In the deciding match, the two teams ended regulation with a 1–1 tie and played four overtime periods before Bobby Moffat scored in the 148 minute for a 2–1 victory.
Four days later, Dallas lost Game 1 of the NASL Championship Series, 2–1, in the 3rd overtime to the Atlanta Chiefs after 123 minutes.
[2] Playoffs series switched from a two-game aggregate score to a best-two-out-of-three match format.