It also marked the first time the expansion Rowdies participated in any North American Soccer League sanctioned competition.

Those two victories left the Rowdies tied with the Miami Toros in the standings, however the tie-breaker was goal differential.

Led by Doug Wark’s record six-goal performance, the Rowdies jumped out to an early 3–0 lead, and never looked back, as they dispatched the Cosmos, 13–5, to advance to the final on Sunday.

[10] On March 16, 1975, the Tampa Bay faced a heavily favored San Jose Earthquakes team in the Rowdies first of what would be many championship finals, against.

In addition to the Rowdies’ runner-up performance, Doug Wark was named to the All-Tournament squad and was the second leading scorer in the tournament.