Also the minigame, used to decide tied playoff series, no longer ended on a golden goal (sudden death).
[13] However, since the majority of NASL players were foreign and unsure of American and Canadian labor laws, support was minimal.
[18] At the other end of the table, the Houston Hurricane went from worst to first in the American Conference, going undefeated in their 15 home matches at the Astrodome and earning Timo Liekoski Coach of the Year honors.
[19] However, the Hurricane were upset in the first round of the ASC playoffs, as the Philadelphia Fury, who were winless on the road during the regular season, won the deciding game in Houston.
Johan Cruyff joined the team in the fall of 1978 for a few exhibitions, but the Los Angeles Aztecs bought out his NASL option for $600,000 to take him to the West Coast.
[23] Cruyff scored two goals against the Rochester Lancers on his debut,[24] while leading the Aztecs to a nine-win turnaround.
New York proved that they did not need him to score goals, as Giorgio Chinaglia led the league for the third straight year.
[28] However, the league's dream of the Cosmos hosting another Soccer Bowl in front of a national TV audience went up in smoke when New York lost to Vancouver in a memorable playoff matchup.
After the Whitecaps won the first game of the National Conference final in Vancouver,[29] the teams played for three and a half hours at Giants Stadium three days later on ABC.
After the Cosmos' Ricky Davis and the Whitecaps' Alan Ball missed on their chances, New York's Nelsi Morais was unable to beat the five-second clock and his goal was waved off, giving Vancouver the win.
[33] The Whitecaps' Alan Ball was named playoff MVP for his seven-assist effort in Vancouver's championship run.
[34] Attendance estimates vary (they range from 60,000 to 150,000 people),[35] but the resulting championship parade is still considered the largest public demonstration in Vancouver civic history.
The two teams with the highest point totals remaining in each conference filled out the field as wild cards and were given the lowest first round seeds.