Referee Ed Bellion (USA) Venue BC Place Man of the match Njego Pesa | Date 1 October 1983 Event Soccer Bowl Attendance 53,326 | |
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Other Instances Soccer Bowl 2015, Soccer Bowl 2014, Soccer Bowl 2013, Soccer Bowl 2012, Soccer Bowl 2011 | ||
Soccer Bowl '83 was the championship final of the 1983 NASL season. The match was played on October 1, 1983 at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, between the Tulsa Roughnecks and the Toronto Blizzard. The Roughnecks won the match, 2–0, to claim their first championship.
Contents
Background
The Tulsa Roughnecks won the Southern Division with a 17-13 record and a total of 145 points. They dispatched the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the quarterfinals with a two-game sweep. By virtue of their two games to one victory In the semifinals against the Montreal Manic, the Roughnecks advanced to the Soccer Bowl for the first time in franchise history.
The Toronto Blizzard qualified for the playoffs as a wild card by finishing third in the Eastern Division with a 16-14 record and a total of 135 points. In the quarterfinals they were the upset-winner over the Western Division champion Vancouver Whitecaps by two games to one. Vancouver had only lost 6 matches all season. The Blizzard pulled off a second upset in their semifinal match-up by sweeping the Golden Bay Earthquakes in two games, and earning their second ever trip to the Soccer Bowl.
Championship results
1983 NASL Champions: Tulsa Roughnecks