# 1978 Fort Lauderdale Strikers season

The 1978 Fort Lauderdale Strikers season was the second season of the Fort Lauderdale Striker's team, and the club's twelfth season in professional soccer. This year the team were a finalist in the North American Soccer League American Conference.

## Competitions
### Friendlies

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| January 7, 1978 | Washington Diplomats | D.C. Armory | 9–2 | 2,384 (indoor) | Fearnley, Proctor |
| January 8, 1978 | Washington Diplomats | D.C. Armory | 8–5 | 2,163 (indoor) | Vaniger (2), Hamlyn, Aguirre, Nanchoff |
| February 6, 1978 | Stockport County F.C. | Edgeley Park | 2–4 | | Irving, Whittle, Gemeri, Hughes |
| February 8, 1978 | Blackpool F.C. | Bloomfield Road | 3–2 | | |
| February 10, 1978 | Workington A.F.C. | Borough Park | 0–0 | 6,127 | |
| February 13, 1978 | Portsmouth F.C. | Fratton Park | 2–2 | | Irving (2) |
| February 15, 1978 | Port Vale F.C. | Vale Park | 4–2 | 1,877 | |
| February 18, 1978 | Swindon Town F.C. | County Ground | 6–3 | 1,173 | Irving (2), Fowles |
| February 26, 1978 | FIU Sunblazers | FIU Soccer Stadium | 4–2 | | Irving, Bodonczy |
| March 4, 1978 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Dade North Stadium | 2–0 | 3,248 | Irving, Fowles |
| March 8, 1978 | Detroit Express | Bryant Stadium | 2–3 | 350 | Irving (2), Bodonczy |
| March 18, 1978 | Minnesota Kicks | Lockhart Stadium | 1–2 | 2,333 | Vaniger |
| March 23, 1978 | Washington Diplomats | Leonard High School | 1–0 | 2,800 | Irving |
| March 25, 1978 | Philadelphia Fury | City Stadium | 0–1 (SO) | | shootout tiebreaker |
| May 10, 1978 | Blackpool F.C. | Lockhart Stadium | 2–1 | 5,173 | Gary Jones (2) |
| May 15, 1978 | Blackpool F.C. | Atlanta | 0–2 | 9,658 (in Atlanta) | |

### NASL Playoffs
#### Conference Quarterfinals

| August 9 | New England Tea Men | 1–3 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | Schaefer Stadium • 18,672 |

#### Conference semifinals

In 1978, if a playoff series was tied after two games, a 30 minute, golden goal, mini-game was played. If neither team scored in the mini-game, they would move on to a shoot-out to determine a series winner. *Teams were re-seeded for the Conference Semifinals based on regular season point totals. This affected only one of the four series; Tampa Bay versus San Diego.
| Higher seed | | Lower seed | Game 1 | Game 2 | Mini-game | (lower seed hosts Game 1) |
| Detroit Express | - | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 3–4 (SO, 2–3) | 1–0 | 0–1 | August 13 • Lockhart Stadium • 11,517 August 16 • Pontiac Silverdome • 32,219 |

#### Conference Championships

| Higher seed | | Lower seed | Game 1 | Game 2 | Mini-game | Attendance |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | - | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 2–3 | 3–1 | 1–0 (SO, 2–1) | August 20 • Lockhart Stadium • 16,286 August 23 • Tampa Stadium • 37,249 |

#### Bracket

| Conference Quarterfinals | Conference Quarterfinals | Conference Quarterfinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Championships | Conference Championships | Conference Championships | | Soccer Bowl '78 | Soccer Bowl '78 | Soccer Bowl '78 |
| A1 | Detroit Express | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| A8 | Philadelphia Fury | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| A8 | Philadelphia Fury | 0 | A1 | Detroit Express | 1 | | | | | | | |
| | | | A7 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 2 | | | | | | | |
| A2 | New England Tea Men | 1 | A7 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 2 | | | | | | | |
| A7 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| A7 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 3 | | | | A7 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 1 | | | | |
| | | | | | | A4 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 2 | | | | |
| A3 | San Diego Sockers | 2 | | | | | | | A4 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 2 | | | | |
| A6 | California Surf | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| A6 | California Surf | 1 | A3 | San Diego Sockers | 1 | | | | | | | |
| | | | A4 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 2 | | | | | | | |
| A4 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 3 | A4 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 2 | | | | | | | |
| A5 | Chicago Sting | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| A5 | Chicago Sting | 1 | | | | | | | | A4 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 1 |
| | | | | | | | | | | N1 | Cosmos | 3 |
| N1 | Cosmos | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | N1 | Cosmos | 3 |
| N8 | Seattle Sounders | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| N8 | Seattle Sounders | 2 | N1 | Cosmos | 2 | | | | | | | |
| | | | N3 | Minnesota Kicks | 1 | | | | | | | |
| N3 | Minnesota Kicks | 3 | N3 | Minnesota Kicks | 1 | | | | | | | |
| N6 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| N6 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 1 | | | | N1 | Cosmos | 2 | | | | |
| | | | | | | N4 | Portland Timbers | 0 | | | | |
| N2 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 4 | | | | | | | N4 | Portland Timbers | 0 | | | | |
| N7 | Toronto Metros-Croatia | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| N7 | Toronto Metros-Croatia | 0 | N2 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 0 | | | | | | | |
| | | | N4 | Portland Timbers | 2 | | | | | | | |
| N4 | Portland Timbers | 2 | N4 | Portland Timbers | 2 | | | | | | | |
| N5 | Washington Diplomats | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |