# 1980–81 NASL indoor season

The 1980–81 season was the North American Soccer League's second indoor soccer season.

## Overview

A total of 19 of a possible 21 NASL teams participated. New York and Montreal (who was moving from Philadelphia) were the only hold-outs this indoor season. Just as the season was getting underway, the Jacksonville Tea Men relocated from New England. Teams played an 18-game regular season. The four Canadian teams were realigned into one division and forced to play only one another during the regular season. This was due to early season litigation which restricted NASL teams' travel between the U.S. and Canada. The Edmonton Drillers won the championship in a two-game finals-sweep of the Chicago Sting. This was the Drillers' first, and only, NASL indoor title. Kai Haaskivi of Edmonton won both the regular season and playoff MVP awards.

## Regular season

W = Wins, L = Losses, GB = Games behind 1st place, % = Winning percentage, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
| Eastern Division | W | L | GB | % | GF | GA |
| Atlanta Chiefs | 13 | 5 | – | .722 | 97 | 75 |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 9 | 9 | 4 | .500 | 126 | 120 |
| Jacksonville Tea Men | 8 | 10 | 5 | .444 | 96 | 102 |
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 1 | 17 | 12 | .056 | 58 | 125 |
| Central Division | W | L | GB | % | GF | GA |
| Chicago Sting | 13 | 5 | – | .722 | 146 | 103 |
| Minnesota Kicks | 12 | 6 | 1 | .667 | 93 | 73 |
| Detroit Express | 7 | 11 | 6 | .389 | 90 | 106 |
| Southern Division | W | L | GB | % | GF | GA |
| California Surf | 10 | 8 | – | .556 | 104 | 118 |
| Tulsa Roughnecks | 9 | 9 | 1 | .500 | 111 | 113 |
| Dallas Tornado | 7 | 11 | 3 | .389 | 110 | 125 |
| San Diego Sockers | 6 | 12 | 4 | .333 | 106 | 121 |
| Northern Division | W | L | GB | % | GF | GA |
| Vancouver Whitecaps | 11 | 7 | – | .611 | 91 | 96 |
| Edmonton Drillers | 10 | 8 | 1 | .556 | 128 | 109 |
| Calgary Boomers | 10 | 8 | 1 | .556 | 100 | 94 |
| Toronto Blizzard | 5 | 13 | 6 | .278 | 101 | 121 |
| Western Division | W | L | GB | % | GF | GA |
| Los Angeles Aztecs | 11 | 7 | – | .611 | 118 | 99 |
| Portland Timbers | 10 | 8 | 1 | .556 | 110 | 93 |
| San Jose Earthquakes | 10 | 8 | 1 | .556 | 118 | 115 |
| Seattle Sounders | 9 | 9 | 2 | .500 | 106 | 98 |

## NASL All-Stars

All-star selections were made, by region, by the NASL coaches and general managers. Each voter cast ballots for one goalie and five outfield players regardless of position.
| All-North team | Position | All-East team | Position | All-West team |
| Bruce Grobbelaar, Vancouver | G | Tino Lettieri, Minnesota | G | Mike Hewitt, San Jose |
| – | D | Björn Nordqvist, Minnesota | D | Mihalj Keri, Los Angeles |
| Gerry Gray, Vancouver | M | – | M | Alan Hudson, Seattle |
| Carl Valentine, Vancouver | F | Steve Wegerle, Tampa Bay | F | Stuart Lee, Portland |
| Kai Haaskivi, Edmonton | F | Pato Margetic, Detroit | F | George Best, San Jose |
| Drew Ferguson, Edmonton | F | Keith Furphy, Atlanta | F | Juli Veee, San Diego |
| Juan Carlos Molina, Calgary | F | Karl-Heinz Granitza, Chicago | F | Chris Dangerfield, Los Angeles |
| Bobby Prentice, Toronto | F |

## Playoffs
### Bracket

| First round Best-of-3 | First round Best-of-3 | First round Best-of-3 | First round Best-of-3 | First round Best-of-3 | Semifinals Best-of-3 | Semifinals Best-of-3 | Semifinals Best-of-3 | Semifinals Best-of-3 | Semifinals Best-of-3 | Championship series Best-of-3 | Championship series Best-of-3 | Championship series Best-of-3 | Championship series Best-of-3 | Championship series Best-of-3 |
| P1 | Chicago Sting | 6 | 8(OT) | – | | | | | | | | | | |
| W2 | Portland Timbers | 2 | 7 | – | | | | | | | | | | |
| W2 | Portland Timbers | 2 | 7 | – | P1 | Chicago Sting | 8 | 5 | 4 | | | | | |
| | | | | | E1 | Atlanta Chiefs | 3 | 9 | 2 | | | | | |
| E1 | Atlanta Chiefs | 10 | 5(OT) | – | E1 | Atlanta Chiefs | 3 | 9 | 2 | | | | | |
| C2 | Minnesota Kicks | 8 | 4 | – | | | | | | | | | | |
| C2 | Minnesota Kicks | 8 | 4 | – | | | | | | P1 | Chicago Sting | 6 | 4 | – |
| | | | | | | | | | | N2 | Edmonton Drillers | 9 | 5 | – |
| N2 | Edmonton Drillers | 8 | 10 | – | | | | | | | | | | | N2 | Edmonton Drillers | 9 | 5 | – |
| W1 | Los Angeles Aztecs | 3 | 6 | – | | | | | | | | | | |
| W1 | Los Angeles Aztecs | 3 | 6 | – | N2 | Edmonton Drillers | 9 | 6 | – | | | | | |
| | | | | | C1 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 7 | 4 | – | | | | | |
| C1 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 0 | 8 | 4 | C1 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 7 | 4 | – | | | | | |
| S1 | California Surf | 3 | 5 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |

### 1st round

If a playoff series is tied after two games, a 15 minute, tie breaker mini-game is played.
| Higher seed | | Lower seed | Game 1 | Game 2 | Mini-game | Attendance |
| Edmonton Drillers | - | Los Angeles Aztecs | 8–3 | 10–6 | x | February 16 • L.A. Sports Arena • 1,621 February 19 • Northlands Coliseum • 4,310 |
| Vancouver Whitecaps | - | California Surf | 0–3 | 8–5 | 4–0 | February 18 • Long Beach Arena • 472 February 21 • Pacific Coliseum • 8,496 |
| Atlanta Chiefs | - | Minnesota Kicks | 10–8 | 5–4 (OT) | x | February 16 • Met Center • 6,354 February 20 • The Omni • 6,150 |
| Chicago Sting | - | Portland Timbers | #6–2 | 8–7 (OT) | x | February 17 • Chicago Stadium • 3,254 February 19 • Chicago Stadium • 6,286 |
#Scheduling conflicts at the Portland Coliseum forced both games to be played in Chicago.

### Semi-finals

| Higher seed | | Lower seed | Game 1 | Game 2 | Mini-game | Attendance |
| Vancouver Whitecaps | - | Edmonton Drillers | 7–9 | 4–6 | x | February 24 • Northlands Coliseum • 3,420 February 28 • Pacific Coliseum • 11,758 |
| Chicago Sting | - | Atlanta Chiefs | 8–3 | 5–9 | 4–2 | February 25 • The Omni • 9,187 February 28 • Chicago Stadium • 12,376 |

### Championship finals

| Higher seed | | Lower seed | Game 1 | Game 2 | Mini-game | Attendance |
| Chicago Sting | - | Edmonton Drillers | *6–9 | 4–5 | x | March 2 • Edmonton Gardens • 5,089 March 7 • Chicago Stadium • 16,257 |
*Scheduling conflicts at the Northlands Coliseum forced Game 1 of the Finals to be moved across the street to the Edmonton Gardens.

#### Championship match reports

1980–81 NASL indoor champions: Edmonton Drillers

## Post season awards

* Most Valuable Player: Kai Haaskivi, Edmonton
* Finals MVP: Kai Haaskivi, Edmonton