# 1978 San Jose Earthquakes season

The 1978 San Jose Earthquakes season was the fifth for the franchise in the North American Soccer League. They finished in fourth place in the Western Division of the American Conference.

## Squad

The 1978 squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | USA | Paul Gizzi |
| 2 | DF | USA | Buzz Demling |
| 4 | DF | USA | Mark Demling |
| 5 | DF | IRN | Parviz |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Ian Wood |
| 7 | MF | USA | Kevin Handlan |
| 7 | MF | YUG | Dusan Lukic |
| 8 | DF | POL | Franz Smuda |
| 9 | FW | USA | Doug Wark |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Paul Child |
| 11 | FW | CAN | Victor Kodelja |
| 12 | FW | TRI | Leroy DeLeon |
| 13 | MF | SCO | Davie Kemp |
| 14 | DF | ENG | John Rowlands |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 14 | DF | GER | Volker Fass |
| 15 | FW | YUG | Ilija Mitic |
| 16 | FW | NED | Peter Ressel |
| 17 | DF | USA | Jerry Bevans |
| 18 | DF | YUG | Dimitri Davidovic |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Les Chapman |
| 20 | FW | SCO | John Smillie |
| 21 | MF | USA | Tony Suffle |
| 22 | DF | USA | Carl Christensen |
| 22 | DF | ENG | Roger Verdi |
| 23 | FW | TRI | Leroy Spann |
| 24 | GK | SCO | Mike Hewitt |
| 25 | GK | NED | Gerrit Vooys |
| 26 | GK | USA | Sean Keohane |

## Competitions
### NASL
#### Season

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers |
| April 2, 1978 | Oakland Stompers | A | 0–0* | |
| April 9, 1978 | California Surf | H | 0–0* | |
| April 12, 1978 | San Diego Sockers | A | 1–1* | Mitic |
| April 16, 1978 | Colorado Caribous | H | 2–3 | Ressel, Rowlands |
| April 19, 1978 | Houston Hurricane | A | 1–1* | Child |
| April 22, 1978 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | A | 3–3* | Child, Ressel, Mitic |
| April 30, 1978 | Seattle Sounders | H | 1–0 | Lukic |
| May 7, 1978 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | H | 1–0 | Ressel |
| May 13, 1978 | Seattle Sounders | A | 1–3 | Ressel |
| May 20, 1978 | Portland Timbers | H | 2–3 | Ressel, Child |
| May 23, 1978 | New England Tea Men | A | 1–3 | Child |
| May 27, 1978 | Philadelphia Fury | A | 3–1 | Mitic, Lukic, Child |
| May 31, 1978 | Rochester Lancers | A | 1–2 | Child |
| June 7, 1978 | Memphis Rogues | H | 0–1 | |
| June 10, 1978 | Chicago Sting | H | 1–1* | Spann |
| June 14, 1978 | Memphis Rogues | A | 1–4 | Mitic |
| June 17, 1978 | Dallas Tornado | A | 1–3 | Ressel |
| June 21, 1978 | New England Tea Men | H | 2–5 | Mitic, Kodelja |
| June 28, 1978 | Vancouver Whitecaps | H | 0–0* | |
| July 1, 1978 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | H | 0–1 | |
| July 7, 1978 | Portland Timbers | A | 0–5 | |
| July 9, 1978 | Los Angeles Aztecs | H | 2–4 | Ressel, Lukic |
| July 12, 1978 | Detroit Express | A | 0–10 | |
| July 15, 1978 | Washington Diplomats | H | 1–5 | Fass |
| July 19, 1978 | Detroit Express | H | 3–4 | Child, Kodelja, Ressel |
| July 22, 1978 | Los Angeles Aztecs | A | 2–0 | Chapman, Kodelja |
| July 26, 1978 | San Diego Sockers | H | 2–1 | Child, Davidovic |
| July 30, 1978 | California Surf | A | 0–5 | |
| August 3, 1978 | Vancouver Whitecaps | A | 0–6 | |
| August 5, 1978 | Oakland Stompers | H | 2–1 | Wood, Chapman |
* = Shootout Source:

#### American Conference

| Western Division | W | L | GF | GA | BP | Pts | Home | Road |
| San Diego Sockers | 18 | 12 | 63 | 56 | 56 | 164 | 12-3 | 6-9 |
| California Surf | 13 | 17 | 43 | 49 | 37 | 115 | 9-6 | 4-11 |
| Oakland Stompers | 12 | 18 | 34 | 59 | 31 | 103 | 7-8 | 5-10 |
| San Jose Earthquakes | 8 | 22 | 36 | 81 | 35 | 83 | 4-11 | 4-11 |