Review of the Season

The American Soccer League operated with eight teams in two conferences in the 1981 season. The members of the Liberty Conference were New England Sharks, New York Eagles, New York United and the Pennsylvania Stoners.

The members of the Freedom Conference were the Carolina Lightnin’, Cleveland Cobras, Detroit Express and Rochester Flash.

The first league match of the season was scheduled for May 2, with New York United playing Carolina Lightnin’ in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Carolina Lightnin’ won 1981 American Soccer League Championship by defeating New York United.

Clubs

Carolina Lightnin’

Carolina Lightnin’ Schedule

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Cleveland Cobras

Cleveland Cobras Yearbook

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Detroit Express

Detroit Express Schedule

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New England Sharks

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Folded during the 1981 season.

New York Eagles

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New York United

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Rochester Flash

Rochester Flash Schedule

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Final standings

Liberty Conference

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	BP	Pts
New York United	28	19	5	4	55	28	51	154
Pennsylvania Stoners	28	17	4	7	51	28	47	146
New York Eagles	28	13	13	2	57	49	47	116
New England Sharks	28	4	24	0	16	41	15	35

Freedom Conference

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	BP	Pts
Carolina Lightnin’	28	16	9	3	46	31	41	127
Detroit Express	28	15	11	2	58	48	46	125
Rochester Flash	28	11	12	5	38	51	35	100
Cleveland Cobras	28	5	22	1	33	78	29	56

Leading goalcorers

Players	Games	Goals	Assists	Pts
1. Billy Bolevic (New York Eagles)	26	25	9	59

Leading goalkeepers

Players	Min.	Saves	GA	SO	G.A.A.
1. Tom Reynolds (Pennsylvania Stoners)	2030	157	20	8	0.89
2. George Taratsides (New York United)	2197				1.15
3. Scott Manning (Carolina Lightnin’)	2378				1.17

Average attendance

The American Soccer League averaged 3,068 fans in the 1981 season.

Club	Av. Att.	+/- (1980)
1. Detroit Express	5,430	New
2. Carolina Lightnin’	5,325	New
3. Rochester Flash	4,345	New
4. Pennsylvania Stoners	3,230	-558
5. Cleveland Cobras	1,863	-975
6. New York Eagles	1,676	DNP
7. New England Sharks	1,440	New
8. New York United	1,134	528

1981 ASL Playoffs

First round

September 3, 1981 Memorial Stadium, Carolina, North Carolina
Attendance:
Referee:
Carolina Lightnin’ 2
Rochester Flash 0

Carolina Lightnin’ qualified for semifinals.

September 3, 1981 Silverdome, Detroit, Michigan
Attendance: 7,318
Referee:
Detroit Express 4
New York Eagles 1

Detroit Express qualified for semifinals.

Semi-finals

September 8, 1981 Silverdome, Detroit, Michigan
Attendance: 3,414
Referee:
Detroit Express 1
New York United 1

September 10, 1981 Hofstra University Stadium, Hempstead, New York
Attendance: 1,274
Referee:
New York United 2
Detroit Express 1

New York United won two-game, aggregate-goal semifinals.

September 5, 1981 Memorial Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
Attendance: 6,021
Referee:
Carolina Lightnin’ 3
Pennsylvania Stoners 1

September 9, 1981 Allentown School District Stadium, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 2,207
Referee:
Pennsylvania Stoners 2
Carolina Lightnin’ 1

Carolina Lightnin’ won two-game, aggregate-goal semifinals.

1981 ASL Championship

September 18, 1981 Memorial Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
Attendance: 20,163
Referee:
Carolina Lightnin’ 2 (Don Tobin, Hugh O’Neill)
New York United 1 (Solomon Hilton)

After Overtime

Carolina Lightnin’ won 1981 American Soccer League Championship