1983 NASL Grand Prix of Indoor Soccer explained

Tourney Name:	North American Soccer League 1983 Grand Prix of Indoor
Other Titles:	NASL Indoor Grand Prix
Dates:	January 21, 1983 – February 20, 1983
Num Teams:	4
Champion Other:	Tampa Bay Rowdies
Count:	3
Second Other:	Montreal Manic
Matches:	16
Goals:	199
Attendance:	37111
Top Scorer:	Laurie Abrahams Dale Mitchell (12 goals)
Player:	Laurie Abrahams Mehdi Cerbah
Prevseason:	1981–82
Nextseason:	1983–84

The 1983 NASL Grand Prix of Indoor Soccer was an indoor soccer tournament staged by four franchises of the North American Soccer League.

Overview

The NASL franchises from Fort Lauderdale, Tampa Bay, Montreal, and Tulsa opted to play the Grand Prix in early 1983 as a makeshift indoor season, because for various reasons, the eight other NASL clubs had chosen to forego playing a full 1982–83 NASL indoor season.^[1] Three of those eight teams (Chicago, Golden Bay and San Diego) had joined the Major Indoor Soccer League for 1982-83 season, while the remaining five squads chose to sit out winter indoor play completely.

The tournament consisted of three weeks of double round-robin play for the purpose of seeding, followed by a Championship weekend at the Forum in Montreal.^[2] ^[3] Fort Lauderdale did not host a round because there was no suitable venue in the area that also met the minimum seating requirements. Instead, Tulsa hosted Rounds 1 and 3. The tournament would mark the third time NASL teams played in such an event, with the first two coming in 1975 and 1976. Additionally the teams participated in a season-long Shootout Challenge competition, the champions of which would split a $5,000 purse.^[4]

Montreal and Tampa Bay finished tied on both points and record after the preliminary rounds, but Montreal held the head-to-head tie-breaker, and with it the top seed.^[2] Tampa Bay won the championship final 5–4 on a golden goal by Mark Karpun at 1:58 of the second, seven and a half minute, overtime period.^[5] This victory marked the Rowdies' third indoor trophy and fourth title overall in the NASL. Laurie Abrahams of Tulsa led all scorers (12 goals, 6 assists) and was named the offensive MVP, while Montreal goalie Mehdi Cerbah who posted a 4.36 goals-against-average was the defensive MVP of the tournament. Tampa Bay also won the $5,000 Shootout Challenge purse by defeating Ft. Lauderdale, 2–0, with Rowdies goalie Jürgen Stars stopping all three Strikers shots in the final round.^[6] ^[7] ^[8]

Map of clubs

Preliminary rounds

Round 1

played at Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion in Tulsa, Oklahoma^[9] ^[10]

style=font-size:85% align=center rowspan=3 width=15%	January 21	width=24% align=right	Montreal Manic	align=center width=13%	6–3	width=24%	Tampa Bay Rowdies	style=font-size:85% rowspan=3 valign=top	Attendance: 3,522
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style=font-size:85% align=center rowspan=3 width=15%		width=24% align=right	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	align=center width=13%	8–4	width=24%	Tulsa Roughnecks	style=font-size:85% rowspan=3 valign=top
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style=font-size:85% align=center rowspan=3 width=15%	January 22	width=24% align=right	Montreal Manic	align=center width=13%	8–6	width=24%	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	style=font-size:85% rowspan=3 valign=top	Attendance: 4,341
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style=font-size:85% align=center rowspan=3 width=15%		width=24% align=right	Tampa Bay Rowdies	align=center width=13%	7–2	width=24%	Tulsa Roughnecks	style=font-size:85% rowspan=3 valign=top
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Round 2

played at the Bayfront Center in St. Petersburg, Florida^[11] ^[12]

style=font-size:85% align=center rowspan=3 width=15%	February 4	width=24% align=right	Montreal Manic	align=center width=13%	6–3	width=24%	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	style=font-size:85% rowspan=3 valign=top	Attendance: 4,450
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style=font-size:85% align=center rowspan=3 width=15%		width=24% align=right	Tampa Bay Rowdies	align=center width=13%	7–6	width=24%	Tulsa Roughnecks	style=font-size:85% rowspan=3 valign=top
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style=font-size:85% align=center rowspan=3 width=15%	February 5	width=24% align=right	Tulsa Roughnecks	align=center width=13%	7–4	width=24%	Montreal Manic	style=font-size:85% rowspan=3 valign=top	Attendance: 5,545
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style=font-size:85% align=center rowspan=3 width=15%		width=24% align=right	Tampa Bay Rowdies	align=center width=13%	10–6	width=24%	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	style=font-size:85% rowspan=3 valign=top
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Round 3

played at the Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion in Tulsa, Oklahoma

style=font-size:85% align=center rowspan=3 width=15%	February 11	width=24% align=right	Tampa Bay Rowdies	align=center width=13%	7–5	width=24%	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	style=font-size:85% rowspan=3 valign=top	Attendance: 2,064
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style=font-size:85% align=center rowspan=3 width=15%		width=24% align=right	Tulsa Roughnecks	align=center width=13%	8–7	width=24%	Montreal Manic	style=font-size:85% rowspan=3 valign=top
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style=font-size:85% align=center rowspan=3 width=15%	February 12	width=24% align=right	Montreal Manic	align=center width=13%	5–4	width=24%	Tampa Bay Rowdies	style=font-size:85% rowspan=3 valign=top	Attendance: 3,245
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style=font-size:85% align=center rowspan=3 width=15%		width=24% align=right	Tulsa Roughnecks	align=center width=13%	5–4 (OT)	width=24%	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	style=font-size:85% rowspan=3 valign=top
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Seeding

G = Games, W = Wins, L = Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, GD = Goal Differential, PTS= point system

6 points awarded for a win.Beginning with the fourth goal, 1 bonus point awarded for each goal scored.Maximum of 5 bonus points per game.

Pos	Team	G	W	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
1*	Montreal Manic	6	4	2	36	31	+5	42
2	Tampa Bay Rowdies	6	4	2	38	31	+7	42
3	Tulsa Roughnecks	6	3	3	33	37	–4	33
4	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	6	1	5	32	40	–8	20

Montreal wins top seed based on 2–0 head-to-head edge over Tampa Bay

Grand Prix Championship rounds

Bracket

Semi-finals

played at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec

style=font-size:85% align=center rowspan=3 width=15%	February 18	width=24% align=right	Tampa Bay Rowdies	align=center width=13%	8–6	width=24%	Tulsa Roughnecks	style=font-size:85% rowspan=3 valign=top	Attendance: 6,049^[13]
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style=font-size:85% align=center rowspan=3 width=15%		width=24% align=right	Montreal Manic	align=center width=13%	11–4	width=24%	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	style=font-size:85% rowspan=3 valign=top
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Third-place match

played at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec (1:30 PM EST)

style=font-size:85% align=center rowspan=3 width=15%	February 20	width=24% align=right	Tulsa Roughnecks	align=center width=13%	9–4	width=24%	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	style=font-size:85% rowspan=3 valign=top
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Championship final

1983 Indoor Grand Prix Champions: Tampa Bay Rowdies

Tournament awards

Most Valuable Players:
- Offensive: Laurie Abrahams (Tulsa) - Goals: 12 Assists: 6 Total Pts: 30
- Defensive: Mehdi Cerbah (Montreal) Goals-against-average: 4.36
$5,000 Shootout Challenge:
- Semi-finals: Tampa Bay 3 – 1 Tulsa • Fort Lauderdale 3 – 1 Montreal
- Finals: Tampa Bay 2 – 0 Fort Lauderdale

Final rankings

G = Games, W = Wins, L = Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, GD = Goal Differential

Pos	Team	G	W	L	GF	GA	GD
1	Tampa Bay Rowdies	8	6	2	51	41	+10
2	Montreal Manic	8	5	3	51	40	+11
3	Tulsa Roughnecks	8	4	4	48	49	align=center	-1
4	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	8	1	7	40	60	align=center	-20

Statistics

Leading Scorers	Goals	Assists	Points
Laurie Abrahams (Tulsa)	12	6	30
Dale Mitchell (Montreal)	12	4	28
Branko Šegota (Fort Lauderdale)	10	8	28
Dragan Vujović (Montreal)	9	7	25
Teófilo Cubillas (Fort Lauderdale)	8	9	25
Hugo Pérez (Tampa Bay)	10	4	24
Tatu (Tampa Bay)	9	5	23
Keith Weller (Tulsa)	8	7	23
Wes McLeod (Tampa Bay)	5	12	22
Njego Pesa (Tulsa)	9	4	22
Alan Willey (Montreal)	8	6	22
Steve Wegerle (Fort Lauderdale)	7	6	20

Leading Goalkeepers	Minutes	GA	GAA
Mehdi Cerbah (Montreal)	330	24	4.36
Jürgen Stars (Tampa Bay)	377	32	5.09
Craig Scarpelli (Fort Lauderdale)	330	33	5.99
Winston DuBose (Tulsa)	486	49	6.05

Non-grand prix matches

In addition to the Grand Prix tournament, the four teams took part in other indoor matches as tune-ups for both the outdoor season and the Grand Prix itself.

Match reports

Notes and References

Web site: Rowdies take on Montreal. Lakeland Ledger. Google News Archive Search. January 21, 1983. 3D. 2014-01-23.
Web site: Beard. Randy. Rowdies' pair united in feelings toward Team America and coach. The Evening Independent. Google News Archive Search. February 15, 1983. 3-C. 23 January 2014.
Web site: Manic, Rowdies Clash Today. Youngstown Vindicator. Google News Archive Search. February 20, 1983. D-4. 23 January 2014.
Web site: Rowdies enter touney. Lakeland Ledger. Google News Archive Search. December 12, 1982. 3D. 23 January 2014.
Web site: Johnson. Mark. Rowdies win Grand Prix on Karpun's goal in OT. St. Petersburg Times. newspapers.com. February 21, 1983. 1C. 4 October 2017.
Web site: Allen. Diane Lacy. Rowdies meet Strikers at Civic Center. Lakeland Ledger. Google News Archive Search. February 23, 1983. 3D. 23 January 2014.
Web site: Beard. Randy. Championship effort carried Rowdies to title. The Evening Independent. Google News Archive Search. February 21, 1983. 1-C. 23 January 2014.
Web site: Miller resigns as Rowdies coach. Lakeland Ledger. Google News Archive Search. October 4, 1983. 1D. 23 January 2014.
Web site: Manic win opener. The Montreal Gazette. Google News Archive Search. October 4, 1983. H-2. 23 January 2014.
Web site: Injury takes edge off Rowdies' victory. The Evening Independent. Google News Archive Search. January 24, 1983. 8-C. 23 January 2014.
Web site: Rowdies whip Strikers in Grand Prix Soccer. Lakeland Ledger. Google News Archive Search. February 7, 1983. 6D. 23 January 2014.
Web site: Manic triumph. The Montreal Gazette. Google News Archive Search. February 5, 1983. H-1. 23 January 2014.
Web site: Beard. Randy. Power play went short-handed Rowdies' way. The Evening Independent. Google News Archive Search. February 19, 1983. 3-C. 23 January 2014.