Kick Magazine August 30th, 1979

Kick Magazine August 30th, 1979

The game program for the San Diego Sockers vs Tampa Bay Rowdies Playoff Game in San Diego. 20,267 fans the largest crowd to see a soccer game in San Diego, saw the Sockers down the Rowdies 2-1.

Leonardo Cuellar scored the game winner with less than a minute to play to bring the Sockers within 1 win of the Soccer Bowl.

The game(s) that followed in Tampa on September 2nd were pure drama as the Rowdies won the second leg at home 3-2. Each team with a win (no aggregates in the NASL) set up a 30 minute game immediately after. The 2 exhausted teams played and the Rowdies eeked out a 1-0 win before 38,766 fans. The Rowdies went on to the Soccer Bowl only to lose to the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1.

For four consecutive seasons (1979 to 1982) the Sockers reached the playoff semi-finals but agonizingly fell one game short of the Soccer Bowl each time. This was the Sockers outdoor heyday.

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