The New England Tea Men struggled to a 2-10 record during the North American Soccer League indoor season, playing home games at the Providence Civic Center before an average 3,249 attendances. In this match, David Byrne scored five goals and former Brown University star Fred Pereira added three. South African Pat Wasmuth and Billerica’s Peter Simonini faced 61 shots in goal for the Tea Men.
This would be the team’s final season in New England before moving to Jacksonville. Stadium dates were probably the Teas’ greatest obstacle to success. On Jan. 22, 1980, the Tea Men reached an agreement for home games to be played at Schaefer Stadium. But conflicts with the race track forced several games to be scheduled on Monday – meaning the team would often have Saturday-Monday dates for a week. Yet, their final two games drew 25,132 and 17,121 crowds five days apart in late August. The move south would not be announced until November.
TODAY IN NE SOCCER HISTORY