Aug. 17 (1975)

Playing through an injury suffered earlier in the match, St. Louis Stars’ goalkeeper Peter Bonetti gives up only one goal, but it’s enough to extinguish the Stars in the NASL semifinals against the Portland Timbers. With a then-NASL-record crowd of 33,503 on hand at Civic Stadium in Portland, Bonetti and the Stars are up to the task despite giving up 19 corner kicks. Bonetti injures his left leg on a first-half save “and limped through the bulk of the second half,” according to the next day’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Timbers break though in the 56th minute when Portland’s Peter Withe deflects Graham Day’s header into the net. Bonetti, who was much-maligned for his performance with England in its 1970 World Cup quarterfinal loss to West Germany, had an otherwise notable career as the No. 1 keeper for Chelsea from 1960-1975. He came to the Stars on a free transfer and was widely credited as a major factor in the Stars’ transformation from a 4-15-1 team in 1974 to a club that won the Central Division with a 13-9 record in 1975. The Stars won their playoff opener on penalty kicks on Aug. 13 before facing the Timbers. The Stars played both post-season matches without injured midfielder Al Trost, a future U.S. Soccer Hall of Famer. As for Bonetti, he will return to Chelsea in 1976 and help them win promotion to England’s First Division. He will retire in 1979 after appearing in 729 matches for Chelsea and posting more than 200 shutouts.