The NASL Fanatic!

Week 14 NASL Game Stats

Gerry Wittmann — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 18:32:28 +0000

From the NASL Office

Puerto Rico Islanders 1-1 FC Tampa Bay

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium, Bayamon, Puerto Rico

Goals

18’- FCTB- King (Millien)

82’-PRI- Foley

Cautions

FCTB- Millien 61, 71

PRI- Cunningham 70

Ejected

Millien, 71

Puerto Rico FC Tampa Bay

Corners 10 2

Shots 22 10

Shots on goal 11 5

Fouls 10 10

Offsides 4 4

Puerto Rico Lineup: GK Ray Burse, D Richard Martinez, D Jamie Cunningham, D Logan Emory (Jay Needham 45′), D Scott Jones (Jarad Van Schaik 81′), M Aaron Pitchkolan, M Leonardo Ly Rojas, M Petter Villegas (Yaikel Perez 57′), M Noah Delgado (Captain), F David Foley, F Matt Bouraee

FC Tampa Bay Lineup: GK Jeff Attinella, D Frankie Sanfilippo (Captain), D Andres Arango, D Kwame Watson-Siriboe, D JP Rodrigues, M Pascal Millien, M Tsuyoshi Yoshitake (Warren Ukah 12′), M Keith Savage, M Mozzi Gyorio, F Aaron King (David Hayes 72′), F Mike Ambersley

Attendance: 2007

Match Facts:

Puerto Rico earned a point with an 82 minute goal by David Foley, his 3rd of the season.

FC Tampa Bay forward Aaron King scored his third goal of the year, the second-best total for the team thus far in 2011.

FCTB played a man down for the first time this season after midfielder Pascal Millien was sent off in the 71st minute.

Fort Lauderdale Strikers 2-3 Atlanta Silverbacks

Saturday June 9, 2011

Lockhart Stadium

Goals

7′ – FTL Abe Thompson (Eduardo Coudet)

17′ – ATL Lucas Paulini (Junior Sandoval)

32′ – ATL Ciaran O’Brien

53′ – ATL Matt Horth (Junior Sandoval)

74′ – FTL Bryan Arguez (Martin Nunez)

Cautions

31′ – FTL Arrieta

57′ – ATL Casarona

84′ – FTL Arrieta (Ejected)

90′ – FTL Nunez

Ejected

84’ Arrieta

Atlanta Fort Lauderdale

Corners 3 12

Shots 10 22

Shots on goal 5 10

Fouls 14 10

Saves 8 2

Fort Lauderdale Lineup: GK Glaeser, D Arrieta,D Lancaster,D Hohlbein,D Gordon (Granado 45′), M Stahl (Nunez 72′), M Kerr, M Coudet, M Arguez, F Palacio (Shriver 60′), F Thompson

Atlanta Lineup: GK Maurer, D Ruthven (Maroney 75′), D Schnorf, D Hunt, D Casarona (Matsushita 60′), M Paulini, M Davis, M O’Brian, M Cox (Robertson 84′), M Sandoval, F Horth

Attendance 2,661

Match Facts:

Atlanta recorded their first win on the road this season

The Silverbacks Matt Horth scored his fourth goal of the season

Fort Lauderdale Strikers midfielder Bryan Arguez scored his first goal of the season in the 74th minute.

NSC Minnesota Stars 1 Carolina RailHawks 0

Saturday July 9, 2011

National Sports Center

Goals

90’- MIN Amani Walker (Geison Moura)

Cautions

6’- CAR Campos

45’- CAR Nurse

66’- MIN Takada

70’- CAR Barbara

85’ MIN Nurse

Ejections

85’- CAR Nurse

Carolina Minnesota

Corners 6 3

Shots 13 14

Shots on goal 4 5

Fouls 19 10

Saves 5 5

Minnesota Lineup: GK Warren, D Altman, Dias, Stewart, Hlavatay, M Davis (Gilkerson 10’), Takada, Allen (Moura 45’), Woods (Walker 78’), F Del Do, Nunez.

Carolina Lineup: GK Knighton, D Low, Krause, McKenney, Franks, M Watson, Nurse, Steele, F Campos, Zimmerman (Miller 86’), Barbara

Attendance 1,616

Match Facts:

The RailHawks lost only their second match of the season and their first loss since the opening day of the season

NSC Minnesota GK Joe Warren recorded his 4th shutout of the season.

The Stars secured their first 3 points since a 2-0 away win over the Atlanta Silverbacks

Meagher Leads Lions past Winnipeg

Gerry Wittmann — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 18:24:26 +0000

St. Louis Lions Press Release

St. Louis, Mo. (July 9, 2011)- The St Louis Lions broke out of their goal drought this weekend putting three in the back of the net against Winnipeg on a hot and steamy afternoon in St Louis. The Lions were lead by Dan Meagher who had a goal and an assist on the day.

Meagher opened the scoring in the 11th minute when he chipped the Winnipeg keeper from the right side of the box. Kenny Kranz was working tirelessly in the middle of the field when he found Meagher drifting into the left side of the goal box. Kranz slipped a pass to Meagher who chipped the ball into the far corner of the goal.

The Lions continued the assault in the first half firing 12 shots on goal. The Lions struck again in the 45th minute after a volley of shots by the Lions were blocked by the Winnipeg keeper with a rebound finding the Lions Pat Kelly at the top of the goal box who teed up a laser of a shot into the upper left corner. The Lions went into the break leading 2-0.

Winnipeg was coming off a 1-0 victory over the Springfield Demize the night before was laboring in the heat and humidity and was doing everything they could to slow up the Lions attack. Winnipeg had committed 16 of their 23 fouls in the first half.

“We played very well tactically today,” said Tony Glavin Head Coach of the Lions “We knew we had a job to do and we needed to take advantage of Winnipeg having come off a game last night. I thought our back line played terrific tonight which allowed us to push more on the attack.”

Glavin was referring to the Lions backline that allowed only three shots in the game. The Lions defense was lead by stellar play from Alan Bradaric and Ryan Spence.

In the second half the game progressed in much the same manner of the first half with the Lions dominating the majority of the possession and the attack.

In the 59th minute Kenny Kranz finished off the scoring for the Lions when Meagher returned the favor and worked a beautiful give and go to set Kranz up one on one with the Winnipeg keeper and he slotted the ball into the side netting just beyond the outstretched keeper.

The Lions look to extend their goal scoring this week when they travel Wednesday to Kansas City and then next Saturday in Springfield. The Lions return home on July 24th to finish off the season against the Des Moines Menace. The 24th is “Fan Appreciation Night” all fans in attendance receive a team poster.

Week 9 NASL Game Stats

Gerry Wittmann — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 19:18:16 +0000

From NASL press release.

Montreal Impact 2-0 FC Edmonton

Saputo Stadium, Montreal

Goals

Montreal: Mignane Diouf (Antonio Ribeiro), 34

Montreal: Phillipe Billy (Leonardo Di Lorenzo) , 82

Ejected

FC Edmonton: Baart, 80

Montreal Impact FC Edmonton

Corners 5 1

Shots 16 6

Shots on goal 6 2

Fouls 10 6

Offsides 0 6

Montreal Impact:

Bill Gaudette, Philippe Billy, Hicham Aaboubou, Kevin Hatchi, Richard Pelletier (Zurab Tsiskaridze, 28), Anthony Le Gall, Hassoun Camara, Antonio Ribeiro (David Testo, 81), Leonardo Di Lorenzo, Reda Agourram (Pierre-Rudolph Mayard, 73), Mignane Diouf

FC Edmonton:

Rein Baart, Paul Hamilton, Paul Mathijs, Niko Saler, Shaun Saiko, Chris Kooy, Dominic Oppong (Lance Parker, 80), Kyle Porter, Paul Craig (Daniel Antoniuk, 76), Shawn Chin (Michael Cox, 64)

Attendance:

11,232

Match Facts:

 Both Montreal victories this season are against FC Edmonton

 Mignane Diouf recorded his first NASL goal

 Rein Baart was sent off for the second time this season against Montreal

NSC Minnesota Stars 2-0 Atlanta Silverbacks

National Sports Center, Blaine

Goals

Minnesota: Devin Del Do (Andrei Gotsmanov) 3

Minnesota: Devin Del Do (Brian Kallman) 64

Cautions

NSC Minnesota Stars: Rodriguez 38, Woods 62

Atlanta Silverbacks: Schnorf 53, Quintero 86

NSC Minnesota Stars Atlanta Silverbacks

Corners 3 5

Shots 10 12

Shots on goal 5 3

Fouls 7 13

Offsides 1 1

NSC Minnesota Stars

: Joe Warren, Justin Davis, Jack Stewart, Kyle Altman, Brian Kallman, Lucas Rodriguez, Andrei Gotsmanov (Ryan Woods, 31), Neil Hlavaty, Jeff Cosgriff (Amani Walker, 59), Simone Bracalello, Devin Del Do (Tino Nunez, 70)

Atlanta Silverbacks

: Felipe Quintero, Tyler Ruthven, Willie Hunt, Shane Moroney (Junior Sandoval, 68), Mario Perez, Lucas Paulini, Mattias Schnorf, Jordan Davis (Jose Parada, 45), Raphael Cox, Ciaran O’Brian, Matt Horth (Emsad Zahirovic, 59)

Attendance:

2,447

Match Facts:

 Devin Del Do records Minnesota’s first brace (2 goal game) of the season

 The Stars move past Edmonton into second place in the NASL table

 Minnesota has four points thus far on the team’s current road trip

FC Tampa Bay 1 – 2 Carolina RailHawks

Al Lang Stadium, St. Petersburg, FL

Goals

Carolina: Etienne Barbara, 63 (penalty kick) Carolina: Nick Zimmerman, 65 (Jonny Steele) FC Tampa Bay: Mike Ambersley, 86 (penalty kick)

Cautions

Matt Watson, Carolina, 45+ David Hayes, FC Tampa Bay, 53 Keith Savage, FC Tampa Bay, 66 Kupono Low, Carolina, 67 Warren Ukah, FC Tampa Bay, 68 Mike Ambersley, FC Tampa Bay, 82 Ejected

None

FC Tampa Bay Carolina

Corners 6 3

Shots 22 18

Shots on goal 8 10

Fouls 12 19

Offsides 2 2

FC Tampa Bay: GK Jeff Attinella, D Frankie Sanfilippo (Captain), D Kwame Watson-Siriboe, D David Hayes, D Takuya Yamada, M TsuyoshiYoshitake, M Pascal Millien, M Mozzi Gyorio, M Keith Savage, F Warren Ukah (Aaron King 71′), F Mike Ambersley Carolina RailHawks: GK Brad Knighton, D Brad Rusin (Captain), D Kupono Low, D John Krause, M Floyd Franks, M Matt Watson (Cory Elenio 81′), M Chris Nurse, M Jonny Steele, F Etienne Barbara, F Allan Russell (Stephen Glass 56′), F Nick Zimmerman

Attendance 2,688

Match Facts:



The RailHawks extended their unbeaten streak to nine consecutive matches, including six straight victories, with the 2-1 win.

 Carolina forward Etienne Barbara scored his league-leading 12

th goal of the season on a penalty kick in the 63rd

minute and forward Nick Zimmerman added what proved to be the game-winner two minutes later on a header.

 FC Tampa Bay’s Mike Ambersley notched his team-best third goal of the season on a penalty kick in the 86th minute, his second goal on a penalty kick in 2011.

Fort Lauderdale Strikers 3-2 Puerto Rico Islanders

Lockhart Stadium, Fort Lauderdale

Goals

Fort Lauderdale: Abe Thompson 11,

Puerto Rico: Nick Addlery 64

Puerto Rico: Jonathan Fana (David Foley) 67

Fort Lauderdale: Cristian Arrieta (Eduardo Coudet) 81

Fort Lauderdale: Jean-Phillipe Peguero (David Santamaria) 88

Cautions

Fort Lauderdale Strikers: Granado 18, Arrieta 26, Coudet 68, Hohlbein 86

Puerto Rico Islanders: Villaroel, 80

Ejected

Puerto Rico Islanders: Delgado 38

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Puerto Rico Islanders

Corners 4 4

Shots 14 6

Shots on goal 8 5

Fouls 17 14

Offsides 2 1

Fort Lauderdale Strikers:

Matt Glaeser, Cristian Arrieta, Aaron Hohlbein, Scott Gordon, Yoximar Granado, Lance Laing (David Santamaria, 72), Toni Stahl (Martin Nunez, 77), Eduardo Coudet, Abe Thompson (Brian Shriver, 90), Paulinho Le Petit, Jean-Phillipe Peguero

Puerto Rico Islanders:

Ray Burse, Richard Martinez (Yaikel Perez, 90), Jay Needham (Jonathan Fana, 45), Logan Emory, Kevon Villaroel, Aaron Pitchkolan, Leonard Ly (Osei Teleford, 78), Noah Delgado, David Foley, Josh Hansen, Nick Addlery

Attendance:

3,218

Match Facts:

 Jonathan Faña scored his sixth goal of the season, placing him in second place in the NASL.

 Jean Phillipe Peguero’s goal gave Ft. Lauderdale their first home victory and extended their unbeaten streak to three games.

 Puerto Rico finished the game on ten men after Noah Delgado was red carded in minute 38

Puerto Rico Islanders 1 NSC Minnesota Stars 1

Estadio Juan Lobriel Bayamon, Puerto Rico

Goals

PRI – Nick Addlery 39

MIN – Simone Bracalello 69

Cautions

MIN – Lucas Rodriguez 29, Kyle Altman 43, – Cristiano 90, Jeff Cosgriff 64

PRI – Aaron Pitchkolan 79, David Foley 87th

Puerto Rico Islanders NSC Minnesota

Corners 6 5

Shots 9 12

Shots on goal 5 9

Fouls 18 16

Offsides 4 2

Puerto Rico Islanders lineup (4-4-2):

Ray Burse; Richard Martinez, Jay Needham, Logan Emory, Kevon Villaroel; Aaron Pitchkolan, Josh Hansen (Noah Delgado 75), Leonardo Ly (Osei Telesford 65), David Foley; Jonathan Fana, Nick Addlery (Yaikel Perez 70)

Minnesota Stars lineup (4-4-2):

Joe Warren; Justin Davis, Cristiano, Kyle Altman, Chris Clements; Lucas Rodriguez, Jeff Cosgriff, Neil Hlavaty (Andrei Gotsmanov 69), Ryan Woods; Amani Walker (Devin Del Do 61), Simone Bracalello

Attendance 1607

Match Facts



The Islanders’ record moves to 3-2-2, and Puerto Rico is winless in its last four matches after starting the season with three straight wins

 Nick Addlery scored his third goal of the season against NSC Minnesota

 Ely Allen, Jeff Cosgriff, Andrei Gotsmanov, are all tied with two assists

FC Edmonton 4 FC Tampa Bay 0

Foote Field, Edmonton

Goals

FC Edmonton: Kyle Porter 28, Kyle Yamada 37, Shaun Saiko 85, Shawn Chin 88

Caution

TB JP Rodrigues 64

FC Edmonton FC Tampa Bay

Corners 8 3

Shots 14 6

Shots on goal 13 3

Fouls 10 13

Offsides 3 3

FC Tampa Bay lineup:

GK Jeff Attinella, D Frankie Sanfilippo (Captain), D JP Rodrigues (Aaron King 78′), D David Hayes, D Takuya Yamada, M Chad Burt (Shane Hill 35′), M Keith Savage, M Mozzi Gyorio, M Mike Ambersley, F Warren Ukah (Pascal Millien 21′), F Tsuyoshi Yoshitake

FC Edmonton lineup:

GK Rein Baart, D Antonio Rago, D Paul Hamilton, D Paul Matthijs, D Niko Saler, M Shaun Saiko, M Chris Kooy (Captain), M Dominic Oppong, F Kyle Porter, F Paul Craig (Shawn Chin 74′), F Kyle Yamada (Michael Cox 56′)

Attendance 1,838

Match Facts



Most goals (4) FC Edmonton has scored in a game.

 FC Edmonton is unbeaten in four (1 draw, 3 wins)

 FC Edmonton move 6 points ahead of FC Tampa Bay and into 2nd in the league

St. Louis Lions Down Kansas City Brass in PDL Action

Gerry Wittmann — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 03:55:57 +0000

St. Louis Lions press release.

Kansas City, KS…The St Louis Lions earned a hard fought 3-2 victory over cross state rivals the Kansas City Brass on a steamy evening at the Overland Park Soccer Complex.

The Lions stormed out of the gates early and scored in the first 5 minutes of the game when forward Henrique Suosa chased down a ball on the right side and found Pat Kelly at the near post. Kelly’s goal was his first of the season.

Later in the half the Lions went up 2-0 when Henrique Suosa buried a driven cross by Gavin Smith. Smith stole the ball from the Brass midfield and charged past the defender leading to the cross.

The Lions continued to put pressure and had numerous opportunities in the half but failed to add to the score. Pat Kelly was stopped on a point blank header late in the half and Smith missed the goal by inches late in the half.

In the second half the Lions continued to attack but the Brass would not give up. The Brass scored from a free kick jus outside the Lions goal box in the 67the minute.

The Brass tied the game in the 73^rd minute when Ricardo Yeverino outpaced the Lions defense on a thru ball.

The Lions lead by the scrappy play of Pat Kelly were not finished. Kelly, who had 2 assists in his last game, controlled the right side of the midfield and beat the Brass defender one-on-one. Kelly served the ball to the back post to a camped out Dan Meagher who headed it home to give the Lions a 3-2 victory. Meagher earned a yellow on the play for his celebration.

The Lions return home next weekend to face the Kansas City Brass on June 11^th on St Louis Soccer Day.

Lions Roar to First Victory of Season

Gerry Wittmann — Mon, 30 May 2011 03:35:36 +0000

St. Louis Lions Press Release

St Louis, MO…The Lions put a win in the win column with a convincing 6-1 victory over the Springfield Demize. Tarik Sehovic and Gavin “Dodgy” Smith each had a pair of goals to propel the Lions to victory.

Springfield struck first in the 26th minute when Jonathan Hinds slipped a ball past Lions keeper DJ Lampert who was making his first start of the season for the Lions.

The Lions evened the score in the 33rd minute when Pat Kelly was sent in behind the Demize defense and placed a perfect cross to Kenny Kranz who tucked it neatly into the corner of the goal. Kelly had two assists on the night also assisting on the next Lions goal by Tarik Sehovic.

“Pat was great tonight he really worked hard and his energy gave us a lift.” said Lions Head Coach Tony Glavin

The Lions Sehovic struck again for the Lions in the 64th minute to give the Lions a 3-1 lead.

“We played much better tonight than we did the first few games. Tonight we limited our mistakes and took advantage of our opportunities” said Glavin.

Gavin “Dodgy” Smith was a half time sub and it did not take him long to get involved in the game. Dodgy intercepted an outlet pass by the Springfield keeper and looked up to find the keeper off his line. Dodgy ripped a 45 yard shot over the goalie and into the back of the net for a 4-1 lead.

Late sub David Flores also scored on his second touch of the game when Dean Lovegrove played a thru ball to spring Flores one-on-one with the keeper where he beat him to the left side for the goal.

Late in the game a back pass was handled by the Springfield keeper leading to an indirect free kick for the Lions. Lovegrove played the ball to Dodgy who curled the ball over the wall to finish off the scoring for the Lions.

The Lions travel to Kansas City to take on the Brass on Saturday June 4th. The Lions next home game is Saturday June 11th when they take on the same Kansas City Brass.

NASL Week 7 Recap

Gerry Wittmann — Tue, 24 May 2011 22:31:57 +0000

NSC Minnesota Stars 2-0 Puerto Rico Islanders
National Sports Center, Blaine, Minn
Goals
NSC Minnesota Stars: Justin Davis (Ely Allen) 62, Devin Del Do (Lucas Rodriguez) 73
Cautions
Puerto Rico Islanders: Cunningham 65, Salem 85, Fana 90
NSC Minnesota Stars Puerto Rico Islanders
Corners 6 5
Shots 13 7
Shots on goal 4 6
Fouls 9 12
Offsides 5 4
NSC Minnesota Stars: Joe Warren, Cristiano Diaz, Justin Davis, Chris Clements, Kyle Altman, Neil Hlavaty, Andrei Gotsmanov, Ely Allen (Amani Walker, 86), Lucas Rodriguez, Jeff Cosgriff (Devin Del Do, 60), Simone Bracalello (Tino Nunez, 80)
Puerto Rico Islanders: Ray Burse, Richard Martinez, Jamie Cunningham, Logan Emory, Kevon Villaroel, Osei Telesford (Joseph Salem, 79), Aaron Pitchkolan (Leonard Ly, 79), David Foley, Jarad Van Schaik (Matt Bouraee, 69), Jonathan Fana, Noah Delgado
Attendance: 1,030
Match Facts:
The Stars are undefeated at home this year outscoring their opponents 7-2
9 different players have scored for the Stars this year
The Islanders lost their first two games of the season in back to back games being outscored 5-0

FC Tampa Bay 3 – 0 Montreal Impact
Al Lang Stadium, St. Petersburg, FL
Goals
FC Tampa Bay: Warren Ukah, 40 (David Hayes) FC Tampa Bay: Mike Ambersley, 74 (penalty kick) FC Tampa Bay: Tsuyoshi Yoshitake, 84 (Chad Burt)
Cautions
Tsuyoshi Yoshitake, FC Tampa Bay, 56 Chad Burt, FC Tampa Bay, 59 Nevio Pizzolitto, Montreal, 56 Zurab Tsiskaridze, Montreal, 76 Ejected
Leonardo Di Lorenzo, Montreal, 74
FC Tampa Bay Montreal
Corners 13 1
Shots 12 17
Shots on goal 7 13
Fouls 9 12
Offsides 2 1
FC Tampa Bay: GK Jeff Attinella, D Andres Arango (Omar Jarun 35′), D JP Rodrigues, D Frankie Sanfilippo (Captain), D David Hayes, M Mike Ambersley, M Keith Savage, M Takuya Yamada, M Chad Burt, F Warren Ukah (Aaron King 45′), F Tsuyoshi Yoshitake Montreal: GK Bill Gaudette, D Philippe Billy, D Nevio Pizzolitto (Captain), D Zurab Tsiskaridze, D Hassoun Camara, M Leonardo Di Lorenzo, M David Testo (Antonio Ribeiro 58′), M Amir Lowery (Hicham Aaboubou 61′), M Mignane Diouf (Pierre-Rudolph Mayard 75′), M Anthony Le Gall, F Reda Agourram
Attendance: 3,343
Match Facts:
 FC Tampa Bay GK Jeff Attinella earned his first career shutout with 11 saves and it marked FCTB’s third shutout of the year, all against Montreal.
 Warren Ukah and Tsuyoshi Yoshitake both scored their first goals of the season for FC Tampa Bay.
 Mike Ambersley notched his team-leading second of the season on a penalty kick in the 74th minute for FCTB.
Atlanta Silverbacks 0-0 Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Silverbacks Park, Atlanta, GA
Goals
Cautions
Atlanta Silverbacks: Ruthven 16, R. Cox 76, Perez 80
Fort Lauderdale Strikers: Stahl 47, Otte 78
Atlanta Silverbacks Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Corners 5 6
Shots 11 12
Shots on goal 2 3
Fouls 18 23
Offsides 2 0
Atlanta Silverbacks: Felipe Quintero, Mario Perez, Tyler Ruthven, Willie Hunt, Patrick Robertson (Jon Cox, 62), Lucas Paulini, Mattias Schnorf, Jordan Davis, Shane Moroney, Raphael Cox, Emsad Zahirovic
Fort Lauderdale Strikers: Matt Glaeser, Lance Laing (Scott Gordon, 83), Aaron Hohlbein, Martyn Lancaster, Toni Stahl, Mike Palacio (Yoximar Granado, 68), Patrick Otte, Cristian Arrieta, Eduardo Coudet, Aaron Wheeler (David Santamaria, 77), Martin Nunez
Attendance: 2,764
Match Facts:
 Matt Glaeser recorded his first shutout this season.
 Atlanta secured their second draw of the season while also recording their first shutout of the year
 The Silverbacks will look to continue to build off this draw against league leading Carolina RailHawks
Carolina RailHawks 3-0 Puerto Rico Islanders
WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary, NC
Goals
Carolina RailHawks: Etienne Barbara (Jonny Steele) 26, Etienne Barbara (Pablo Campos) 53, Pablo Campos (Etienne Barbara) 67
Cautions
Carolina RailHawks: Krause 6, McKenney 66, Low 78
Puerto Rico Islanders: Delgado 58, Pitchkolan 67
Carolina RailHawks Puerto Rico Islanders
Corners 3 3
Shots 10 8
Shots on goal 3 4
Fouls 8 6
Carolina RailHawks: Brad Knighton, Kupono Low, Brad Rusin, John Krause, Devon McKenney (Cory Elenio, 86), Floyd Franks, Chris Nurse, Jonny Steele, Pablo Campos, Etienne Barbara, Nick Zimmerman (Brian Farber, 72)
Puerto Rico Islanders: Richard Martin, Richard Martinez, Jay Needham, Logan Emory, Kevon Villaroel, Osei Telesford (Jarad Van Schaik, 64), Aaron Pitchkolan, Joseph Salem (Leonardo Ly 84), Noah Delgado, Jonathan Fana (Matt Bouraee, 64), David Foley
Attendance: 3,498
Match Facts:
 Etienne Barbara is the current league leader in goals scored with 11
 Carolina RailHawks are currently in first place with a record of 6-1-1 and 19 points
 The Islanders will return to home after a two game road trip that saw them play two games in three days
FC Edmonton 2 – 1 NSC Minnesota Stars
Foote Field, Edmonton, Alberta
Goals
NSC Minnesota Stars: Simone Bracalello, 24
FC Edmonton: Kyle Porter, 26, 65
Cautions
FC Edmonton: Matthijs, 45, Saiko, 69
FC Edmonton NSC Minnesota Stars
Corners 2 4
Shots 9 9
Shots on Goal 4 6
Fouls 16 13
Offsides 3 8
FC Edmonton: Rein Baart, Antonio Rago, Paul Hamilton, Paul Mathijs, Alex Surprenant, Shaun Saiko, Chris Kooy, Dominic Oppong, Kyle Porter (Michael Cox, 70), Paul Craig (Shawn Chin, 79), Kyle Yamada
NSC Minnesota Stars: Matt Van Oekel, Justin Davis (Tino Nunez, 79), Jack Stewart, Chris Clements, Kyle Altman, Neil Hlavaty, Andrei Gotsmanov, Elly Allen (Amani Walker, 53), Lucas Rodriguez, Jeff Cosgriff (Devin Del Do, 66), Simone Bracalello
Attendance: 2,260
Match Facts:
* FC Edmonton came back after going down 1-0.
* Porter scored 2 unanswered.
* FC Edmonton stops Minnesota’s unbeaten streak at four.

Round 2: The Rematch for St Louis and Des Moines

Gerry Wittmann — Fri, 20 May 2011 22:57:49 +0000

St. Louis, Mo. (May 20th, 2011)- The St Louis Lions hit the road for their second consecutive match against the Des Moines Menace on Saturday night. The Lions will then return home on Sunday to face Real Colorado in the Home Opener, 5:00PM at the Tony Glavin Soccer Complex in St Charles. Both weekend matchups are qualifying matches for the prestigious US Open Cup.

“This is a big weekend for us and all of our players are ready,” says Tony Glavin Head Coach of the Lions “We played well last weekend and we came up short but this weekend is a different game and we will go in and work hard to get a different result. We need the to win this game to stay alive in the Open Cup.”

The Lions dropped the season opener last Saturday night 2-1. The Lions came out aggressive in the game and went on top 1-0, on a head ball by Ernad Cavka at the 30 minute mark. In the second half the Lions gave up two goals in the eventual loss.

After the game Saturday night the Lions will return home in preparations for their Home Opener. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:00PM at the Tony Glavin Soccer Complex.

“It’s the Home Opener and we can’t wait to play in front of our fans.” Said Jonny Brown Lions midfielder “I can’t wait to hear our fans cheering for us but first we have a job to do on Saturday night and we can’t think about that now. We need to win in Des Moines”

This is the sixth season for the Lions in the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League. The Lions hold a 4-1 record on Home Openers.

“Every year we look to improve and this year I think we have stepped up our talent level once again. This will be an exciting season but we have a tough start in facing Des Moines twice and the Colorado. This is the Heartland Conference it is solid from top to bottom.” said Mike Poropat Assistant Head Coach of the Lions.

The 2011 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament features teams from four of the five tiers of the American Soccer Pyramid. These four levels—Major League Soccer, United Soccer League’s Pro League, the USL’s Premier Development League, the National Premier Soccer League, and the United States Adult Soccer Association— each have their own separate qualification process to trim their ranks down to their final club delegations in the months leading up to the start of the tournament proper.

The event will feature 40 teams. Eight clubs from Major League Soccer will participate, six that automatically qualify based on last season’s league position and two that qualify through a play-in tournament. In addition, 11 USL Pro League clubs, 9 clubs from the USL Premier Development League, 4 clubs from the National Premier Soccer League, and 8 USASA clubs and will also qualify.

For information on 2011 Season Tickets, Group Tickets and Individual Game Tickets call 636-939-5151 or visit www.stllions

Press release from the St. Louis Lions.

Professional Soccer in Florida: A Proud Legacy

Gerry Wittmann — Fri, 13 May 2011 16:57:52 +0000

From the NASL website

On Saturday the Fort Lauderdale Strikers will host FC Tampa Bay in a renewal of an intense NASL rivalry. Below is a quick narrative of the history of professional soccer in the state of Florida.

Professional Soccer in Florida Began in 1972 with the introduction of the Miami Gatos, led by players Warren Archibald, Roberto Aguirre and Willie Evans. The team played in the US first division, the North American Soccer League (NASL). After one year as the Gatos the team became the Miami Toros. The Toros had a very successful 1974 campaign in which they made it to the championship game led by 1^st team all-stars Roberto Aguirre and Ronnie Sharp.

In 1975, the NASL expanded to the Tampa Bay area by way of the Tampa Bay Rowdies who played their home games at Tampa Stadium. Arriving a year before the NFL Buccaneers, the Rowdies were an instant hit in the market drawing large crowds and winning the Soccer Bowl in the team’s inaugural season.

The following year, the Rowdies would attract one of the most famous footballers in the world to Florida. Rodney Marsh has always been a larger than life figure. His exploits in England with QPR and Manchester City were legendary, but in early 1976 he had fallen out with Citizens Manager Tony Book. Marsh presence elevated the Rowdies profile worldwide and began an incredible rivalry with the New York Cosmos.

In 1976, the Rowdies eliminated the Pele led Cosmos from the NASL Playoffs behind Marsh, Derek Smithurst and the coaching of Eddie Firmani. However, the next season the Cosmos attracted Firmani away from Florida and his replacement was another accomplished coach, Gordon Jago. Jago had managed Rodney Marsh at QPR, and was finishing up a successful spell at Millwall whom has had led to promotion in 1976. Under Jago’s stewardship, the Rowdies again made the Soccer Bowl final in both 1978 and 1979 but were defeated on both occasions.

Despite the lack of Championship trophies after 1975, the Rowdies by 1979 were firmly established as one of the biggest names ever in American club soccer. Down the road in Fort Lauderdale, the South Florida entry into the NASL was also gaining a foothold nationally.

In 1977, after 5 years of playing in Miami, the Toros moved to Broward County and became the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were rapidly to become one of the cornerstone teams in the NASL, and had the league’s best Regular Season record in the team’s first season. The Strikers’ new home, Lockhart Stadium, had to be expanded from 8,000 to 11,000 seats to make room for the large crowds, and later to 15,000. On the road, a playoff game between the Strikers and New York Cosmos drew 77,691, an NASL record.

The high-point of the Strikers’ time in the NASL came in 1980 with an appearance in the league’s championship, the Soccer Bowl against the New York Cosmos. In the seven year lifetime from 1977-1983 of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the NASL, South Florida soccer fans saw many of the best players in the world play in their own backyard. These players included global soccer legends like Teofilo “Nene” Cubillas, Gerd Muller, George Best, Gordon Banksand Strikers favorites Ray Hudson, Ken Fogerty, Jan Van Beveren, and Colin Fowles. The NASL Strikers made the playoffs in each of their seven seasons. The Fort Lauderdale Sun replaced the Strikers at Lockhart Stadium and won the United Soccer League (USL) Championship in 1984 before the league folded in 1985.

Meanwhile, the New England Teamen moved south in 1980 to become the Jacksonville Teamen. From 1980 to 1982, Florida had three NASL teams and a robust rivalry existed between each of the teams. After the 1982 season the Teamen dropped down to the second division American Soccer League (ASL) and won the 1983 title. The last season for the Teamen was in 1984, when they competed against then Fort Lauderdale Sun and other teams in the USL.

Throughout the 1980s, Tampa Bay remained one of the cornerstones areas for soccer in the US. The Rowdies continued play after the collapse of the NASL in various professional leagues. Led by former NASL stars Steve Wegerle and Arnie Mausser, Tampa Bay continued its robust tradition. The team was coached first by Rodney Marsh and then by Ken Fogerty.

In 1988, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers returned led by many of the Strikers from the NASL team including, Arnie Mausser, Nene Cubillas and Ray Hudson, this time in the American Soccer League (ASL, 1988-1989) and then the American Professional Soccer League (APSL). The team was also coached by former Striker Thomas Rongen from 1989-1994. During this period the Strikers enjoyed great success, finishing first in their division four consecutive seasons, including a National Championship in the 1989 season. Several other professional teams surfaced during this period including the Orlando Lions, Miami Freedom, Miami Sharks, Coral Springs Kicks, Cocoa Expos, Florida Stars and the Boca Raton Sabres.

After the US successfully hosted the 1994 World Cup, first division professional soccer returned to Florida thanks to the Tampa Bay Mutiny of Major League Soccer (MLS). The Mutiny, coached by Thomas Rongen had the best record in MLS in the league’s inaugural season of 1996. The next several years the Rowdies attracted top players to the area such as Carlos Valderrama, Steve Ralston, Dominic Kinnear, Roy Lassiter and Giuseppe Galderisi. The Mutiny made the playoffs four times between 1996 and 2001.

Professional soccer resurfaced in South Florida with the Miami Fusion of MLS beginning in 1998. The Fusion spent 4 seasons playing at Fort Lauderdale’s Lockhart Stadium. The team made the playoffs three times. In 2001 the team won the Supporters’ Shield and was Eastern Conference Champions. In keeping with the tradition of great soccer talent playing in South Florida, many stars played for the Fusion including Ian Bishop, Pablo Mastroeni, Jim Rooney and Carlos Valderrama. The Fusion also had the privilege being coached by former Strikers legend, Ray Hudson in 2000 and 2001.

Sadly for Florida soccer fans, the MLS choose to contract both the Tampa Bay and South Florida area franchises after the 2001 MLS Season. Between 1997 and 1999 the Jacksonville Cyclones competed in the second division A-League, but ceased operations before the 2000 A-League season.

The next chapter for professional soccer came in 2006 from the creation of Miami FC of the United Soccer Leagues (USL). The team joined the new North American Soccer League (NASL) in 2009 and re-branded as the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in 2011. FC Tampa Bay began play in 2010 and featured Jeremy Christie, one only six foreign players registered to an American club to be chosen to play in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Both FC Tampa Bay and Fort Lauderdale Strikers currently compete in the USSF sanctioned second division NASL. In 2011, Orlando City SC was formed and joined the third division USLPRO.

Tomorrow, FC Tampa Bay travels to Fort Lauderdale to renew what has been one of the most intense in state rivalries in American soccer history.

2011 Season Starts with a Bang St Louis Lions and Des Moines

Gerry Wittmann — Fri, 13 May 2011 16:40:57 +0000

Press Release from the St. Louis Lions

St. Louis, Mo. (May 13, 2011)- The St Louis Lions, of the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League, are off to Des Moines today in anticipation for the 2001 season kick-off against the Des Moines Menace tomorrow at 7:30pm.

The Lions look to improve upon their 2010 season performance which saw the Lions finish in 5^th place in the Heartland conference.

“Last year we were in a rebuilding year.” Said Tony Glavin Head Coach of the Lions “We had a lot of players move on to the professional ranks from the ‘09 season and we had to refocus on bringing in younger players. Our focus is to help players advance to the professional ranks and the process is working.”

In the last five years the Lions have helped more than 10 players advance into professional soccer.

“The Heartland Conference is an extremely tough conference, every game is crucial and it really gives the players a good idea of what to expect when they get to the professional level” says Glavin.

“We are starting off our season with quiet possibly our biggest rival, in Des Moines. We have to face them in back to back weekends in Des Moines in front of crowds of 4,000 people or more. Throw in the fact that both games are Open Cup Qualifiers and what player in the world would not want to play in that setting. It is a great way to start the season.”

The rivalry is as good as it gets in the PDL, the teams have faced off 14 times, tying on eight occasions; they have split the other games, with each side finishing on top three times.

The Lions will return to Des Moines on May 21^st to once again battle the Menace before returning home May 22^nd for the Lions home opener at 5:00pm vs. Real Colorado.

On May 28^th the Lions will conclude Open Cup Qualifying with a home match 5:00PM vs. the Springfield Demize. On this night the Lions will be honoring the 2011 St Louis Soccer Hall of Fame Inductees.

For information on 2010 Season Tickets, Group Tickets and Individual Game Tickets call 636-939-5151 or visit www.stllions.com.

NASL Week in Review

Gerry Wittmann — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 18:47:11 +0000

From the NASL.com website.

NASL Week in Review

Posted on Mon, Apr 25, 2011

CAROLINA RAILHAWKS 2 FC EDMONTON 0

Scoring Summary

CAR: Etienne Barbara, 19’

CAR: Nick Zimmerman, 76’

Attendance: 1,181

Lineups

CAROLINA: GK Brad Knighton, D Kupono Low, D John Krause, D Brad Rusin, D Devon McKenney, M Floyd Franks, M Brian Farber (Cory Elenio, 49’), M Matt Watson, M Nick Zimmerman, F Pablo Campos (Jonny Steele, 68’) F Etienne Barbara (Allan Russell, 74’)

EDMONTON: GK Rein Baart, D Alex Suprenant (Andre Duberry, 75’), D Paul Hamilton, D Dominic Oppong, D Antonio Rago (Kyle Yamada, 79’), M Shaun Saiko, M Chris Kooy, M Sam Lam, F Chris Lemire, F Conrad Smith, F Daniel Antoniuk

Cautions

EDM: Daniel Antoniuk, 18’; Sam Lam, 28’; Alex Surprenant 60’; Chris Lemire, 90’

CAR: John Krause, 26’; Floyd Franks, 73’

Shots (CAR 14, EDM 14) Fouls (EDM 10, EDM 7)

Quick facts

Etiene Barbara now leads the NASL with three goals, in three games…Barbara is only the second RailHawks player in club history to score in three consecutive games…FC Edmonton ended a three game road trip to begin the season with 2 wins and a loss, for six points.

MONTREAL IMPACT 0 FC TAMPA BAY 0

Scoring Summary

None

Attendance 12,060

Lineups

FC TAMPA BAY: GK Daryl Sattler, D Andres Arango, D Omar Jarun, D JP Rodrigues, D Frankie Sanfilippo, M Tony McManus, M Pascal Millien (Mozzi Gyorio 89′), M Takuya Yamada, M Tsuyoshi Yoshitake, F Mike Ambersley, F Warren Ukah (Aaron King 78′)

MONTREAL : GK Bill Gaudette, D Philippe Billy, D Kevin Hatchi, D Nevio Pizzolitto, D Zurab Tsiskaridze, M Leonardo Di Lorenzo (Anthony LeGall 65′), M Luke Kreamalmeyer, M Amir Lowery (Antonio Ribeiro 75′), M David Testo, F Idriss Ech Chergui (Pierre-Rudolph Mayard 75′), F Ali Gerba

Cautions

TB: Warren Ukah, 16’

MTL: F Idriss Ech Chergui 47’, Amir Lowery 58’

Shots (MTL 9, TB Fouls (TB 15, MTL 14)

Quick Facts

Daryl Sattler leads NASL in saves with 17… Sattler has kept two clean sheets this season, both against the Impact…Montreal faces Vancouver on Wednesday in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship.

FORT LAUDERDALE STRIKERS 2 ATLANTA SILVERBACKS 1

Scoring Summary

FTL- Martin Nunez ( Aaron Wheeler), 14′

ATL- Mario Perez 16′

FTL- Eduardo Coudet (PK) 90′

Attendance 3,227

Lineups

ATLANTA: GK Felipe Quintero, D Shane Moroney, D Tyler Ruthven (Ciaran O’Brien 89’), D Willie Hunt, D Mario Pérez, M Jordan Davis, M Lucas Paulini, M Gonzalez (Raphael Cox 58’), M Kohei Matsushita ( Emsad Zahirovic 69’), F Matt Horth, F Junior Sandoval

FORT LAUDERDALE : GK Nic Platter, D Zach Kirby, D Aaron Hohlbein, D Martyn Lancaster, M Tony Stahl, M Le Petit (Granado 75’), M Arguez, M Brian Shriver (Adam West 69’), M Eduardo Coudet, F Aaron Wheeler (Philippe Jean Peguero 87’), F Martin Nuñez

Cautions:

ATL: Lucas Paulini, 76’ Jordan Davis 84’, Tyler Ruthven 89’

FTL: Eduardo Coudet, 51’ Martin Nunez, 68’

Shots (ATL 17, FTL 8), Fouls (ATL 14, FTL 12)

Quick facts

Atlanta ends a three game home stand with zero points…During the three game home stand the Silverbacks drew at least 3,000 fans to each game…Fort Lauderdale’s Eduardo Coudet has converted late penalty kicks in each of the Strikers two most recent games.