NASL Minnesota United FC

Bracalello Double Helps Stars Past Montreal Impact

Published on August 6, 2011 under North American Soccer League (NASL)
Minnesota United FC News Release


Montreal seemed to be knocking on the door in the first part of the second half of Saturday night's game between the Major League Soccer bound Montreal Impact and the NSC Minnesota Stars. With the game tied 1-1, Montreal was enjoying the lion's share of possession and had a goal ruled out due to offside. A goal that would turn the game seemed inevitable.

It came in the 75th minute, but instead of giving the homestanding Impact a lead, it was the Stars that grabbed it. Simone Bracalello finished off a quick counterattack by dribbling past Montreal right back Cameron Knowles and side-footing a shot just inside the bottom right corner to put the Stars in the lead for good. Bracalello added his second of the match in stoppage time as the Stars defeated the Impact 3-1 in front of more than 12,000 fans in Montreal.

Neil Hlavaty converted a penalty kick in the 17th minute to give the Stars the lead after David Testo hauled down Devin Del Do. Just as he'd done two weeks prior when these teams met, Hlavaty sent Montreal goalkeeper Evan Bush the wrong way with a low shot to the corner.

The lead didn't last long, though, as Montreal stormed back with a well-worked equalizer. Ali Gerba did well with his back to goal to bring a long ball down for Anthony Le Gall, who sent a first-time pass into the path of midfielder Ian Westlake as he streaked up the middle. Westlake took his first touch clear of the Stars defense and beat Joe Warren with a low shot in the 22nd minute to tie the game at one goal apiece.

The Stars had a couple decent chances to regain the lead. Lucas Rodriguez couldn't get enough power behind a shot after a cross from Scott Lorenz, who made his first appearance for the Stars after arriving on loan from MLS's Sporting Kansas City. Bracalello also had a great opportunity, forcing a sprawling, near-post save out of Bush with a free kick from the top of the penalty box. Montreal could also have grabbed a go-ahead goal right before halftime after Chris Clements played a dangerous ball across the face of goal that just eluded a Montreal forward.

The early stages of the second half saw Montreal seize the momentum, as they pushed the pace of play and disrupted the Stars' distribution in midfield. The pressure nearly told in the 58th minute when Ali Gerba scored on a break, but the flag had gone up for offside before he shot. Montreal couldn't muster any better opportunities, and Bracalello made them pay with a quarter of an hour left.

The Italian forward received a long, cross-field pass near the corner of the penalty area, turned to face Knowles and beat the defender with a dip of his shoulder and a cut to the left. With Del Do making a run toward the center of goal, Bracalello opted instead to hit a shot with the outside of his right foot that settled just inside the far post netting. Bracalello got the better of Knowles again in stoppage time when the defender misjudged a header after a Stars' defensive clearance, putting Bracalello in alone on goal, where he slammed his shot past Bush for his team-leading sixth goal of the season to round out the scoring.

Minnesota improved its record with the win to 7-4-7 and has 28 points in the North American Soccer League standings. Montreal's difficult final season at the second-division level continues, as the home side fell to 3-10-6.

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