NASL Minnesota United FC

FC Tampa Bay Tops NSC Minnesota Stars 2-0

Published on August 13, 2011 under North American Soccer League (NASL)
Minnesota United FC News Release


Despite a solid first half, the NSC Minnesota Stars dropped their second game in a row Saturday night, losing to FC Tampa Bay 2-0 in soggy St. Petersburg, Fla. A water-logged pitch made for a few surprising moments during the match, but there was no denying the quality of Tampa Bay midfielder Pascal Millien's game-winner shortly before halftime. A Neil Hlavaty own goal in the 65th minute accounted for the second goal as Tampa Bay took sole possession of third place in the North American Soccer League.

Three days after managing only three shots on goal in a loss to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, the Stars enjoyed a positive opening 45 minutes on offense, forcing Tampa goalkeeper Jeff Attinella into six saves in the first half. No one came closer than midfielder Lucas Rodriguez, who Attinella denied at the near post in the 27th minute with a fingertip save after good work by the Stars set up a shot from the top of the penalty box. Jeff Cosgriff also had a good opportunity, but poked a shot over Attinella's goal early in the game, and Hlavaty hit a 20-yard shot through traffic that Attinella smothered.

The end-to-end first half wasn't without chances for the home side. Millien nearly found a sliding Mike Ambersley with a low cross in the 14th minute. In the 45th minute, Millien broke the deadlock, collecting the ball on the wing before moving into space at the top of the penalty box and curling a right-footed shot past goalkeeper Joe Warren and in off the underside of the crossbar to give Tampa Bay the lead at halftime.

"I thought it was a tale of two halves," Stars head coach Manny Lagos said. "Beside their goal right before the half, I thought we were playing well. Part of the game is to finish your chances, and we didn't do that. Giving up a goal right before halftime takes some time to bounce back from, and I didn't think we came out in the second half with the same energy as the start of the game."

The Stars created a few chances early in the second half. First, Scott Lorenz drove a free kick off the Tampa Bay wall, which Tampa eventually scrambled clear. On the hour mark, forward Tino Nunez did some clever juggling near the endline to beat his defender, but his low cross was just behind strike partner Amani Walker at the near post, and Tampa cleared its line.

FCTB added some insurance in the 65th minute on some good work from captain Frankie Sanfilippo. The defender made an overlapping run up the right wing, and drove a cross on the ground into the box. Running back toward his goal, Hlavaty was unlucky to deflect it past Warren at the near post.

Down two goals, the Stars were susceptible to counterattacks as they threw numbers forward, but the defense held Tampa off the scoreboard for the final 25 minutes as the offense continued to knock on the door. Attinella made another great save in the 83rd minute when he blocked a deflected free kick then smothered the rebound near the goal line. The Tampa goalkeeper had his upright to thank four minutes later as substitute Devin Del Do flicked a backheel off the post from three yards out.

With the loss, the Stars dropped two straight for the first time all season and slipped into fourth place in the North American Soccer League with 28 points from a 7-6-7 record. The team is back in action Wednesday night in Carolina before traveling north for a Saturday afternoon match against the Montreal Impact. The Stars' next home game is August 27 against the Impact at NSC Stadium. To order tickets, call (763) 792-7355 or visit NSCMinnesota.com.

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North American Soccer League Stories from August 13, 2011


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