Miami FC to play last two games of 2008 season at Tropical Park against Rochester and Atlanta

September 16, 2008 - USL First Division (USL-1)
Fort Lauderdale Strikers News Release


Miami, September 16, 2008 - Miami FC (6-12-10) will take on the Rochester Rhinos (11-9-9) at Tropical Park Stadium on Wednesday, September 17th at 7:30 pm (ET). The Rhinos currently sit in 4th place in the standings, tied in points with the Montreal Impact. They both have accumulated 41 points, but Montreal wins the tiebreaker with one more win than the Rhinos. This will be the Rhinos last game of the season and since they already guaranteed a playoff spot, the team will look to try to move up in the standings to receive a better seed in the playoffs.

Rochester's attack is spearheaded by their two playmaking midfielders, Luke Kreamalmeyer and Johnny Menyongar. Both players account for the majority of the team's goals and assists this season. While Kreamalmeyer leads the team in the assist category with 8, Menyongar is the goal leader with 6. The Blues defense will have to be at the top of their game on Wednesday since the duo from Rochester will be looking to cause havoc in the box. Miami will also be without their starting goalkeeper for the season, Josh Saunders. The goalie was sent on loan to the Los Angeles Galaxy of the MLS last week, after signing a one-year extension with Miami. He currently leads the USL in shutouts with 13 and will be replaced by Sam Reynolds for the remaining two games of the season for the Blues.

Miami FC will also clash with the Atlanta Silverbacks (8-11-9) on Sunday, September 21st at 6:00 pm (ET), at Tropical Park Stadium. The Blues have not lost to Atlanta this season. In the three games played between both teams, Miami posted a 1-0 victory when the teams met on June 24th during the 2nd round of the 2008 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, then won by a score of 3-0 at Tropical Park Stadium during the teams' first match of the USL-1 regular season, and then tied 0-0 the last time they faced each other in Atlanta. This will be the first time newcomer Ansu Toure will face his old team since joining Miami on a trade for Sean Cameron in August.

The Silverbacks have been in a slump, not seeing their team win in over 9 league games. Their last victory was a hard-fought 3-2 win against the Vancouver Whitecaps on Aug 5th, in Atlanta. They currently sit in 8th place in the standing, with 33 points. Before they travel to Miami, the Silverbacks will play the league-leaders Islanders in Puerto Rico, on Friday, Sep 19th.



USL First Division Stories from September 16, 2008


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