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Minnesota United FC

Minnesota Stars Finish Road Trip Saturday in Montreal

August 19, 2011 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
Minnesota United FC News Release


The NSC Minnesota Stars wrap up a three-game road trip Saturday afternoon at Stade Saputo against 2012 Major League Soccer entrants the Montreal Impact. The Stars will be looking to snap a three-game winless skid while building on a very positive showing Wednesday night against the North American Soccer League leading Carolina RailHawks.

The match kicks off at 1:30 p.m. CDT Saturday. All NASL games are streamed online for free and NASL.com and NSCMinnesota.com.

After two losses that left Stars head coach Manny Lagos disappointed with his team's inconsistent play, the Stars earned a 1-1 draw Wednesday, ending the RailHawks' nine-game winning streak at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., becoming only the second team all season to avoid defeat there. After the game, Lagos was pleased with the Stars' improvement on both offense and defense as well as the more consistent play.

"I thought we played better on both sides of the ball," Lagos said after Wednesday's game. "I thought we lost a little of energy right after halftime [when Carolina scored], but we recovered quickly and picked good moments to get forward, and I thought we were a little unlucky not to get more out of the game with some of the chances we created."

Saturday afternoon's match with Montreal not only brings an end to a road trip, but is the last match in a run of four games in 11 days, and the Stars will look to continue their success against Montreal this season. The Stars beat the Impact 1-0 at NSC Stadium on July 22 and topped them 3-1 in Montreal August 6 courtesy of two second-half goals by leading scorer Simone Bracalello. Even with the recent success, the Stars are wary of Montreal given the club's recent roster moves and history of late-season success.

Although it's attack struggled earlier this season, the Impact have been bolstered on offense by the addition of 2010 division two leading scorer Ryan Pore, who joined the club on loan from the Portland Timbers. Striker Eduardo Sebrango also came out of retirement to take the field again and now leads the Impact with five goals, recently tallying his 50th for the club. Major League Soccer veteran Sinisa Ubiparipovic also joined the Impact recently, registering a goal and an assist Sunday in a 4-0 rout of the Atlanta Silverbacks.

"Montreal's a good team with some outstanding players and a tough environment, and they'll be looking to get it right before they move up next year," Lagos said. "I know this year hasn't played out like an MLS-bound club would want it to, but Montreal's definitely right there in the playoff hunt and capable of making some noise. This is a big game for us, and we're looking forward to going to Montreal and showing that we can play well in a difficult environment."

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