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MN Thunder Play Rhinos Tonight - Melvin Tarley USL-1 Player Of The Week

August 19, 2009 - USL First Division (USL-1)
Minnesota Thunder News Release


The Minnesota Thunder continue their road trip with a mid-week match against the Rochester Rhinos tonight at 6:00 p.m. After Wednesday, the Thunder will only have a few days before they have to be in Cleveland to face the City Stars on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. Fans can watch the matches for free at www.usllive.com. Time is running short for the Minnesota Thunder if they hope to advance to the 2009 playoffs. The final match of the 2009 campaign for the Thunder is only a month away and they have to play the remaining matches with the intention of climbing up to the final playoff spot. To do this, Minnesota has to move ahead of the Miami FC Blues and the Vancouver Whitecaps.

The Thunder is not out of playoff contention yet, but the team needs to turn it around if they want to claim the last playoff spot. Currently, Minnesota is in ninth place, seventh place being the final playoff spot. The Thunder are down seven points from Vancouver and six back from Miami.

The Thunder can advance but they have to inflate their win column before that becomes a reality. The Thunder narrowly escaped with a 2-2 draw in their match against the Austin Aztex on Sunday. Austin scored in the first half and once again in the second half but Minnesota's Melvin Tarley managed to score both equalizing goals and the Thunder earned a point from the match.

Quavas Kirk was sent back to Minnesota after the game against Miami with a knee injury. Marcus Watson is also having knee troubles. Andrei Gotsmanov has an abdominal strain and Youssouf Kante is out because of his IT Band.

"Coming off a win and a tie on the road surely has helped the team gain confidence playing away from home," said Thunder President Manny Lagos. "The next two games against Rochester and Cleveland will once again test our players' resolve and hopefully push us squarely into the playoff picture."

Tarley has played superbly in the last two matches, so well that he was named as the week 19 Player of the Week. Ricardo Sanchez was also named to the week 19 Team of the Week. Tarley scored the winning goal in Minnesota's first road win last Friday when the Thunder dropped Miami 1-0. He also scored the Thunder's two goals in the 2-2 draw against Austin. The brace by Tarley not only gave Minnesota the draw and a point, it also meant the Thunder forward has now scored 3 goals in 2 games, which moves him into a tie with Ricardo Sanchez for most goals this season with 5.

About the Rhinos (9-8-5; 32 pts.):

The Rochester Rhinos were once leading the USL First Division in 2009 but since have slipped into fifth place. Being only seven points ahead of eighth place, the Rhinos playoff spot is far from locked up. In the past five matches, which were all played in Rochester, the Rhinos went 2-3-0 and have the home field advantage for two more games before they are on the road again.

Rochester was blown away by Portland 4-1 last Saturday. Portland led the entire match and their lead peaked at three. Rochester did come up with a late game goal in the 86th minute but the Timbers reclaimed their three goal lead before the final whistle blew.

The leading goal scorer for the Rhinos is clearly Johnny Menyongar. He has nine goals on the season and the next closest Rhino has only two goals scored. His 19 points are also seemingly untouched as second place Tiger Fitzpatrick has nine points.

About the City Stars (2-14-7; 13 pts.):

The Cleveland City Stars are struggling in 2009. Cleveland is the caboose in the USL First Divisions standings, with only two wins and 14 losses on the season. The City Stars are 13 points back from the Vancouver Whitecaps, with little hopes of advancing to the playoffs.

The Charleston Battery had their way with Cleveland last Tuesday on August 11th. Charleston went up by three by the 24th minute before Cleveland answered back with a goal of their own in the 35th minute. The Battery put one last nail in the coffin in the 86th minute and finished out the match leading 4-1.

Roland Aguilera is leading the City Stars in points. Aguilera has appeared in 23 matches and logged three goals and five assists for a total of 11 points. While Aguilera is leading the team in points, Joshua Boateng is leading the City Stars in goals scored. He has played in 11 matches this season and has scored four goals.



USL First Division Stories from August 19, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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