New York, Minnesota Seek To Remain Perfect

Published on April 25, 2014 under North American Soccer League (NASL) News Release


NEW YORK (April 25, 2014) - Carolina RailHawks, Fort Lauderdale Strikers and San Antonio Scorpions are separated by three or less points from the current leaders New York Cosmos, Minnesota United FC in the North American Soccer League Spring Season Standings going into Week 3. On the leader's heels, just four points away, are Indy Eleven and Tampa Bay Rowdies as they seek to remain in contention for The Championship. Soccer fans can tune in to www.NASLlive.com this Saturday, April 26 to watch all five matches.

The race continues on Saturday afternoon north of the border when Ottawa Fury FC greet Carolina RailHawks at Carleton University's Keith Harris Stadium at 3 pm ET.

"We expect another tough week in the NASL," said RailHawks coach Colin Clarke, whose team posted a 4-1 win against Fort Lauderdale Strikers last week to extend their home unbeaten streak to 17 games. "This will be our first ever trip to Ottawa and we will look to get a good result. I think we will have a great match on Saturday afternoon."

Fury FC, who's hosting its third home game in eight days, is coming off a heartbreaking 2-1 loss last week to visiting Minnesota United and then played to a scoreless draw on Wednesday evening against FC Edmonton in the opening round first-leg of the Amway Canadian Championship.

"Carolina had a great season last year and have started very well in 2014," said Fury FC coach Marc Dos Santos. "We know the type of opposition we are going to get, but we also know that we are home, confident and determined to get our first win."

Also on Saturday, the defending champion New York Cosmos look to extend their unbeaten streak, which stands at 13 (tied for NASL's all-time best since 2011), when they meet San Antonio Scorpions at Hofstra University's James M. Shuart Stadium.

The Cosmos, who posted a 1-0 win at FC Edmonton last week, also have a chance to break another of the league's all-time records, on Saturday, in this modern era as they are two minutes shy of tying and three of breaking most consecutive shutout minutes as they are currently at 357.

The Scorpions are also coming off a road victory (2-1) against Atlanta Silverbacks last Saturday, however they have not beaten the current league leaders Cosmos in their previous two meetings.

"This is an important match against the current champions in what will be a stern test in front of a vocal home crowd," Scorpions coach Alen Marcina. "We feel confident about our progress thus far and the framework we've implemented to achieve a positive result on Saturday."

Two other Saturday evening match-up will take place in the state of Florida at 7:30 pm ET, when the Indy Eleven play its first NASL road game facing Fort Lauderdale Strikers at Lockhart Stadium.

After consecutive 1-1 home draws and averaging over 10,730 spectators a game to open the Spring Season, Indy Eleven coach Juergen Sommers commented on their upcoming encounter against the Strikers: "We're already four points down in the standings, we can't go into Fort Lauderdale this weekend thinking a road point will be satisfying. We're hungry to score goals and give our fans that first win that we think we deserved to give them the last two weekends at Carroll Stadium."

Elsewhere in the Sunshine State, Tampa Bay Rowdies welcome Atlanta Silverbacks at Al Lang Stadium, live on ESPN3 at 730 pm ET, with each team looking for their first win of the season on Saturday.

"As always, the tendency when teams play against us is that they have nothing to lose and everything to gain," said Rowdies coach Ricky Hill. "Thus far, they've not managed to acquire any points, but that doesn't mean they're necessarily a bad team. Unfortunately, we've been prone to lapses and those lapses have cost us goals. We're hoping on Saturday that we don't have any lapses."

Silverbacks' technical director Eric Wynalda aims to end his team's current five-game losing streak and he comments on the upcoming match: "Tampa Bay is always a very difficult team to play against, especially on their home field. We worked very hard this week to get things right, and we look forward to hopefully having that hard work translate into a result on Saturday."

Rounding out Saturday's Week 3 encounters will be Minnesota United FC taking on the visiting FC Edmonton at Blaine's NSC Stadium at 8 pm ET.

United, who has a four-game winning streak, have not lost to the Eddies in six previous meetings in Minnesota, however the best defensive team in 2013 held the home side to a 1-1 draw in their visit to NSC Stadium last September.

"We are excited to finally get the chance to play in front of our home fans," said United coach Manny Lagos. "I hope they are excited to get a chance to see the product that we have worked really hard to put together on the field this Saturday. We are looking forward to the challenge of defending our home field this season."

Soccer fans around the world will also be able to 'Watch Every Match Live' throughout the 2014 North American Soccer League season including Week 3 venues of April 26 in Fort Lauderdale, Minnesota, New York, Ottawa and Tampa Bay.

By subscribing to either a 30-day pass or a season access pass at www.NASLLive.com, soccer fans can access all 135 matches during the 2014 NASL Spring and Fall Seasons.

Throughout the month of April, the NASL is offering a 10-day free trial to enjoy the weekly broadcasts as the league's 10 teams battle to reach the postseason and compete in The Championship for the coveted Soccer Bowl trophy. This is the last weekend to participate in this free trial.

NASL Week 3 Schedule - (All kickoff times US EST)

Saturday, April 26

Ottawa Fury FC vs. Carolina RailHawks

Carleton University's Keith Harris Stadium; Ottawa, Ontario 3 pm

New York Cosmos vs. San Antonio Scorpions

Hofstra University's James M. Shuart Stadium; Hempstead, N.Y. 7 pm

Fort Lauderdale Strikers vs. Indy Eleven

Lockhart Stadium; Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 7:30 pm

Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. Atlanta Silverbacks

Al Lang Stadium; St. Petersburg, Fla. 7:30 pm

Minnesota United FC vs. FC Edmonton

NSC Stadium; Blaine, Minn. 8 pm

NASL Standings P W D L F A P

New York Cosmos 2 2 0 0 5 0 6

Minnesota United FC 2 2 0 0 4 1 6

Carolina RailHawks 2 1 1 0 5 2 4

Fort Lauderdale Strikers 2 1 0 1 3 4 3

San Antonio Scorpions 2 1 0 1 2 3 3

Tampa Bay Rowdies 2 0 2 0 2 2 2

Indy Eleven 2 0 2 0 2 2 2

FC Edmonton 2 0 1 1 1 2 1

Ottawa Fury FC 2 0 0 2 1 4 0

Atlanta Silverbacks 2 0 0 2 1 6 0

Tiebreakers: 1.) Goal difference 2.) Goals scored 3.) Head-to-head 4.) Away goal difference 5.) Away goals scored

This Week In The NASL

NASL Player of Week 2

Carolina RailHawks striker Zack Schilawski earned North American Soccer League Player of the Week honors for a double strike and assist in a 4-1 home victory over the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

Schilawski scored his second and third goals of the year in the 40th and 76th minutes respectively. On his first goal of the night, Schilawski received a through ball from Ty Shipalane and finished the chance past the Striker keeper Oka Nikolov. Schilawski's 76th minute goal came when the forward had a one-on-one chance with the keeper and closed out the match with his second goal of the night.

"I feel good about it," said Schilawski, after the game. "It was a really good team effort for 90 minutes and we controlled the tempo and controlled the game. I just put myself in a position to score and hopefully have the composure to score and so far so good. The guys have stepped up and not only as an attacking side but also doing things defensively as well."

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North American Soccer League Stories from April 25, 2014


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