NASL Minnesota United FC

NSC Minnesota Stars Finish Season-Opening Road Trip Wednesday At Puerto Rico

Published on April 19, 2010 under North American Soccer League (NASL)
Minnesota United FC News Release


BLAINE, Minn. (April 19, 2010) - The NSC Minnesota Stars will complete their season-opening, three-game road trip on Wednesday night with a match against the Puerto Rico Islanders in Bayamon. The Stars will be looking to build on the momentum from their first-ever win, a 1-0 victory against the Carolina RailHawks on April 16. The Stars open their home season April 24 against FC Tampa Bay.

The game will be Puerto Rico's first league match of the season. The Islanders finished the 2009 USL First Division season with 15 wins, eight ties and seven losses, which earned them third place in the league. After defeating the Rochester Rhinos 5-3 over two legs in the first round of the playoffs, the Islanders lost their semifinal series against Montreal 4-2 on aggregate.

"It's always a challenge to play a team in its first game of the year," Stars head coach Manny Lagos said. "Puerto Rico is a unique environment and it's tough to be the away team there."

In addition to an attack-minded team energized by a season-opening crowd, the Stars could also face some opposition from Mother Nature. Wednesday's forecast for Bayamon calls for a high of 86 and a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. In the past, heavy rains have made the pitch at Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium very wet and slow. Having played several games in Bayamon in his career, Stars defender and assistant coach Kevin Friedland said it's important to adapt quickly to the weather because the field can undergo several transformations over the course of 90 minutes.

"It all depends on how much it rains," Friedland said. "If it's a light rain, the field will get slick and the ball moves faster. But if it's a heavy rain, or turns into one, you get puddles on the field, and the game gets sloppy, in which case it's about minimizing mistakes."

The Stars kept mistakes to a minimum in Friday's win over Carolina, seizing control of the game's tempo early by controlling possession in midfield. In addition to creating more chances to score, it also alleviated pressure on a defense that was under the gun for most of the second half against Vancouver. Rain or shine, Friedland said it will be important to build on the success from Cary.

"Each game you want to get better and step forward," he said. "Friday was a big improvement over Vancouver, and we hope to build on that success against the Islanders and keep creating good chances."

The Stars had 14 shots Friday against the RailHawks and will be looking for similar pressure Wednesday night. Puerto Rico goalkeeper Bill Gaudette followed up his 2008 Goalkeeper of the Year award with another outstanding season in 2009. Gaudette was tied for the league lead in USL-1 last season with 12 shutouts, and his 0.74 goals against average placed him in the league's top five. But Puerto Rico's weapons aren't reserved for just the backline.

"The Islanders have been very dangerous in years past, both going forward and organizing defensively," Lagos said. "We fully understand they've been one of the best teams in the league the past few years. We've been presented a challenging start to the season with the travel and three tough opponents in a row, but we've got a group of guys who'll roll up their sleeves and go to work."

Other notes

* Neil Hlavaty will travel with the team for the first time this season. The Polish soccer federation released Hlavaty's player registration late last week, making him eligible to play for NSC Minnesota.

* Stars announced Monday that goalkeeper Louis Crayton is out for the season. Crayton tore his right ACL in the first half of NSC Minnesota's opening match against the Vancouver Whitecaps.

* Stars midfielder Devin Del Do is expected to miss two to three weeks after sustaining a right knee injury during the first half of Friday's game at Carolina. Del Do left the field under his own power in the 30th minute.

* Tickets are still available for the Stars' home opener on April 24. Tickets start at $11 for adults. For more information, contact ticket sales at (763) 792-7355.

* All NSC Minnesota Stars games in 2010 will be broadcast live online. Webcasts are free and available at www.NSCMinnesota.org. For all NSC Minnesota Stars home games, the National Sports Center will produce the webcasts, which will feature commentary from Chris Lidholm and Buzz Lagos.

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North American Soccer League Stories from April 19, 2010


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