NASL Minnesota United FC

NSC Minnesota Stars Top Carolina 1-0 For First Win In Team History

Published on April 16, 2010 under North American Soccer League (NASL)
Minnesota United FC News Release


Daniel Wasson scored in the 37th minute to lift the NSC Minnesota Stars to a 1-0 victory over the Carolina RailHawks Friday night in Cary, N.C. The win was the first in team history.

Wasson gathered a loose ball after Carolina failed to clear a corner kick. As RailHawks goalkeeper Eric Reed charged, Wasson drove the ball past him and through a crowd of Carolina players into the center of the goal. The goal was the first in franchise history for the Stars, who were held scoreless in a 2-0 loss to Vancouver on Sunday.

"We're a possession-oriented team, and we weren't able to take advantage of that last week in Vancouver," Wasson said after the game. "We ran a couple of runs out of midfield in practice this week, and we made good use of the field out here creating spaces and capitalizing on chances."

Before the match, Stars head coach Manny Lagos said that winning more possession would be a key for the Stars against Carolina, and he was pleased with his team's performance, which kept the RailHawks on their heels for much of the game.

"I told them [at halftime] to keep control of the tempo and match [the RailHawks'] intensity as we knew they were going to come at us," Lagos said. "Overall, it was a great effort from the whole team."

The Stars got off to an auspicious start, as RailHawks forward Etienne Barbara created space for himself in the first minute before shooting high and wide of goalkeeper Joe Warren's net.

It wasn't long before the Stars were threatening. Leilei Gao had a shot deflected in the third minute, and after the RailHawks failed to fully clear the corner kick, Johnny Menyongar slammed a shot into defender John Gilkerson.

The best chance of the first half came at the other end of the field, though, when Daniel Paladini led a three-on-two counterattack in the ninth minute. He played the ball to Cory Elenio near the edge of the penalty arc, but despite having plenty of time, Elenio rushed his shot, driving it straight into Warren's arms.

Less than a minute later, the Stars nearly found themselves on top. Warren Ukah got on the end of Wasson's corner kick, but his header from a tight angle looped over Reed's arms and off the crossbar. It was the second time this season that the Stars have hit a post early in the first half.

The end-to-end battle continued in the 13th minute, when Barbara got behind the defense on a perfectly weighted through ball from Josh Gardner. Barbara took his first touch into space away from goal, but he dragged his shot just wide under pressure from Andres Arango, who recovered well to keep Barbara from picking out the corner of the net.

The game settled down after that, with both teams content to slow down and try to establish possession. Just as the game seemed settled, Andrei Gotsmanov nearly opened the scoring with a powerful drive from about 25 yards. Once again, a shaky clearance from Carolina created an opportunity for the Stars, but Gotsmanov's driven shot curled just wide of the top corner.

Deja vu struck the Stars again after half an hour. Just as they had hit a post early on for the second game in a row, they were forced into an early substitution before halftime once again. Devin Del Do was injured in a collision on the right wing, and although he tried to play on, Lagos was forced to replace him in the 30th minute, sending Chris Clements on. The move forced Gotsmanov out to the right wing and Wasson into central midfield.

The move paid off quickly, as Wasson popped up in front of goal seven minutes later to score the game's only goal. The Stars weren't done attacking in the half, though, as Ukah nearly doubled the lead after 42 minutes. Ukah eluded his defender and found himself unmarked on the penalty spot, but he headed Gao's cross just wide of Reed's post.

RailHawks' head coach Martin Rennie brought Guyana international Gregory Richardson on at halftime to replace an ineffective Joseph Kabwe on the left wing. The change made an immediate impact, as Richardson and Elenio provided speed on both wings, but Carolina still lacked a killer instinct in the final third.

Wasson added a yellow card to his goal in the 48th minute when an intentional foul broke up what looked to be a promising Carolina counterattack. Simone Barcalello, who replaced Gotsmanov in the 63rd minute, joined Wasson in the referee's notebook with 20 minutes remaining after he tripped Barbara on the edge of the Stars' penalty box.

The teams traded chances again in the closing minutes of the game. In the 87th minute, Johnny Menyongar created space for himself at the top of the penalty area, and his shot to the near post beat Reed but hit the wrong side of the net. Matt Bobo nearly made NSC Minnesota rue the miss a minute later.

Gardner got free down the left wing, and his cross picked Bobo out at the back post, but Warren reacted well and dove to his left to steer the ball away from the net. Warren made another save in stoppage time, as Matt Watson, on for Elenio in the 71st minute, drove a low shot at goal. The ball bounced shortly before reaching Warren, causing him to only knock the ball down, but he recovered to cover the rebound before anyone from Carolina could react.

Warren began the season as the Stars' back up goalkeeper, but he played last week after Louis Crayton went down with a knee injury in the first half against Vancouver. Overall, Lagos has been pleased with Warren's play. His five saves against Carolina give him eight for the season.

"I thought Joe played well, and he really managed the last 20 minutes of the game well," Lagos said. "It's not an easy situation to come in off the bench after what happened to Louis last week.

"And what can you say about his save [from Bobo's header] at the end of the game? It was outstanding."

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North American Soccer League Stories from April 16, 2010


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