Preview and Match Notes: Fort Lauderdale vs Rayo OKC
Published on October 20, 2016 under North American Soccer League (NASL)
Fort Lauderdale Strikers News Release
The Fort Lauderdale Strikers will be facing off with Rayo OKC in a critical "six-pointer" on Saturday. Both clubs are chasing the fourth and final berth in the NASL's postseason tournament "The Championship." Rayo OKC comes in on a three game winning streak and currently sit fifth in the NASL table, level on points with fourth-place Minnesota.
Key Facts Match: Fort Lauderdale Strikers vs Rayo OKC Date: Saturday, 22 October 2016 Kickoff: 7:00p.m. ET Venue: Central Broward Stadium Broadcast: SFL-TV (Miami/Fort Lauderdale), ESPN3 (USA), NASL.com (Canada)
2016 Combined Records (W-T-L) FTL: 7th place 10-8-12; 38 pts; 30 GF / 38 GA, -8 GD OKC: 5th place 10-11-9, 50 pts; 35 GF / 32 GA, 3 GD
Series History First Meeting: May 21, 2016; 2-1 W at OKC Recent Meeting: September 18, 2016; 0-1 T at OKC Series History: 1-1-0 (3 GF / 2 GA; 1 GD) At FTL: FIRST MEETING At OKC: 1-1-0 ( 3 GF/ 3 GA; 1 GD)
Notes:
* The Strikers have collected two vans full of goods for distribution in Haiti at the last week's home games. The island nation is suffering from the impact of Hurricane Matthew. The effort was spearheaded by current players Jean-Marc Alexandre and Pascal Millien as well as former player Stephane Guillaume. * The Strikers are wearing pink kits for all matches in October as part of the #DrivePink Campaign in cooperation with AutoNation and the Breast Cancer Research foundation. * Fort Lauderdale sits just three points out of the final postseason spot with two match days remaining on the NASL Fall Season calendar. * Geison Moura has started three successive games and has scored the winning goal in each of the last two matches.The Brazilian winger had started just one match in the month of September, a 1-1 draw at Rayo OKC on September 18. * Both Pascal Millien and Junior Sandoval have played in all six matches since signing with Fort Lauderdale on September 23. * Fort Lauderdale has now won the first two games of a three game homestand. The homestand concludes with this matchup against Rayo OKC. * Bruno made his 15th successive start in goal in the 2-0 win over Puerto Rico FC on Saturday for the Strikers and kept his sixth clean sheet in that period. * Ramon Nunez recorded his fifth assist of the season for Fort Lauderdale against Puerto Rico. * Jose Angulo scored his fifth goal of the season against Puerto Rico on Saturday and his 12th as a member of the Strikers. That places Angulo in a tie for fourth place all-time among goal-scorers in modern era Strikers history. * Julius James recorded his first assist of the season in Wednesday's 1-0 win over Edmonton. * Fort Lauderdale has used October runs in both 2014 and 2015 to reach the fourth and final postseason spots both seasons. . * The Strikers are the only team in history to competitively defeat each of the other four active pro clubs in the state. Fort Lauderdale made history defeating Orlando City SC of Major League Soccer on June 29, 2016 in the US Open Cup fifth round at Camping World Stadium. * Maicon Santos leads the Strikers with seven goals. * Former Juventus, Parma and Napoli Striker Amauri who has been capped for Italy has scored four times for Fort Lauderdale since signing with the club on August 9. * Local Broward County product Manny Gonzalez has climbed the all-time Strikers appearance list this season and now sits eighth on the modern Fort Lauderdale list. Gonzalez's 64 appearances put him within striking distance of reaching the top five all-time during this NASL season.
Coach Caio Zanardi says: "We look forward to the matchup at home in front of our fans. We still have a shot to make the postseason and thank the fans for the support."
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