NASL Minnesota United FC

Stars Finish Season Opening Road Trip in Puerto Rico

Published on April 26, 2011 under North American Soccer League (NASL)
Minnesota United FC News Release


The NSC Minnesota Stars will complete the final leg of a three-game road trip to start the season with a Tuesday night match up against the defending second division champion Puerto Rico Islanders. The Stars (1-0-1) have opened the 2011 North American Soccer League season by taking four of a possible six points from two road matches. The Islanders (2-0-0) have enjoyed a strong start as well, winning at Carolina and Tampa Bay. The Islanders open their home schedule Tuesday night, and the combination of a lively crowd, quality opponent and potentially adverse weather should provide the Stars with their stiffest test of the season.

Minnesota hasn ‚¬â„¢t played since an April 15 draw at Fort Lauderdale, where a late penalty kick for the Strikers kept Minnesota from a 2-0 start. In the meantime, the Stars have trained in Blaine, Minn., and faced two regional college programs in scrimmages this past weekend. After a shortened preseason spent largely indoors, the scrimmages against Creighton University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison gave head coach Manny Lagos an opportunity to get playing time for every healthy player on the Stars ‚¬â„¢ roster.

‚¬Å“A long layoff like we just had isn ‚¬â„¢t purely a good thing, ‚¬Â Lagos said. ‚¬Å“Obviously it gave us time to address our needs and work on our fitness, but coming so early in the season, we didn ‚¬â„¢t want to risk it throwing off the rhythm of training and playing. We wanted to keep the guys thinking about playing every week, so we scrimmaged Friday and Saturday and took the chance to evaluate where we are as a team. ‚¬Â

Overall, Lagos said he ‚¬â„¢s satisfied with the way the team is coming together and the depth he has in each position. Two rookies will have a chance to make their professional debuts Tuesday, as midfielder Ryan Woods and defender Justin Davis were both part of the traveling squad. Additionally, forward Tino Nunez could make his Stars debut.

One theme early in the season for the Stars has been defense as the team rebuilds a backline that lost two of last season ‚¬â„¢s starters. The relationships on defense are progressing well, as the Stars have allowed only one goal from the run of play in 2011 ‚¬"the other goal the Stars allowed was on a penalty kick­ against Fort Lauderdale ‚¬"and a shutout Saturday against Wisconsin will be encouraging.

At the other end of the field, Lagos said he wants to see more from his attackers. The Stars have been outshot in each of their first two games, and two of the team ‚¬â„¢s three goals have come from set pieces. With rainy conditions possible Tuesday night in Bayamon, Lagos said even half chances give the Stars a good opportunity to make more happen in front of goal.

‚¬Å“We want to be dictating the pace of the game, ‚¬Â Lagos said. ‚¬Å“Puerto Rico is going to have a good crowd. They ‚¬â„¢ll be loud and excited to see their champions. It would be huge for us to be able to control that. Obviously a goal would do that, but smaller things like controlling tempo and being unpredictable with the ball can have the same effect. ‚¬Â

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North American Soccer League Stories from April 26, 2011


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