Strikers Begin Season's Second Half against Rival Rowdies
July 3, 2012 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
Fort Lauderdale Strikers News Release
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (July 3, 2012) - The Fort Lauderdale Strikers (5W-4T-5L) will play their annual Independence Day match against the Tampa Bay Rowdies (6W-3T-5L) at Al Lang Stadium on Wednesday, July 4 at 6:30p.m. EDT. This is the third consecutive season the Strikers and Rowdies have faced off on July 4. The Rowdies are on a three-game win streak with their last two wins coming at home. A Strikers win would put them one point ahead of the Rowdies and potentially as high as third in the NASL Standings.
"Tampa Bay has a lot of confidence right now," said Strikers head coach Daryl Shore. "They play well at home and they have a tough home field to play on. Our mentality is to build off our win against Carolina and to start learning how to win on the road and get three points for ourselves and our fans."
This is the third meeting of the season and final regular season matchup at Al Lang Stadium for the cross-state rivals. In the previous two games each home team came away with a 3-1 win. The teams will need to wait nearly two months to play their final regular season game on Sept. 1 at Lockhart Stadium.
After the Strikers' win in their last meeting, Fort Lauderdale is now 1W-4T-5L all-time against the Rowdies in regular season play.
Strikers' midfielder Walter Restrepo has had the most success against the Rowdies this season, scoring a goal in each of the first two meetings this year. Mark Anderson is the hottest Striker right now with nine goals in all competitions this season. He has seven goals in league play and three in the last two games.
On Monday, the NASL named Anderson Offensive Player of the Week. Anderson scored both goals in the Strikers' 2-1 victory against Carolina on Saturday. This is the third Offensive Player of the Week award for a Striker this season with forward Andy Herron receiving the honor the first two weeks of the year.
The Rowdies will look to forward Mike Ambersley, who consistently plays well against Fort Lauderdale. Ambersley scored three times against the Strikers in 2011 and recorded a goal and an assist in the first meeting this year.
Tampa Bay has scored seven goals on their current three-game win streak. Four of those goals coming from forward Tsuyoshi Yoshitake, who leads the team with five and has two assists on the season.
Last week, the Strikers defeated the Carolina RailHawks 2-1 at Lockhart Stadium. Strikers midfielder Mark Anderson scored twice in the match. Carolina's goal came from forward Nick Zimmerman late in the second half. The Strikers passed the RailHawks to move into fifth place in the NASL standings with 19 points.
The Rowdies won their third straight game against the Minnesota Stars at Al Lang Stadium by a 2-0 final score. The Rowdies moved ahead of Minnesota into third in the NASL standings.
INJURIES/OUT
- Defender Lance Laing (ankle) is expected to return mid-late July.
- Midfielder Yoximar Granado (quadriceps) will return to regular training with the team next week.
- Midfielder Polo Morales (tib/fib fracture) is out for the remainder of the season.
MATCH FACTS
- Strikers went 0W-1T-3L last season against the Rowdies
- Strikers are 1W-4T-5L all-time against the Rowdies
- Strikers midfielder Walter Restrepo leads the league in assists (4)
- Strikers goalkeeper Matt Glaeser is second in the NASL in saves (50)
- Strikers goalkeeper Matt Glaeser has played every minute so far this season (1260)
- Strikers midfielder Walter Restrepo is tied for the league lead in assists (5)
- Strikers midfielder Mark Anderson is tied for second in the league in goals (7)
2012 STAT LEADERS
Goals: Mark Anderson (7)
Assists: Walter Restrepo (5)
Shots: Mark Anderson (36)
Yellow cards: Toni St=E5hl (4)
Red cards: Toni St=E5hl (2)
Saves: Matt Glaeser (50)
GAA: Matt Glaeser (1.50)
Minutes: Matt Glaeser (1260)
NEXT MATCH:
The Strikers will travel to North Carolina to face the Carolina RailHawks on Saturday, July 7 at 7:00pm EDT. Contact info@strikers.com or call (954)606-0400 for more information. Follow the Strikers on twitter @FTLStrikers and like us on Facebook to get the latest news and updates from South Florida's professional soccer team. All Strikers NASL matches are streamed live on www.strikers.com/live.
• Discuss this story on the North American Soccer League message board...
North American Soccer League Stories from July 3, 2012
- RailHawks Return to Winning in Front of Home Crowd - North Carolina FC
- Wynalda-Led Silverbacks Come up Short in Carolina - Atlanta Silverbacks
- Rowdies Host Strikers Tomorrow Night for Light up the Bay - Tampa Bay Rowdies
- Islanders Face Stars in Independence Day Showdown - Puerto Rico Islanders
- Scorpions Ready for 4th of July Match with FC Edmonton - San Antonio Scorpions
- Eddies Look to Put Together Unbeaten Streak - FC Edmonton
- MN Stars FC to take on NASL contender Puerto Rico Islanders at home - Minnesota United FC
- Strikers Begin Season's Second Half against Rival Rowdies - Fort Lauderdale Strikers
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
