Strikers End Spring Season with a Tie in San Antonio
Published on June 7, 2014 under North American Soccer League (NASL)
Fort Lauderdale Strikers News Release
Fort Lauderdale, FL - The Fort Lauderdale Strikers (4W-1T-4L, 13 pts) played the final 55 minutes of the match a man up, but the San Antonio Scorpions (5-2-2, 17pts) never stopped pressing, taking the lead on the Strikers despite playing with only 10 men. The Strikers added a goal in the 90th minute to equalize the game and finish the Spring Season on a 2-2 draw at Toyota Field in San Antonio.
The Strikers traveled to San Antonio without their starting goalkeeper Oka Nikolov, who was injured earlier this week, and instead Lionel Brown started just his second NASL match between the posts. Brown played a solid match on goal, making several great saves to keep the game close.
The Strikers opened the scoring early when Shawn Chin grabbed a rebound off a Mark Ebbers shot in the 10th minute and buried it in the back of the net, giving the visiting team a 1-0 early advantage.
The Scorpions were able to equalize the match in the 24th minute when Sainey Tourayn received a ball from Eric Hassli and was able to beat Brown.
The Scorpions had to play the final 55 minutes a man down after Hassli tackled Strikers defender Darnell King from behind and was shown the straight red.
Despite playing with 10 men, the Scorpions continued to press early in the second half, eventually taking the 2-1 lead in the 58th minute. Scorpions Josue Soto, who came in at half time for Tourayn, was able to beat the Strikers defender and put the ball past Brown to take the one goal lead.
Just minutes earlier, the Strikers had a scare when Chris Nurse got tangled up with Scorpions' Greg Janicki and had to be carried out via a stretcher with a leg injury.
The Strikers continued to press and had several shot just miss the goal but the Scorpions held the lead late into the game. The Strikers made a couple of late offensive substitution to try to even up the score, bringing in the speedy Fafa Picault and forward Aly Alberto Hassan.
In the 90th minute, King made a cross inside the box, and Fafa Picault was able to head it towards the goal, and the ball just slipped past the diving keeper Jeremy Vuolo to tie the game. Picault then received a yellow card for taking off his shirt, and just minutes later, after a hard foul, Picault was sent off after receiving his second yellow and the teams were evened up at ten players a piece.
The teams played seven minutes of extra time, mostly due to Nurse's injury, and both had several close shots, including a fantastic save by Brown off a Leo Cruz rocket, keeping the Scorpions from scoring the game winner.
The Strikers kick off the Fall season on Saturday, July 12 at Lockhart Stadium against Minnesota United FC. Fall Season Tickets are available starting at $90 at www.strikers.com or by calling 954-606-0400.
North American Soccer League Stories from June 7, 2014
- Wild Week 9 Action Sees Minnesota United FC Crowned NASL Spring - NASL
- San Antonio Scorpions Draw 2-2 with Ft. Lauderdale - San Antonio Scorpions
- Silverbacks play to a draw with Indy - Indy Eleven
- Strikers End Spring Season with a Tie in San Antonio - Fort Lauderdale Strikers
- Minnesota United Crowned North American Soccer League Spring Champions - Minnesota United FC
- Minnesota United FC Crowned 2014 North American Soccer League - NASL
- Rowdies Draw 3-3 with Minnesota United FC in Spring Finale - Tampa Bay Rowdies
- Silverbacks and Indy Eleven Play to 3-3 Draw in Spring Season Finale - Atlanta Silverbacks
- Match Preview: Carolina RailHawks at FC Edmonton - North Carolina FC
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.
