Strikers Look to Extend Unbeaten Streak When They Take on the Atlanta Silverbacks

Published on August 14, 2014 under North American Soccer League (NASL)
Fort Lauderdale Strikers News Release


FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (August 14, 2014) - The Fort Lauderdale Strikers (2W-2D-2L, 8pts) will take on the Atlanta Silverbacks (2-1-2, 7 pts) on Saturday, August 16th at 7:30 pm at Lockhart Stadium. The Strikers currently own the fourth overall spot in the Championship, but the Silverbacks are only two points back and have played one fewer game. The top four seeded teams for the year will claim a spot in the NASL Championship Semi Finals, with the winners clashing in The Championship match.

The Strikers are coming off an impressive, but grueling, road trip, playing to a 0-0 draw at Indy last Wednesday night, and then traveling to Ottawa where they took all three points in a 2-1 win on Saturday.

Kamil Contofalsky made several great saves against Indy Eleven, earning his second shutout in a row and his first NASL Team of the Week honors. The Strikers played the final 32 minutes up a man after Jermaine Johnson received a red card in the 58th minute. Fort Lauderdale continued to press, using their speed to challenge the Indy defense and forcing Indy goalkeeper Kristian Nicht to make some key saves. But the Indy Eleven defense held strong for the draw.

The team then traveled to Ottawa to play their third match in 8 days. After going down early, the team came from behind to win the match, 2-1. Their first goal came just six minutes after the Fury's, when Fafa Picault picked up an errant pass and made Ottawa pay by scoring his team-leading sixth goal of the year. The game-winner came in the 76th minute when Darnell King scored his second goal of the season, both coming against Ottawa. King made a great run into the top of the box, received a great through-ball from Mark Anderson, and put the ball into the back of the net.

The Silverbacks are coming off a 2-1 loss to the New York Cosmos in a match that was delayed over three-and-a-half hours due to stormy weather on Saturday night. The Silverbacks took the lead, but the Cosmos were able to rally back and take the victory in Atlanta.

"This is a very important game for us," said Strikers Head Coach G-nter Kronsteiner. "We need to get the three points at home against Atlanta so that we can solidify our spot in The Championship. They are only two points behind and they've played one less game than us. We're starting to get healthier, so this should help us moving forward, but we need to continue to build on the momentum that we have established over the past four games."

Tickets to all Strikers home games start at just $12 in advance and are available by calling 954-606-0400 or by visiting www.strikers.com/tickets .

The game will be also be streamed online through NASLLive.com . Fans can subscribe to the service to watch every game in the Fall season. You can also follow the action on Twitter at @FTLStrikers.

Series history (W-T-L)

All-time: Strikers are 5-3-5 (24 GF/17 GA; +7 GD)

At Lockhart Stadium: 3-2-2 (19 GF/10 GA; +9 GD)

Strikers have won the last three matches against Atlanta by a combined score of 11-2

Team news

Injured: Chris Nurse, Pecka (both missed last six matches), Stefan Antonijevic (doubtful, missed last three matches), Justin Chavez (missed three matches), Stephane Guillaume (not match fit)

2014 Stat leaders

Goals: Fafà Picault (6)

Assists: Iván Guerrero (3)

Up next

The Strikers will travel to Edmonton to take on FC Edmonton at Clarke Stadium on Sunday, August 24th. The Strikers next home match is on Friday, August 29th as the Strikers take on the San Antonio Scorpions at Lockhart Stadium at 7:30 PM. Tickets for all home matches are available at www.strikers.com or by calling 954-606-0400. Fans can catch the action on NASLLive.com with a paid subscription. Fans can also follow the team's trip on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @FTLStrikers.

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North American Soccer League Stories from August 14, 2014


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