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Wild Week 9 Action Sees Minnesota United FC Crowned NASL Spring

June 7, 2014 - North American Soccer League (NASL) News Release


NEW YORK, NY - Minnesota United FC secured the critical point in a 3-3 tie with Tampa Bay Rowdies and were crowned 2014 NASL Spring Champion. The tie put Minnesota at 20 points and clear of New York Cosmos and San Antonio Scorpions who kept the #FightForFirst alive until the last week of the Spring Season.

The end-to-end action and dramatic tie in Tampa Bay was a fitting way for the Spring Season to conclude for Minnesota. They will hoist the Silverware in an event on Tuesday, June 10 with NASL Commissioner Bill Peterson at Brit's Pub in Minneapolis, Minnesota at 12 pm CT/1 pm ET.

Concluding their Spring Seasons, San Antonio Scorpions came away with a point in a 2-2 draw against Fort Lauderdale Strikers, playing most of the match a man down and Atlanta Silverbacks and Indy Eleven battled to a 3-3 draw as well in front of a sold out Silverbacks Park.

Cosmos host Ottawa Fury FC Sunday at Hofstra University's James M. Shuart Stadium at 5 pm ET on Sunday and FC Edmonton welcome Carolina RailHawks at 4 pm ET/2 pm MT at Clarke Stadium.

TBRvMNU The Tampa Bay Rowdies and Minnesota United FC finished the final game of the NASL Spring Season with a 3-3 draw in front of a lively crowd at Al Lang Stadium. With the draw, Minnesota United clinched the NASL Spring Season championship and a berth in The Championship.

The scoring was opened by Minnesota in the 12th minute when Justin Davis put the visitors ahead. The home side managed to claw their way back into the tie through goals from Blake Wagner and Lucky Mkosana in the 33rd and 45th minutes, respectively.

It did not take United too long to make things even once more as they leveled the score at 2-2 just 12 minutes into the second half when Midfielder Daniel Mendes, slotted the ball past a diving Cody Mizell. Minnesota took the lead for a second time when Miguel Ibarra curled a shot with his left foot past Mizell in the 61st minute.

Frankie Sanfilippo brought the two sides even again in the 74th minute. The skipper provided a headed finish for Wagner's corner at the far post.

"Tonight was a great game. It took a lot for us to win the Spring Championship," said Loons coach Manny Lagos. "We had to go on the road twice to get results [in the last two weeks] and we were challenged in both games and great stuff by the guys, couldn't be prouder. Tonight was an outstanding game and the character of this team came through."

"The philosophy of our side tonight was a lot better than in recent times," Rowdies coach Ricky Hill said. "We still have a penchant to concede very, very ordinary goals. I think that's two points dropped, but congratulations to Minnesota for clinching home field advantage on the road to the Soccer Bowl."

ATLvIND

In a game that featured four penalty kicks and a red card, the Atlanta Silverbacks played to a 3-3 draw against NASL newcomers Indy Eleven on Saturday night in front of a soldout crowd of 5,000 fans at Atlanta Silverbacks Park.

Silverbacks forward Jaime Chavez and Indy Eleven forward Mike Ambersley each struck twice to help their respective teams earn a point in a hard-fought battle.

The visitors were reduced to 10 men midway through the second half when defender Fijero Okiomah brought down Jaime Chavez as the last defender.

The Silverbacks pressed forward to increase their lead, and after missing several good scoring opportunities, it was Indy Eleven that would find the net. Former Silverbacks forward Pedro Mendes was brought down in the penalty area by Roushandel, giving substitute midfielder Kleberson the opportunity to equalize in the 88th minute. The former Brazil international did just that, firing a shot into the side netting to make the score 3-3.

Indy Eleven coach Juergen Sommer noted, "[We] got caught out there a little bit. We kind of had our backs against the wall. We either had to show up or take another loss, so its great to see the guys fight back and keep pushing forward."

"We lost our goal keeper we had to make a switch," explained Silverbacks Technical Director, Eric Wynalda. "We utilized this game to get some guys some playing time because we knew we wanted to be rested for Salt Lake but the wheels just fell off and we had the wrong people out there."

SASvFTL

The San Antonio Scorpions played to a 2-2 tie with the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers while playing a man down for much of the match in front of 6,484 fans at Toyota Field.

After scoring in the dying seconds of their last two league matches to snatch road victories, the Scorpions were the ones stung by a late goal in their final match of the NASL Spring Season.

The Scorpions led for most of the second half, but San Antonio's man disadvantage finally caught up to them in the 90th minute when Ft. Lauderdale substitute Fafa Picault headed a cross underneath Scorpions goalie Jeremy Vuolo to knot the score at 2. Late in stoppage time, Walter Restrepo was just inches wide of coming out on top.

In spite of being down a man, San Antonio stayed on the front foot to start the second half and were rewarded for their attacking mindset with a goal in the 57th. Josue Soto, who came on at halftime for Sainey Touray, hit a liner to give the Scorpions the 2-1 lead. Soto then went to work on the defensive end 10 minutes later when he made a chest save at the back post on a Ft. Lauderdale free kick.

"I think it was extremely important for us because this is one of the best teams in the leagues so when you come out with a draw you can be really happy," said Scorpions coach Alen Marcina. "I think we deserved it. In the second half we were playing basically on one goal. We were dominating the game with more than 65% ball possession so I think it was a well deserved draw."

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