Originally posted to Voyageurs Soccer Talk message board
Toronto Sun: Lynx Can't Bypass Catastrophic Play
by Winnipeg
Fury
Lynx can't bypass catastrophic play
By MIKE KOREEN --
Toronto Sun
The bruised and battered Toronto Lynx finally took a
hit in the standings last night at
Varsity Stadium.
With two of
their best defensive players -- captain and defender Marco Reda
and
midfielder Lyndon Hooper -- out because of injuries, the Lynx'
season-opening
eight-game undefeated streak came to a halt as they lost 1-0
to the Hershey Wildcats in
an A-League soccer match before an announced crowd
of 1,427.
The 6-1-2 Lynx, who entered the game as the only
undefeated team in the 25-team
league, sit in first place in the Northeast
Division but hold a mere one-point lead over
the second-place Rochester
Raging Rhinos (6-3-0) with the two teams meeting Sunday
at 7:30 p.m. at
Varsity.
"Eventually you have to lose, but you hope it's not at
home," Lynx coach Peter
Pinizzotto said. "It definitely hurt not having
(Hooper and Reda). It's never easy to
change your lineup."
As
the Lynx were short-handed on defence, it's not surprising that a breakdown at
the
back was the back-breaking play.
After getting away with
numerous defensive errors early in the first half, an ill-advised
back pass
in the 35th minute by Lynx defender Adrian Serioux led to Hershey's goal.
Wildcats forward Steve Klein stole the pass and streaked down the
left side of the
field. With Lynx goaltender Theo Zagar at the edge of his
crease, Klein's shot bounced
off the right post and into the net.
"It's not characteristic for us to give up goals like that," Lynx
midfielder Brian Ashton
said. "Teams should have to work hard to beat us at
home. We can't just give it to
them."
It was only the fifth
goal allowed by the Lynx this season, the fewest by any team in
the league.
After Hershey scored, though, Toronto was the dominant team.
Hershey's defenders were on their heels as the Lynx buzzed around
their goal late in
the game, but Wildcats goaltender Rich Sletvold made
several outstanding saves.
Ashton had a great opportunity to tie
the game in injury time when he dribbled past
Sletvold, but his shot from a
sharp angle just missed bouncing in off the near post.
Posted on Jun 21 2000 , 05:12 AM
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