| TORONTO - Sunday
night's 3-2 win against Rochester Raging Rhinos had special significance
to the Toronto Lynx for a number of reasons, not the least of which was
the five points picked up to put the Lynx in a strong position for the
third and vital cutoff spot for automatic entry to the upcoming playoffs
leading to the A-League championship.
The Lynx now have 43 points with seven games remaining
(five at home), and trail leaders Rochester (62 points with four games
remaining), and second place Long Island (53 points with six games
remaining). The Lynx are six points in
front of the fourth place
Montreal Impact (37 points, four games remaining.)
The win on Sunday also gave Toronto a split of the
weekend 2-game home and home series, played back to back with the Rhinos
winning the opener, 2-1, on Saturday night. The win also snapped a
five-game losing streak during a time the injury-riddled Lynx went into a
slump and were winless
since the 2-1 defeat of the Boston Bulldogs on
July 8.
Nikola Vignjevic led the Lynx rally on Sunday night
with two precision penalty kicks that gave the attacking midfielder his
third and fourth goals of the season.
But the best of the night's five goals came from Lynx
forward Aaron Benjamin, a 21 year old Toronto-born talent, one of a number
of local players put on trial at the beginning of the season by Lynx head
coach Peter Pinizzotto. The 64th minute strike that turned out to the
winning goal was
accomplished with considerable power and great flair
by the young player. He left Rochester goalkeeper Scott Vallow flat-footed
and only able to watch the ball hit the roof of the net from 20
yards.
LYNX AT BOSTON ON THURSDAY
With seven games remaining to the end of the regular
season, the Lynx visit Boston Bulldogs on Thursday night, August 17, the
fourth and final time these two teams come together in the regular season
schedule. The Lynx meet the Bulldogs having won the previous three
encounters. The Bulldogs have a 7-14-2 record in the Northeast
Division.
VANCOUVER 86ers HERE ON SUNDAY
Toronto's next home game is this coming Sunday, August
20, a game televised live by CTV Sportsnet. The game is Ontario Special
Olympics Night when the Lynx acknowledge and pay tribute to the mentally
challenged and their excellence in sports. Pre-game ceremonies are set for
7.30pm, with a kickoff time of 8.05 p.m.
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