From Minnesota Thunder web site at mnthunder.com
The host Minnesota Thunder exploded for five goals in a 29-minute span of the second half Saturday and rolled past the Toronto Lynx 5-0 in front of 3,869 at Blaine’s National Sports Center.
The Thunder scored five goals in a half for the first time since joining the A-League in 1997 and matched their scoring total from the previous six games (615 minutes). Five of those six games went into a shootout.
After a scoreless first half, midfielder Stoian Mladenov notched his first goal since May 29 by collecting a diagonal ball from midfielder Morgan Zeba near the top of the penalty area and slotting a left-footed shot past Toronto goalkeeper Jim Larkin in the 57th minute. Eight minutes later, forward Mike Saunders took a pass from fellow front-runner Paul Schneider and beat a defender before scoring from near the penalty spot.
One minute after replacing Saunders in the 77th minute, forward Gerard Lagos earned Minnesota its first-three goal bonus point since June 12 by hammering a 20-yard shot into the lower left corner. In the 81st minute, Schneider scored his second Thunder goal (and first since June 12) by nodding home rookie midfielder Eric Otto’s cross from the right corner of the 6-yard box. The assist was Otto’s first in four appearances for the club.
Schneider figured in Minnesota’s fifth goal, which came in the 86th minute after Mladenov’s ball from the middle found defender John Sylvester racing down the right flank. Sylvester slid the ball along the top of the 6-yard box, and Zeba finished neatly into the lower left corner after a deft flick by Schneider, who doubled his previous point total with one goal and two assists in 60 minutes.
Schneider came on as a substitute for leading scorer Amos Magee, who left in the 30th minute with a strained right groin. Magee had missed the previous three games with a strained right Achilles’ tendon.
Lost in Minnesota’s scoring outburst was goalkeeper John Swallen’s league-leading ninth shutout. Swallen made four saves, the best of which might have come in the fifth minute when he stoned Brazilian forward Dos Santos from about 10 yards and then scrambled to keep the ball from trickling away for a corner kick.
Minnesota (12-4, 47 points) visits Milwaukee (9-7, 37 points) Tuesday night in its first road game since May 22. The Thunder, who are 4-2 away from home, finished their recent 11-game home stand 7-2 in A-League games and 8-3 overall.
Toronto (7-12, 30 points) lost its third straight game and second in two nights. Milwaukee defeated the Lynx 2-1 Friday night.
Minnesota is 5-0 against teams that have played in Milwaukee the night before, and the Thunder have outscored those squads 22-0.
Game 18 – Minnesota Thunder vs. Toronto Lynx
7:35 p.m. Saturday, July 17 – National Sports Center
Minnesota 5, Toronto 0. Goals: Stoian Mladenov (Morgan Zeba) 57, Mike Saunders (Paul Schneider) 65, Gerard Lagos 78, Paul Schneider (Eric Otto) 81, Morgan Zeba (Paul Schneider) 86.
Minnesota – John Swallen, Kalin Bankov, Don Gramenz, C.W. Raines, John Sylvester, Aaron Leventhal, Morgan Zeba, Stoian Mladenov, Luis Labastida (Eric Otto, 77), Amos Magee (Paul Schneider, 30), Mike Saunders (Gerard Lagos, 77).
Toronto – Jim Larkin, Ricardo Munguia, Stuart Black (Ervin Ryta, 80), Adrian Serioux, Milan Kojic, Rudy Doliscat (Carlo Arghittu, 70), Brian Ashton, David DiPlacido, Gaucho (Joe Mattacchione, 62), Lloyd Barker (Nikki Vignjevic, 62), Dos Santos.
Shots – Minnesota 9, Toronto 8. Saves – Swallen (MIN) 4, Larkin (TOR) 1. Fouls – Minnesota 14, Toronto 17. Offside – Minnesota 8, Toronto 3. Corner kicks – Minnesota 4, Toronto 1. Cautions – Ashton (TOR) 34. Ejections – DiPlacido (TOR) 88. Attendance – 3,869. Officials – Mac Pinsky, Mishaun Ahmad, Tony Vasoli, Jeremy Schroeder.
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