The defending Western Conference champion Minnesota Thunder edged the San Diego Flash, 2-1, in the Game 2 of the Western Conference Championship series to advance to the A-League final against Rochester or Hershey.
A Douglas Stadium crowd of 2,983 watched as Minnesota swept San Diego for the second year in a row.
The Thunder won despite the dismissal of Swedde Moragn Zeba in the 14th minute for his second yellow card in a nine-minute span.
Minnesota took the lead in the 27th minute on a goal by Amos Magee, who slipped through the confused San Diego defense and tapped the the ball into the goal.
In the 80th minute, Bulgarian Kalin Bankov converted a penalty kick to give the Thunder its ticket to the A-Leaguefinal.
The kick was awarded after Carlos Farias tripped Gerard Lagos in the box.
San Diego's goal came in the 83rd minute when Nate Hetherington scored off a rebound.
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