Lynx Captain Marco Reda to go on trial with Sogndal of Norway
by Jarrek

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CAPTAIN MARCO REDA
MOVIN’ ON UP
LYNX CAPTAIN TO TRIAL WITH SOGNDAL IN NORWAY

TORONTO, ON—(May 30, 2002)… Fans of the Toronto Lynx received some bitter sweet news today as team captain Marco Reda has been invited to trial for one week with Sogndal (1-6-2, 13th place), a First Division Norwegian Club. The Woodbridge, Ontario native will be in the line up for Friday’s important game against Pittsburgh and will leave for Norway the next night. The Lynx defender has played his entire five-year A-League career with Toronto and is one of the club’s true leaders both on the field and in the community.

Reda’s journey to Norway began last month when Sogndal lost their central defender to a broken leg and began looking for someone to fill the void. While scouting for a replacement, Reda’s agent Barry Maclean, contacted the Norwegian club to see if they would be interested in the 24 year-old defender. Sogndal then flew their scout out to evaluate Reda during the Lynx’s historic 1-0 win over TSV 1860 Munich in mid-May. To no one’s surprise Sogndal was extremely impressed with Reda’s poise and defensive presence on the field.

While General Manager and Head Coach Peter Pinizzotto hates to see someone of Reda’s caliber leave during the season, the veteran coach is happy to see his
players move up. “Marco Reda is one of our top defenders, no question”, said Pinizzotto. “It’s tough to see him leave because you can’t replace players
like Marco everyday. Marco has worked hard on his game over the last couple of years and deserves this opportunity. We wish him the best of luck during
his trials in Norway”.

Reda, for the most part, is taking a low-key approach to the good news. “I’m going to go out there and try to do my best”, said the Lynx captain. “If it works out, great. If it doesn’t, that’s fine too. I’m already part of a great team here so I’ve got nothing to lose”.

The defender also downplayed concerns that his absence, either for the long term or the short term, will hurt the team significantly. “We’ve got a lot of
skilled guys on this team and I know that we are capable of succeeding with or without me. It’s tough having to leave the guys right in the middle of the
season but I’d be crazy not to take advantage of this opportunity”.

If Reda is able to stick with Sogndal he will join past Lynx stars Dwayne DeRosario, Paul Stalteri, Pat Onstad and Chris Pozniak as elite players who
have used Toronto and the A-League as a vehicle to showcase the growing emergence of Canadian soccer talent to clubs overseas.


TORONTO AND PITTSBURGH BOTH LOOK TO BREAK OUT OF SLUMPS THIS FRIDAY

The Toronto Lynx (1-4-1, 5 points) will play game seven of their
season-opening eight game road trip this Friday as the club travels to
Pittsburgh to face off against the Riverhounds (1-6-2, 6 points) in a key
Northeast divisional match up. Kick off at Bethel Park Stadium is set for
7:35 p.m.

The game is a critical match for both teams as it pits together two clubs who
have hit a bit of a rough patch lately. After starting 1-1-1, Toronto has
dropped three straight games while Pittsburgh enters Friday’s game winless in
it’s last eight (0-6-2). With both teams chasing Montreal (2-2-0, 8 points)
and Rochester (3-1-0, 12 points) in the Northeast Division, neither club can
afford to lose this match and fall further behind the division leaders.

Toronto and Pittsburgh have already met once this season back on April 20.
Pittsburgh currently holds a 1-0 season series advantage over Toronto as a
result of the Riverhounds 2-1 season opening victory over the Lynx. Toronto,
who with a 2-0 loss to Montreal last Sunday, has fallen to 0-2 in the
Northeast Division play and Head Coach Peter Pinizzotto knows that the Lynx
have to break out of their slump fast. “Obviously, a key to us making the
playoffs this year is for us to play well against opponents in our division”,
said Pinizzotto. “Right now we are 0-2 within our division and that has to
change. Pittsburgh is going to be a tough game. They’ve been going through a
tough skid lately and this game is as important for them as it is for us. I
expect this to be one of our toughest challenges of the season”.


ANOTHER LYNX SIDELINED BY SUSPENSION

Suspensions continue to be the achilles heel for the Toronto Lynx as forward
Irasto Knights was the fifth different Lynx player this year to receive a
red-card as a result of his actions last weekend against Montreal. Knights
received the red card in the 81st minute of Toronto’s 2-0 loss to the Impact
on Sunday for elbowing an Impact defender in the head. The Trinidad native
received a two game suspension by the A-League and while he will be eligible
to suit up for the match against the Riverhounds, Knights will miss the Lynx’s
home and home series against Charleston on Friday, June 7 and Sunday, June 9.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
ERIC MICHALKO – MEDIA RELATIONS COORDINATOR
(416) 251-4625, ext. 25

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