Toronto
Sun: Own goal lifts Lynx out of the basement
Own goal lifts Lynx out of the basement
By MIKE KOREEN
-- Toronto Sun
The most important goal of the season for the Toronto Lynx
was scored by a Pittsburgh Riverhounds defender.
The offensively
challenged Lynx netted the winner on a fluke deflection in overtime as Toronto
snapped a six-game losing streak with a 2-1 win over the Riverhounds in an
A-League soccer game before a sellout crowd of 3,500 yesterday at Etobicoke
Centennial Stadium.
Short-handed after Adrian Serioux received his
second yellow card early in overtime, the Lynx (2-7-1) escaped the basement of
the 18-team A-League when Nikki Vignjevic's corner kick bounced off the shin of
a Pittsburgh defender past Riverhounds goalie Randy Dedini in the fourth minute
of the second 10-minute sudden-death overtime period.
It was ruled an
own goal.
"That was huge," Lynx midfielder Robbie Aristodemo said. "If
we didn't get that, I think that could have been it for us this season."
With just nine goals in 10 games, the Lynx are desperate for some
scoring punch. The much-needed win didn't change Lynx general manager/coach
Peter Pinizzotto's plan to scour the market for a forward.
"I feel we
need another forward to help us get some goals," said Pinizzotto, who has a list
of a few forwards from around the league he might try to acquire.
Trailing 1-0 at halftime after Kevin Alvero put a header past Toronto
goalie Theo Zagar in the 29th minute, the Lynx tied it at 1-1 when defender
Milan Kojic moved up to head Vignjevic's cross in the 51st minute.
When
Serioux was sent off the field, it marked the seventh time this season a Lynx
player was ejected.
"We've had a man down almost every game and you
usually only get one or two (ejections) each season," Aristodemo said. "That has
to stop or it's going to hurt us."
It wasn't a perfect day for the Lynx.
Captain and defender Marco Reda apparently is close to signing a contract with
Sogndal, a first division club in Norway, so the Lynx named Zagar the new
captain yesterday.
Toronto's seven-game home stand continues Saturday
against the expansion Calgary Storm.
Pittsburgh's record fell to 2-8-4.
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