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Result of the Sunday June 4th, 2006 USL game between Toronto Lynx and Virginia Beach Mariners played at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke at 6:00pm.
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Toronto Lynx (yellow socks and shirts, black shorts, names and numbers)
...........................22 Theo Zagar
.............6 Andres Arango...3 Rick Titus...12 Marko Bendenikovic
17 Chris Williams...20 Robbie Aristodemo...4 Joe Mattacchione (cpt)...9 David DiPlacido...13 Jamie Dodds
.....................2 Damien Pottinger...21 Neto
Subs:...1 Richard Goddard (gk)...7 Helinho (mid)...8 Kevin Jeffrey (fwd)...11 Kevin Baxter (mid)...15 Matthew Palleschi (fwd)...16 Niels Dekker (mid)
...23 Gordon Chin (mid)
team officials:...head coach Duncan Wilde...assistant coaches Billy Steele and Joe Mattacchione
Virginia Beach Mariners (all white, yellow numbers and names, black trim)
............................1 Matthew Nelson
.............6 Christopher Schwarze...2 Stephen Danbusky...22 Alan Woods
25 Felix Brillant...20 Steve Shak (cpt)...12 Ryan Mack...7 Jeff Bilyk...4 Kupono Low
.................11 Jakob Fenger-Larsen...24 John Barry Nusum
Subs:...27 Dan Roch (gk)...3 Craig Demmin (def)...5 Russell Hutchinson (def)...8 Leepaul Scroggins (mid)...10 Roland Vargas-Aguilera (mid)
...14 Shane McFaul (mid/def)...17 Timothy O'Neill (mid)
team officials:...head coach Jay Hoffman...assistant coaches Jim Rooney and Remi Roy
Game officials:...referee Paul Ward...referee's assistants Amato DeLuca and Daniel Belleau...fourth official Justin Tasev...(all black uniforms)
1st Half:...game starts 6:06pm...Lynx defend north end on this warm evening with the sun in the north west and a slight breeze from the south.
2 min...Lynx goalie catches VBM Low long throw-in from left into goalmouth.
5 min...Lynx Dodds splits defence on right but third defender stops cross shot in box.
6 min...Lynx Aristodemo low cross from right into box has defender slide to clear ball.
8 min...Lynx Pottinger flick forward in box is flagged offside.
9 min...Lynx Pottinger cross from right on end line is deflected by defender to goalie.
10 min...Lynx Mattacchione 45 yard freekick from right has defender head ball away.
11 min...Lynx Aristodemo cornerkick from right is just over Lynx Titus and Lynx Neto shoots 20 yarder over net.
12 min...VBM Nusum gets shot on bouncer into box and ball deflects off defender over net.
13 min...VBM Woods 25 yard cross from left that's just over leaping VBM forward.
14 min...Lynx goalie picks up low VBM Low cross from left along end line.
16 min...Lynx goalie gets hand to palm ball through box on cross from right after constant VBM pressure.
18 min...Lynx Mattacchione low 25 yard shot through crowd of players has goalie pick up wide left of net.
18 min...VBM Low 30 yard freekick up middle and over net.
24 min...VBM Nusum gets leaps to get head on long 50 yard shot into box but bounces 10 yarder to goalie.
25 min...Lynx Dodds on left crosses over box and Lynx Neto gets 10 yarder on one bounce wide left.
26 min...VBM Low run on left to through ball has cross drift behind net.
29 min...VBM Low cornerkick from right has Lynx DiPlacido head away starting fast breakout has goalie come out of box on right to clear.
30 min...VBM goalie picks up through ball on left.
31 min...Lynx goalie charges out to beat VBM Nusum to ball on right.
32 min...Lynx Williams kicks ball on 35 yard ball into box that has Lynx Pottinger chest down but he can't get away a shot.
33 min...VBM Mack has 25 yard freekick on left has ball blocked.
34 min...VBM Nusum flicks 8 yard leaping header wide left of net.
35 min...VBM Mack 20 yard shot is deflected away from net.
37 min...VBM Mack cornerkick from left has ball blown down in box.
38 min...Lynx sub...Palleschi replaces Neto.
39 min...Lynx YELLOW card...Titus for crunching tackle on VBM Nusum at Lynx 35 yard line.
40 min...VBM Woods cross from left has VBM Nusum head ball over net on pop up from 15 yards.
41 min...VBM goalie rushes out to grab ball into box as players around him collide.
43 min...Lynx Pottinger gets to through ball but defender slides under him to block 20 yard shot.
44 min...Lynx Williams crosses from right as he's being pushes over but ball drifts behind net.
46 min...Lynx goalie outleaps VBM player to grab freekick on 40 yard cross into left side of net.
47 min...VBM Mack gets through pass from VBM Low on left that's pushed forward and he leaps sliding goalie but ball is already behind end line when he crosses into outside webbing of net.
48 min...half ends 6:54pm.
2nd Half:...starts 7:09pm...it's sunny and the wind has died.
46 min...VBM Shak cross from right has goalie catch ball in front of crowd of players.
47 min...VBM Brillant long cross from 45 yards on right has VBM Mack 15 yard low shot form left saved by goalie near post.
48 min...Lynx Aristodemo good play to keep ball on left line and cross has Lynx Pottinger 10 yarder deflected over net.
49 min...Lynx Williams charges in to connect on cornerkick cross from right and send 20 yard shot over net.
50 min...Lynx Titus sliding tackle from behind near sideline has VBM Nusum go down. Ooh lucky there wasn't a second Yellow card there!
50 min...Lynx Palleschi sent away with ball on left and gets past two defenders for low 20 yard shot that goalie smothers.
51 min...VBM Fenger-Larsen heads 15 yard shot wide left after receiving long cross from left.
52 min...Lynx goalie has to charge back to pick up header by defender that almost rolls into net.
55 min...Lynx Arango 40 yard cross into box from right caught by goalie.
57 min...Lynx Dodds cornerkick from left has Lynx Pottinger leap in box and can't turn direction, play is whistled down for Lynx hand ball while still inside box.
58 min...VBM sub...Vargas-Aguilera replaces Mack.
59 min...Lynx DiPlacido cross from left over VBM box.
61 min...VBM player's 55 yard freekick has VBM player wide left near end line head ball well wide left.
63 min...VBM Nusum pushes through ball past Lynx Titus but another Lynx defender prevents VBM Fenger-Larsen from connecting in box.
64 min...VBM Nusum on run slips on rush with Lynx Titus on right and is injured at Lynx 20 yard line.
65 min...Lynx sub...Jeffrey replaces Pottinger.
66 min...Lynx Palleschi among players who charge into VBM box but ball stopped.
66 min...Lynx Bedenikovic 25 yard freekick has VBM Bilyk charge out and block ball.
67 min...Lynx Arango slips and can't connect on through into box at 8 yards and goalie grabs ball.
68 min...Lynx Pallleschi gets knocked over in VBM box and Lynx Jeffrey walks ball into net but play ruled offside.
70 min...Lynx Williams 30 yard cross from right has goalie charge to left to left to catch in front of players.
72 min...Lynx Palleschi shot blocked in box, Lynx Jeffrey crosses from right too far for Lynx forward.
73 min...Lynx Aristodemo corss from near right end line has Lynx Jeffrey flying header from 10 yards is actually back across box.
74 min...VBM sub...O'Neill replaces Nusum.
75 min...VBM Shak flick header from 12 yards wide right after VBM Vargas-Augilera freekick from 30 yards on left.
76 min...Lynx sub...Chin replaces Mattacchione.
77 min...Lynx sub...Baxter replaces DiPlacido.
78 min...VBM Vargas-Aguilero 22 yard cross from right has VBM Fenger-Larsen pop up header from 5 yards on left for goalie to grab.
79 min...VBM sub...Demmin replaces Brillant.
80 min...VBM Schwarze long throw-in from right has Lynx defender clear.
81 min...VBM Mack cross from left is bounced through box.
82 min...Lynx sub...Helinho replaces Dodds.
83 min...Lynx Aristodemo 35 yard shot is well over net.
85 min...Lynx goalie leaps up for catch on cross from left.
86 min...Lynx Jeffrey 25 yard freekick from right has spinner that hits left goalpost and deflect over to right where Lynx players keep up the pressure.
89 min...Lynx Bedenikovic cross from left is through players in box.
89 min...Lynx Williams cross has goalie catch.
92 min...VBM sub...Hutchison replaces Bilyk.
93 min...Lynx Baxter low cross into VBM box is cleared.
93 min...Lynx Jeffrey cross has Chin slide through box on left and into post although he misses ball from half a step.
94 min...Lynx Baxter cornerkick from left has Lynx Titus head ball over bar from 10 yards in crowd of players in VBM box.
Final Score:....Toronto Lynx.......0.......Virginia Beach Mariners......0......
Attendance wasn’t announced but someone reliable estimated it as 350 to 400 on this warm, sunny evening. This is only their third home game of the year and I could believe there was probably a CSL match somewhere in our city that outdrew this.
The team gets their first point of the year with this tie that goes with their opening six losses. They have still only scored one goal in seven games and stay last in the twelve team league. When I got out of my car from the parking lot, I heard Shania Twain’s song “Man I Feel Like A Woman” and I thought that may be an omen that they would imitate the Lady Lynx and score some goals. The Lady Lynx earned their fourth shutout in four games last night in Sudbury and has scored a minimum of three goals in every game.
Theo Zagar earned the shutout for the Lynx and Matthew Nelson did the same for the Mariners. Both had to be alert but there weren’t any spectacular saves needed. Both teams had more misses that could have given a win to their team. The Lynx actually looked more threatening than the Mariners in the second half and kept the pressure on.
The Mariners main threat was ex-Lynx player and Bermudian international John Barry Nusum. At 12 minutes Nusum gets a shot on a bouncer into box and the ball deflected off a defender over the net. At 24 minutes, he leapt to get a header on a long 50 yard shot into box but he bounced a 10 yarder to the goalie. At 34 minutes he flicked and 8 yard header on a leap wide left of net. At 40 minutes Alan Woods crossed from the left had Nusum head the ball over the net when he popped the ball up from 15 yards. Nusum was the target for everything in the box because of his height but it also made him the target for tackles. Rick Titus drew a Yellow card at 39 minutes for a crunching hit on Nusum at the Lynx 35 yard line. At 64 minutes, Nusum was running even with Titus for a ball but slipped up on the right and was injured at the Lynx 20 yard line. This had been the third time he’d been hurt in the game. The Mariners finally subbed him at 74 minutes. The most dangerous Mariners chance was in first half injury time when Ryan Mack got a through pass from Kupono Low on the left that he pushed forward and leapt the sliding tackle but the ball was already behind the end line when he crossed into the outside webbing of the net. Great job of Zagar not pulling him down for a Penalty or Red card.
The Lynx started with the forward combo of (local boy) Damien Pottinger who’s come over from the USL Division 2 side Pittsburgh Riverhounds and the Brazilian Neto. Pottinger started off well looking threatening for the first half. Neto was replaced by Matthew Palleschi at 38 minutes. Palleschi looked like the fastest player on the field but couldn’t get away clear shots. He was knocked over a few times but held his temper. New striker Kevin Jeffrey who played last year for Richmond Kickers made his debut at the 65 minute mark replacing Pottinger. He actually walked the ball into the Mariners net at 68 minutes but was ruled offside. He had a 25 yard freekick from the right that bent in and hit the left goal post and deflected back over to the right where the Lynx kept up the pressure but couldn’t get away a clear shot. In second half injury time he crossed through the box from the right and Gordon Chin slid a half step behind from connecting at 3 yards from the left post. A minute later Darren Baxter took a cornerkick from the left that had Rick Titus head the ball over the bar from 10 yards in a crowd of players in the box.
Before I say the Lynx would have scored if the game had gone an extra five minutes, we’ve got to keep in mind that the Mariners had played in Rochester the night before and earned a come from behind 2-2 tie so must have been tired in the second half. Also one of their star forwards, Gregory Simmonds, had Green card problems and couldn’t cross the border into Canada. The Lynx should have scored and now the monkey on their back gets heavier. Their next game is next Sunday against Montreal Impact and Canada’s national team goalie Greg Sutton. No reason why Sutton shouldn’t be looking for a shutout in this game.
Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
Mariners starting line up
Lynx starting line up
In game action
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