August 10, 2006 USL Minnesota Thunder vs Toronto Lynx (from Minnesota Thunder website)
08/10/06 Guaranteed Victory Comes Through in 3-0 Thunder Win
Next Home Game is This Sunday Versus Rochester
ST. PAUL, Minn. (Thursday, August 10, 2006) – The Minnesota Thunder guaranteed a win, and it prevailed in a 3-0 victory over the Toronto Lynx on Thursday at James Griffin Stadium.
Before the match, Thunder General Manager Djorn Buchholz “guaranteed” a victory to reward loyal fans. Had the Thunder lost, every fan in attendance would have received a FREE ticket to be used at one of the remaining two Thunder home games, on August 13 or August 20.
The victory pulled the Thunder (5-10-5, 20 points) out of last place and one point ahead of Toronto in the USL Division I Standings.
The Thunder had plenty of offensive pressure in the first half, with six shots on goal, but struggled to get past the Toronto defense and were called offsides seven times.
Forwards Melvin Tarley and Leo Gibson both had first-half breakaways for the Thunder, but neither could get a shot off as each scoring opportunity was stopped by Toronto goalie Theodosis Zagar.
The best scoring chance for the Lynx (5-12-4, 19 points) came in the 35th minute. On a corner kick, defender Andres Arango headed the ball just wide of the goal.
The Thunder erupted in the second half with 13 shots on goal. Defender Dustin Branan almost scored in the half’s opening minutes. His header after a corner kick was saved by a diving Zagar.
Gibson scored the game-winning goal in the 57th minute. A pass from Tarley got behind the Lynx defense and brought Zagar out of the goal box. Gibson beat Zagar to the ball and tapped it into an open goal.
Substitute forward Ansu Toure put the game out of reach for Toronto in the 90th minute. On a cross from Kiki Lara, Toure scored on a diving header inside the Lynx six-yard box to give the Thunder a 2-0 lead.
In stoppage time, Lynx defender Chris Williams took out Thunder forward Nathan Knox from behind. A penalty kick was issued on the play, and Dustin Branan shot it and scored to make the final score 3-0.
The Thunder defense did not allow the Lynx any dangerous scoring opportunities, as goalkeeper Joe Warren only had to make one save to earn a shutout.
The defensive play of the game for the Thunder came in the 54th minute, when Toronto midfielder Jeffrey Kevin got loose on a breakaway. Thunder defender Alfredo Esteves hustled back to prevent Kevin from getting a shot off.
The Minnesota Thunder will next be in action on Sunday, August 13 at 5:05 p.m. in hosting the Rochester Raging Rhinos at James Griffin Stadium. For tickets, call 651-917-TEAM or visit online at www.mnthunder.com.
Starting Lineups:
Toronto: Zagar; Arango, Bedenikovic (Medwin 45), Williams, Steele; Kevin (Pottinger 74), Diplacido (Neto 58), Dodds, Aristodemo, Chin (Dekker 77); Palleschi
Substitution not used: Goddard
Minnesota: Warren; B. Branan, Esteves (Kallman 86), Dombrowski, D. Branan; Juarez (Brisson 89), Tenoff (Lara 85), Schmidt, Alvino; Gibson (Toure 65), Tarley (Knox 58)
Substitutions not used: Paye, Platter
Game Summary:
Scoring Summary:
MIN: Gibson 57 (Tarley)
MIN: Toure 90 (Lara)
MIN: D. Branan 90 (penalty kick)
Game Statistics:
Toronto: Shots: 6, Fouls: 10, Offside: 3, Corners: 2
Minnesota: Shots: 19, Fouls: 16, Offside: 9, Corners: 3
Goalkeeper Statistics:
Zagar (Toronto): Shots faced: 19, Saves: 7, Goals allowed: 3
Warren (Minnesota): Shots faced: 6, Saves: 1, Goals allowed: 0
Cautions:
MIN: Dombrowski 28
MIN: Tarley 45
MIN: Juarez 67
TOR: Palleschi 68
Attendance: 2,802
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