USL D1 - Sep. 10th - Toronto v. Minnesota (R)

[Steve B]

Lynx destroy Minnesota 5-0. In a decade of going to these games, I don't remember the Lynx dominating a game like they did tonight.

[L.T.]

Hopefully it isn't their last. I think there is still a place for them in this soccer market...

[Grizzly]

If it wasn't for that awful start the Lynx would probably be a title contender at the moment. They have been one of the top teams since the middle of the season. Hopefully they will be able to return next year and keep the nucleus of the team together. I wonder how they would draw if they actually had a successful season for a change.

[Winnipeg Fury]

quote:Originally posted by L.T.

Hopefully it isn't their last. I think there is still a place for them in this soccer market...

Agreed !

[SeanKeay]

After the game, i was talkin to Joe mattachione and he was telling me about the montreal game. He was like, after the 70th min we were pressing to win the game. Cause we wanted to win the V Cup, we wanted to win somthing this year,

So it shows you that the players were actually wanting to win the trophy.

So keep up the good work boys...

[DJT]

quote:Originally posted by Grizzly

If it wasn't for that awful start the Lynx would probably be a title contender at the moment. They have been one of the top teams since the middle of the season.

Indeed. Allison Andrews posted the second-half standings (counting Match #15 through Match #28 for each team) at usldiscussions.com (she had W-L-D but I changed it to W-D-L because I am so used to the latter that the former now confuses me!):

Charleston      8-3-3   27

Rochester       7-5-2   26

Seattle         8-0-6   24

Vancouver       7-3-4   24

Toronto         6-6-2   24

Montreal        6-4-4   22

Miami           6-1-7   19

Puerto Rico     4-5-5   17

Minnesota       5-1-8   16

Atlanta         3-2-9   11

Virginia Beach  3-2-9   11

Portland        2-1-11   7[/code]
That's impressive enough. But the turning point for Toronto came just a few matches before that with their surprising first win over Vancouver in Match #12, followed by a second win in Match #13 over Charleston. So I've added three matches to each team in the table above (Match #12, #13 and #14, which roughly corresponds to all matches since the beginning of July), and now look what happens:
[code]Charleston      9-4-4   31

Toronto         8-6-3   30

Montreal        8-5-4   29

Rochester       8-5-4   29

Seattle         9-1-7   28

Vancouver       8-4-5   28

Miami           8-1-8   25

Atlanta         6-2-9   20

Minnesota       5-3-9   18

Puerto Rico     4-6-7   18

Virginia Beach  4-4-9   16

Portland        3-3-11  12

quote:Originally posted by SeanKeay

After the game, i was talkin to Joe mattachione and he was telling me about the montreal game. He was like, after the 70th min we were pressing to win the game. Cause we wanted to win the V Cup, we wanted to win somthing this year,

So it shows you that the players were actually wanting to win the trophy.

So keep up the good work boys...

That's very nice to hear. I was thinking that a draw was a good result for Toronto, hence they would not normally push for a win in such a situation.

[Rocket Robin]

Result of the Sunday September 10th, 2006 USL game between Toronto Lynx and Minnesota Thunder played at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke at 6:00pm.

4 min...Lynx Kevin Jeffrey GOAL...Thunder goalie Joe Warren errored when he threw a ball that Lynx Matt Palleschi chested down from 20 yards, and ball given to Lynx Jamie Dodds who took a short cross from right that Jeffrey took an 8 yard bicycle kick into top part of right side of net.

9 min...Lynx (MT own goal) GOAL...Lynx Robbie Aristodemo taps freekick from left, Lynx Jamie Dodds blasts 7 yard shot that hits Thunder Dustin Branan in his side and ball deflects off him into top left of net.

42 min...Lynx Kevin Jeffrey GOAL...Lynx Robbie Aristodemo fees ball up middle and Jeffrey has ball bounce off side of Thunder Dustin Branan at 22 yards and back to him wide right and 15 yard shot is low into left side of net over sprawling goalie.

57 min...Lynx Kevin Jeffrey GOAL...Lynx Jamie Dodds cornerkick from left has Jeffrey flick 6 yard header from middle of net into top right corner of net. (Jeffrey then earns a Yellow card from referee Carol Anne Chenard for pulling off his shirt).

72 min...Lynx Damien Pottinger GOAL...Lynx Jamie Dodds cornerkick from left has Pottinger flick in header from 4 yards just under bar.

Final Score:.....Toronto Lynx.......5.........Minnesota Thunder........0.......

Attendance was announced as 1078. I'd estimate there were at least 900 people here on this mild and sunny evening which got colder as the night wore on.

The Thunder had been worn down by playing Rochester Raging Rhinos last night to a close 1-0 loss. They only listed 14 players for this game including backup goalie Nicolas Platter as a midfielder/forward substitute. I had expected they might tire out as the game wore on but didn't expect the Lynx to get this dream start. Surprisingly the Thunder had enough chances to tie the game up but for their inaccurate shooting.

Richard Goddard earned the shutout for the Lynx and had to be sharp. There was no substitute goalie listed for the Lynx tonight.

Besides the goals, the other highlights were at 13 minutes when a pushing incident drew Yellow cards for Thunder's Ansu Toure and Freddy Juarez and the Lynx Rick Titus. At 18 minutes, Lynx Matt Palleschi took a 35 yard freekick from the left that had the goalie palm the ball just over the net. Palleschi had another chance at 23 minutes when he rushed down the left sideline when Kevin Jeffrey pushed him the ball and he cut around defender Brett Branan (brother of hard luck defender Dustin Branan) and his sharp angled 5 yard shot is into the short left webbing of net. At 26 minutes Lynx Chris Williams passed from the right and Lynx Jamie Dodds blasted a 20 yard shot just over the net. Chad Dombrowski had the first Thunder shot anywhere near the net at 31 minutes. At 34 minutes MT Toure got the ball in alone when Lync goalie Richard Goddard fanned on a clearance shot but Lynx Andres Arango slides to knock the 6 yard shot away. In injury time Thunder's Kiki Lara cornerkick from right has the ball bounce in the box and Dombrowski head 3 yarder from left post off the crossbar as he falls forward.

At halftime the Lynx took advantage of their full bench with subs of Joe Mattacchione, Osni Neto, and Damien Pottinger replacing Robbie Aristodemo, Gordon Chin, and Matt Palleschi.

In the second half, non scoring hilights were at 60 minutes when Lara's low 25 yard cross from left had Dombrowski lean into a 7 yard header that flew directly to Lynx goalie Goddard. Just two minutes earlier Dombrowski had an 8 yard shot from right left go wide right and one minute later Toure had a rush on the left and rolled a ball wide left from 10 yards during the Thunder's best flurry of the game. At 67 minutes, Jeffrey flicked a ball past Thunder defender Brett Branan on run on right but then he was bumped over from behind on edge of MT box but no call was given. One minute later Neto was fed a ball up the left wing and his rush ended in a low 12 yard shot that squeezed under the sprawling goalie and deflected off the left post and out of play. Goddard punched out Dombrowski's cross from the right into a crowd of players in the box then a minute caught a cross from Lara. A minute after the final Lynx goal, Lara again crossed this time from 25 yards on the left and Toure headed a two yarder from the right end line wide right. At 79 minutes Toure poked the ball to Thunder's Crhis Brisson who one toucnes a 15 yarder that was trapped by sliding goalie Goddard at 6 yards. At 80 minutes on their last good chance, Lara's cornerkick from left had ball deflect off a few players. The ball was popped back into the box for Combrowski to send a header from 5 yards wide left as he collided with goalie and is injured.

Before the game, the 2006 Lynx player awards were given out as this was the season final. Winner of Public Relations Award this year was Chris Williams. Best Defensive Player was Andres Arango. Best Offensive Player was Jamie Dodds. Fan Favourite Award was Matt Palleschi. Most Valuable Player was Rick Titus. A silent auction was held to divy up game worn shirts of the Lynx players "third kit". I'm sure these were popular with its neon green colour. Could walk down the street in the dark wearing it and never be hit by a car!

The Lynx finish 10th out of 12 teams in the USL First Division. Once again, we can say they put in a good effort too late but we've been saying that for their last 17 games when they've only lost 3 games during that span. Some team press clippings had other teams fearing to play the hot Lynx if they'd made the playoffs. Only thing was it also stated the Lynx had only won 1 game on the road all season. Anyway today it just nice to enjoy the game. Minnesota end up finishing 12th.

The Lynx team now officially breaks up for the year although they do have a commitment to play in the CSL league's organized Open Canada Cup final against Ottawa St Anthony's Italia. I still don't have the details of when that game will be played but I'd expect next weekend because the amature opponents won't travel on a weeknight. Too bad it hadn't been decided as the mood of the Lynx fans was jubilent and they could have captured a few hundred of those fans if it turns out the game is played in the Toronto area.

This was the end of the 10th season for the Lynx. There is a promise that the team will be back in the USL next year. Whether they will play at Centennial Stadium or the downtown located new Varsity Stadium is still to be worked out. The team has heard the new MLS Toronto FC team will play home games Thursdays and Saturday's so they will not go head-to-head. Sunday games are great because most opponents in the last few months have been softened up by playing the Rochester team on either Friday or Saturday before getting into town.

Rocket Robin

robing@eol.ca