July 20/08 Toronto Lynx vs Michigan Bucks

[Rocket Robin]

Result of the Sunday July 20th, 2008 PDL game between Toronto Lynx and Michigan Bucks played at the Varsity Centre in Toronto at 4:00pm.

27 min…Bucks Doug DeMartin GOAL…DeMartin 30 yard shot up the middle deflects off a defender and pops over goalie Nils Binstock and drops into left side of net.

32 min…Bucks Billy Weaver GOAL...Bucks Kenny Uzoigwe takes a quick freekick which he uses to pass from the center to the open wing right wing at 35 yards and Weaver blasts a 20 yard from right to the top left corner of the net.

49 min…Bucks Kenny Uzoigwe GOAL…Uzoigwe fed through ball from 40 yards and gets pass at 25 yards and runs in and on left rolls ball under falling goalie at 12 yards into center of net. (His 10th goal of the year).

Final Score:…..Toronto Lynx……0……….Michigan Bucks………3…………

Attendance was about 50 on this rainy day. This is the lowest attendance I’ve ever seen at a Lynx game and is quite a contrast to the 2500 I saw on Wednesday for a matinee game full of children. There was a pre-game rain but it had stopped before opening kickoff. The rain returned in the second half and got really bad as that half wore on. There was no player tunnel of kids or ball boys and this took its toll with the huge end zones. The referee didn’t add any extra time to either half to compensate for the wasted time.

The second goal was a killer as some Lynx players were protesting the freekick call with referee Rick Zomparelli and the Bucks took advantage by taking a quick freekick giving their player a fast breakaway.

The Bucks are the best team in the division and as it turns out in the conference. The defense gave up only 13 goals in their 16 games this season. Goalie Steve Clark earned his sixth shutout this season (actually equaling Lynx goalie Nils Binstock). The defenders limited the Lynx to shots from outside of the box which were all routine for the goalie to catch. The goalie was one of those screamers yelling instructions to his own players any time the Lynx were within 35 yards of his net.

I questioned how serious the Bucks wanted to win as it would guarantee they would host the conference playoffs. They came to Toronto with only 11 players! I thought they would get tired and it was true as their leading scorer Kenny Uzoigwe was just jogging in the second half after his goal and could hold the ball and pass off. Imagine if MLS Toronto FC’s Danny Dichio had to play 90 minutes a game and you get the idea. The Lynx are the only team to beat the Bucks this year limiting them to a 13-1-2 record. The Lynx finish at 8-6-2 and make the playoffs for the first time since 2000.

The Bucks were the PDL champions in 2006 and runners-up in 2007.

The Lynx game sheet listed five subs but I only counted three on the bench. At least four players were absent at an Under 20 weekend in St Louis and Des Moines trying for a playoff spot. Lynx head coach Duncan Wilde and assistant coach Billy Steele went with the team. Director of Operations Rob Irwin was the honourary coach but assistant coach/defensive stalwart Rick Titus played in only his fourth game of the year.

Before the game, player awards were given out by the team.

Rookie of the Year---Lloyd Grist

Best Defensive Player—Erik DiLorenzo earned it for the second year in a row. He had to watch the game from the stands as he earned a red card near the end of the Cincinnati game on Wednesday.

Best Offensive Player---Jean Tshimpaka

Fan Favourite—Derek Rios (a midfielder)

Most Valuable Player (a media award) ---Daniel Revivo

(I think I am the only member of the media covering the team except that FIFA rep/broadcast journalist Dick Howard may have voted after seeing Wednesday’s game. A pretty safe choice as he led the team with 9 goals (more than twice the number of any other Lynx player).

After the game I congratulated Daniel Revivo for his season. I said Lynx MVPs have a habit of not returning to the team. Revivo says he was going back to university in South Carolina for his final year but has been scouted by MLS teams and has some offers from Europe so he’ll see how it turns out. (His bio says it’s Winthrop University and he’s studying Business Administration/Entrepreneurship).

Losing this game was the only way the Lynx could have made the playoffs as the Bucks had to win the conference to let three teams in from their (Great Lakes) division and the third place team was the Lynx. It’s therefore Des Moines Menace that misses the playoffs for finishing third in the Heartland Division.

The Lynx now have a playoff game against the second place team in their division…Cleveland Internationals who have beat the Lynx both times they’ve played this season.

Rocket Robin

robing@eol.ca

[Rocket Robin]

TORONTO LYNX GAME REPORT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRESENTED BY CAW - THE CANADIAN AUTO WORKERS UNION

Bucks Bring Down Lynx in the Rain

Toronto falls 3-0 to close 2008 regular season

Date: Sunday July 20, 2008

Venue: Varsity Centre

Kick Off Time: 4:05 PM EDT

Final Score: Michigan 3 (2) Toronto 0 (0)

Match Summary:

The Toronto Lynx fell 3-0 to the Michigan Bucks this afternoon in a constant downpour at Varsity Centre in downtown Toronto to wrap up their 2008 Premier Development League regular season. The win clinches the Central Conference Regular Season Championship for the Bucks, and they will host the conference tournament next weekend in Pontiac. Toronto advances to the playoffs for the first time since 2008, and are tentatively scheduled to travel to Cleveland midweek to battle the Internationals for the right to move on to the conference finals at Michigan. The Lynx close the season with their first winning season since 2000 at 8-6-2 (26 points), and only their second in team history.

The teams opened tentatively in the rain, but the pace quickly picked up as both teams drove forward towards each other’s net. Toronto controlled the ball through much of the opening half, and created a number of chances, but could not find paydirt. The Bucks also managed a number of great scoring opportunities, but Nils Binstock came up with a number of athletic stops in the Lynx goal and the score remained even early.

Michigan opened the scoring in the 29th minute on a fluky goal. Doug DeMartin launched a blast towards the Lynx goal from atop the penalty area, and it struck Lynx defender Rick Titus and deflected up and over a stunned Binstock into the net for a 1-0 Bucks lead. Michigan doubled their lead four minutes later with a sublime goal off the right foot of Billy Weaver. Kenny Uzoigwe took a free kick near half, and spotted Weaver free along the touch line about 25 yards in front of the Lynx goal. The forward took the pass and launched a sonic boom of a shot that curled and dipped into the top corner of the Lynx goal past a leaping Binstock for a two-goal cushion for the visitors.

Uzoigwe put the game away for the Bucks himself early in the second half, when he beat Binstock one-on-one in front of the Lynx goal and tucked the ball inside for a 3-nil lead in the 51st minute. The rain intensified shortly after, and neither team was able to muster a serious threat on the slippery pitch throughout the remainder of the match.

The annual Toronto Lynx Player Awards were handed our prior to the match on the field, honouring the best and brightest performances for the Lynx in 2008. Defender Lloyd Grist copped the Rookie of the Year, rewarding his stellar season, which saw him play every minute of every game, while midfielder Derek Rios was selected as Fan Favourite by Toronto Lynx fans. Team captain Erik DiLorenzo, who sat out today’s match due to a red card earned in last Wednesday’s 4-0 rout of the Cincinnati Kings, was named Best Defensive Player, the first Lynx to earn the honour in back-to-back seasons. Forward Jean Tshimpaka picked up the hardware for Best Offensive Player, while leading scorer Daniel Revivo was selected by Toronto media as the 2008 Most Valuable Player.

The Lynx will now head to Cleveland to take on the Internationals in a Great Lakes divisional playoff match, tentatively scheduled for Wednesday evening with time and venue to be announced. Details will be posted on www.lynxsoccer.com as soon as they become finalized by the PDL.

Final Score: Michigan 3 (2) Toronto 0 (0)

Lineups:

Toronto: Binstock, Grist, Titus, Alksnis, Gomes (DeLuca 45), McNamara, DeAbreu, Scott, Omokhua, Revivo, El-Masri

Michigan: Clark, Daniel, Iyoha, Russell, Hertel, Morisset, Stacy, DeMartin, Mollon, Weaver, Uzoigwe

Officials:

Referee: Ricky Zomparelli

Asst. Referee: Andrew Kravets

Asst. Referee: Peter Pendli

4th Official: Brian Butler

Cautions:

Toronto: 1 (69’ Alksnis)

Michigan: 0

Ejections:

Toronto: 0

Michigan: 0

Shots: Toronto: 13 Michigan: 9

Saves: Toronto: 3 Michigan: 6

Fouls: Toronto: 8 Michigan: 6

Offsides: Toronto: 5 Michigan: 3

Corners: Toronto: 1 Michigan: 3

Scorers:

Toronto:

None

Michigan:

29’ DeMartin

33’ Weaver (Uzoigwe)

51’ Uzoigwe