Sunday 18 September 2011

Rowdies vs. NSC Minnesota Stars

Rowdies 1 vs. NSC Minnesota Stars 1
The Rowdies and NSC Minnesota played to a 1-1 draw at Al Lang Stadium Saturday night. With the tie and FC Edmonton's loss at Montreal, the Rowdies has clinched a home playoff game in the NASL quarterfinals. The Rowdies will host the playoff game on Saturday, October 1 at 7:30 p.m. at Al Lang Stadium.
"Tonight was an opportunity to gain three points and we are disappointed that we were not able to do so," said head coach Ricky Hill. "But we are excited to earn a home playoff game in the first round."
The Stars struck first in the 54th minute when forward Brian Cvilikas headed home a pass from Anthony Hamilton for his second goal of the year. The Rowdies answered just five minutes later as forward Mike Ambersley found forward Aaron King down the right side. King beat Warren with his low strike for his ninth goal of the year. Ambersley posted his team-high sixth assist on the goal.
"We were pressing and even at halftime, we felt like we were doing all of the right things," said King. "We just needed to remain patient. It's unfortunate that we didn't get the win, but we did get a point out of it and clinched the home game in the playoffs."
The Rowdies outshot the Stars 11-2 in the first 45 minutes, but NSC Minnesota goalkeeper Joe Warren made seven saves to keep the match scoreless at the half. For the match, The Rowdies held a 16-7 edge in shots. Goalkeeper Jeff Attinella helped earn the point for the Rowdies, saving another Cvilikas shot and keeping another by forward Luke Mulholland out of the net. A final Minnesota attempt to take the lead bounced off the right post and was cleared by the Rowdies' defense.
"We showed resilience as a team and good heart after we went down a goal," said Hill. "We kept working and Aaron King's goal was first-class."

Lineups:
Rowdies Lineup: Attinella, Sanfilippo (Captain), Arango, Hayes, Yamada, Yoshitake (Millien 66'), Gyorio, Savage, Burt (Christie 78'), Ambersley, King (Baptiste 67')
NSC Minnesota Stars Lineup: Warren, Altman (Captain), Davis, Dias, Kallman, Gotsmanov (Hlavaty 45'), Takada, Cosgriff, Hamilton (Rodriguez 71'), Mulholland (Del Do 80'), Cvilikas

Scoring Summary:
Stars: Brian Cvilikas - 54th minute (assisted by Anthony Hamilton)
Rowdies: Aaron King - 59th minute (assisted by Mike Ambersley)

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