Category Archives: IMSoccer News

San Antonio Scorpions Blank Tampa Bay Rowdies 4-0

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First published on IMSoccer News

San Antonio Scorpions FC took on the Tampa Bay Rowdies at Heroes Stadium still holding on to the top spot in the NASL with 39 points before Sunday’s match against the Rowdies.  The Scorpions came in to the contest four points ahead of the Rowdies who were tied on points with Puerto Rico. In their last meeting, the Rowdies came back to defeat the Scorpions 3-2 in June with two goals in the final minutes of the match.

Tampa Bay were without their game winner from their last meeting, Tsuyoshi Yoshitake, who made the move to Hong Kong club Yokohama FC.  San Antonio Scorpions on the other hand were without Blake Wagner due to a one game suspension for card accumulation but Jonathan Greenfield would step in to replace him.

Coach Ricky Hill elected to come out with a 4-3-3 formation and pressed San Antonio early and enjoyed a great portion of the possession.  The play was scrappy but Tampa Bay kept the ball in San Antonio’s half for the most part and did a good job managing the counterattack but the calmness would only last so long.

In the 7th minute, Walter Ramirez broke free on the left flank and Josue Soto slotted the ball through the defense to Ramirez.  Ramirez gathered the ball just outside of the box and rifled a shot past Rowdies keeper Jeff Attinella for the game’s first of the night.

As the Rowdies attempted to recover from going down a goal early it proved to be more difficult to get anywhere near Daryl Sattler’s goal.

Soon after the first strike, Kevin Harmse collected the ball in transition and played a through ball for Pablo Campos in the 16th minute. Campos gained his composure and skillfully navigated his way around Attinella to finish off a fine run for the second goal, and his 17th of the season.

In the 19th minute Tampa Bay broke on a counter attack and forward Mike Ambersley worked his way free on the right flank to get a shot off but the attempt was never troubling for Sattler.  The Rowdies managed only three shots in the first half and Sattler only had to make one save and has yet to concede a goal at Heroes Stadium in NASL competition.

“We have a solid foundation back there and it’s really nice because we are starting to defend a little more from the top and through the midfield.  That’s what we need to do and there’s a reason we give up the fewest amount of goals in the league and that’s what we need to continue doing,” said Sattler.

In the 28th minute Pablo Campos slalomed his way through the Tampa Bay defense and as he made his way into the box, his touch was heavy and looked as if it was heading out of bounds. But the tall Brazilian’s presence was enough to force Attinella from his line to challenge.  The resulting play ended up in a foul against Pablo Campos and a penalty was awarded to the Scorpions.

Luckily for Tampa Bay, Attinella was not the last defender, which saved him from being ejected, but his luck didn’t prevent Campos from finishing in the upper left corner to bring the score to three goals and securing his 18th of the season.

The attack would continue for the Scorpions a few minutes later when Hans Denissen was released on the right flank from a Josue Soto pass and crossed the ball into an open Kevin Harmse.  Harmse was fouled in the process of redirecting the ball toward the goal and the Scorpions were awarded their second penalty.  Campos stepped up to take the penalty but would prove to be unsuccessful as the shot was saved by Attinella for a small amount of redemption.

The first half ended with another Campos breakaway but the tricky forward was stopped before causing anymore damage. Just afterwards Campos was fouled again but just outside of the box for a free kick which was sent over the bar by Denissen.

The second half started with some changes to the Scorpions lineup with Pablo Campos subbed for new man Jeff Cunningham. Cunningham was making his second appearance since recently signing with the Scorpions, and assumed the loan target man role played so well in the first half by Campos.

The Scorpions pressed early in the second half but the game quickly turned into a testy situation with a rough foul to Wes Knight early in the half followed by a couple of cautions to Tampa Bay which ultimately led to a stand-off between the two teams. Tampa Bay forward Mike Ambersley and Scorpions keeper Daryl Sattler received cautions for their part respectively.

After the hour mark the game was growing more difficult for Tampa Bay but they were defending as much as they were attacking with five shots in the second half.  Certainly they were working harder on the offensive end after making a few changes.  Fafa Picault and Evans Frimpong came on for Tampa and injected some dangerous attacking presence causing the Scorpions defense to reorganize a few times. Tampa Bay’s back line were also putting in a solid defensive performance in the second half and was in large part responsible for keeping the scoreline from growing.

However, with the introduction of Esteban Bayona in the latter stages of the second half San Antonio’s attack came alive once again. Bayona and Cunningham seemed to work well with each other and the rookie, Bayona, tirelessly ran down every ball which relieved some of the pressure off of Cunningham who began taking his chances when they came.

But it would prove to be Bayona’s night when in stoppage time the Colombian gathered a pass from Denissen and sprinted toward goal, firing a shot past Attinella to score his sixth of the season. Bayona’s strike places him as the club’s second leading goal scorer.

The SA Scorpions FC end the night with 42 points and remain top of the league with a 12-6-4 record. More importantly, it clinches a playoff spot for the first year club.

The Scorpions will now play three straight matches on the road, beginning with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.  The road stretch should prove to be great preparation to finish out the season for the Bexar County club.

San Antonio Scorpions Fall to Battle-Tested Puerto Rico Islanders

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First published on IMSoccer News

Courtesy San Antonio Scorpions

The Puerto Rico Islanders defeated the San Antonio Scorpions 2-1 with a brace from Nicholas Addlery. The spirited match was played at Heroes Stadium on Sunday evening in front of 10,183 fans.

This match was highly touted in San Antonio as a rivalry in the making with both teams at the top of the table and each claiming wins on each other’s home field. The Islanders embarrassed the Scorpions 4-0 in San Antonio’s home debut. The Scorpions returned the favor with a 2-0 win over the Islanders in mid June at Bayamon Soccer Complex. Puerto Rico won the third match 1-0 at home on July 11th, in a heated affair that caused post-match suspensions that impacted Sunday’s match.

Starting Scorpions goalkeeper Daryl Sattler, and Islanders midfielder Osei Telesford, were both suspended by the league due to an incident which occurred in the mid-July game. The importance of the match to Scorpions coach Tim Hankinson was obvious as he arranged for Houston Dynamo back up goalkeeper, Tyler Deric, to be loaned to his club for just this one match. Back up ‘keeper Pat Hannigan had only recently returned to the squad after a long absence due to injury.

The Scorpions started the match with some patient possession, pinning the Islanders back and stifling any attack through the center of the park.  Puerto Rico didn’t seem threatening to start the game but did manage to penetrate with an early chance on goal.

In the thirteenth minute Josue Soto drifted inward from the right side and let loose a solid shot at Islander ‘keeper Richard Martin forcing an early save. This seemed to awaken the home team and a few attacks led to some serious pressure on Puerto Rico’s defense.

Pablo Campos was taken down around the 28th minute and Walter Ramirez stepped up and blasted a free kick wide and to the left.

Almost immediately the Islanders answered with a through ball right above the eighteen yard box, unleashing top scorer Nick Addlery who finished with confidence to the bottom left of Deric. The goal was scored in the 31st minute.

Just before halftime, the Islanders’ Hector Ramos, who had a great performance on the night, gathered the ball and ran at the Scorpions’ defense and was fouled, setting up a free kick. Noah Delgado sent a shot to the top left corner that Deric saved nicely. Puerto Rico finished the half on the attack with a few solid offensive opportunities and winning the midfield battles.

Puerto Rico started the second half as they ended the first half with some dangerous offensive opportunities in front of San Antonio’s goal.  Things developed nicely for the Islanders when in the 50th minute Addlery was set free due to some sloppy defensive play from the Scorpions and Deric was forced to come out early but was beaten to the ball by Addlery, who slotted it past the ‘keeper making the score 2-0.

Almost immediately afterward a long ball from deep in San Antonio’s half went over the top to a racing Esteban Bayona who collected himself under pressure and got the shot past Martin but the ball rolled into the bar denying the Colombian and the Scorpions an opening goal.

Bayona put in a solid performance but made way for new signing Jeff Cunningham to make his San Antonio debut. Hans Denissen also received his first playing time after coming back from injury and both players began contributing immediately.

On the 70th minute Campos broke free from a back pass and capitalized on a sloppy play from the Islanders’ defense. He headed the ball over advancing Islanders goalkeeper Richard Martin and followed the ball into the net for the goal. Although San Antonio was never truly out of the game they were certainly not playing their finest match at Heroes Stadium.

After the goal, the Scorpions pressed the Puerto Rico Islanders’ defense with some strong attacks from both flanks but Denissen was clearly the linchpin on the left flank. Cunningham also contributed but looked distracted by coming into the midfield looking to get involved in the attack on several occasions and never gathered any momentum going forward in order to make a significant impact.

The Puerto Rico Islanders ended the game on top and leave San Antonio victorious in the season series. The two clubs share a commonality on the field in style of play and grittiness but their competitiveness is making the clubs hate playing each other and has turned the competition into something beyond a regular match, regardless of the context.

“The first half, we were outplayed in the midfield. We were trying too hard to defend their quickness and speed. In the second half we did better and started to create chances but overall they had the upper hand on us tonight. It’s unfortunate we didn’t come with our best tonight because you need your best in order to beat that team,” said Hankinson.

“They have two chances, they score two goals. They were definitely ready to play, credit to them they did really well,” said Scorpions captain Kevin Harmse.

More on the suspensions to Sattler and Telesford.

The NASL was contacted during the match to get more information on the suspensions to Sattler and Telesford. According to the league, Sattler and Telesford were not disciplined by officials but were caught in the video of the July 11th match getting into a confrontation that saw “a  melee involving all 22 players.” NASL Commissioner David Downs told IMS that it was their decision to suspend the two players for one game and to apply that suspension to the last meeting between the two teams in hopes of  ”reducing tensions between the two teams.”

Speaking about the decision to suspend Sattler, Coach Hankinson said after the match, “The league decided they needed to sit it out against each other. I look at the confrontation against Puerto Rico, the two players kind of went head-to-head over a foul to another player and there was no yellow card or verbal warning.  To me it was not the right decision to suspend, but it was a league decision and they will do what they feel is best for the league.”

Link

NASL Podcast Episode #40; Scorpions 8-0 Blowout, Week 17 Recap

Podcast courtesy of IMSoccer News

Description: NASL Podcast #40, with Jay Long, Brian Quarstad and Gerry Wittmann as we talk about the past weeks games in the NASL. We focus in on the 8-0 drubbing of the Carolina RailHawks by the San Antonio Scorpions by speaking to IMS correspondent, Andrew Arellano who reports from San Antonio. We also recap week #18 of the NASL season and look at the Puerto Rico Islanders as they head into CONCACAF Champions League play.

San Antonio Scorpions Dominate Carolina Railhawks with 8-0 Thumping

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First published on IMSoccer News

San Antonio shuts out Carolina 8-0 behind a four goal performance by NASL scoring leader Pablo Compos.

The Carolina Railhawks visited Heroes Stadium Saturday night for the first time ever, looking to improve their away form with only one win on the road.  The Railhawks have improved in recent weeks adding six wins to their record after a rocky start to their season. Carolina Midfielder, Nick Zimmerman, came into the contest as the league’s second leading scorer with 9 goals on the season and faced his ex-teammate and league leading goal scorer Pablo Campos.

San Antonio were looking to continue a string of strong performances still atop the league behind the news of a big player signing earlier this week of Jeff Cunningham.

The Scorpions started the match with debutant Luis Tiago from Brazil in attack with his fellow countryman Pablo Campos.  Missing Kevin Harmse from a suspension last week San Antonio head coach Tim Hankinson elected to start with a four man midfield and two strikers in a 4-4-2 formation.

The game started on equal footing but just under five minutes Jonathan Greenfield rather lazily pointed a cross from a free kick in the direction of the six yard box.  The ball bounced around the Carolina defense as the Railhawk defenders struggled to clear the six.  As the ball fell away from the crowd an astute Greg Janicki turned on a dime and finished the shot past Carolina keeper Ray Burse for the first goal of the night.

Around the 15th minute mark Carolina began looking comfortable in possession until during a venture forward they turned the ball over to the Scorpions and Fabian Kling moved the ball wide to Tiago who picked out Campos further forward.  The pass was poorly dealt with between the two Railhawk defenders but the ball could have been easily cleared.  However, Campos never gave up on the play and pestered the defenders into sending a stray ball toward their own box to which Campos obliged himself to hammer into the back of the net past a helpless Burse.

Carolina continued to look like a team who really wasn’t ready to start the match and with a two goal deficit continued to hemorrhage possession turing the ball over constantly.

Despite their horrible form early in the match, their play began to improve with some great passing sequences through the midfield.

But even as they began to settle in, another turnover in the Scorpions half led to a fast break up the field and a precise through ball was sent forward to Campos and the tall Brazilian looked set to break until he was fouled from behind by Carolina defender Austen King. King was deemed the last defender by the referee and he was penalized with a red card.  The resulting free kick banged off of the post denying Luis Tiago his first goal for the Scorpions.

Carolina certainly had their opportunities in the Scorpions’ half playing quite open but their most dangerous opportunity was a low driven shot from Railhawk midfielder Zach Schilawski.  Scorpions keeper Daryl Sattler easily handled the shot to end the half and any hope for Carolina to get back into the game.

The second half started with Esteban Bayona coming on for Luis Tiago and Bayona immediately began to contribute offensively.  Around the 53rd minute Greenfield gained control of the ball and moved forward releasing Pablo Campos who broke free from Carolina defender Gale Agbossoumonde, and was brought down in the box for a penalty.

Campos cooly finished the PK in the lower left corner exercising past demons from the last time he was in front of the center spot where he missed two penalties against Puerto Rico during the home opener.

Shortly after, San Antonio earned a corner kick and Josue Soto sent an expertly taken corner kick which Greg Janicki finished with a towering header scoring his second of the night.  Almost immediately aferward Esteban Bayona found himself breaking toward the Carolina goal with only Carolina defender Agbossoumonde to beat and fought past the US U-23 international slotting the ball past Burse into the opposite corner scoring his fifth goal of the season.  The scoreline was 5-0 and the Scorpions looked no closer to holding back.

Just about then, Blake Wagner, in the 65th minute, pressed forward in possession of the ball and was practically invited to shoot about twenty yards out.  Wagner pointed his head down and drove a ball high and to the right with a blistering shot past Burse ballooning the score to six and cementing Carolina’s road misery.

Shortly afterward, Walter Ramirez received the ball from a 40 yard pass by right back Wes Knight.  He controlled the pass on the opposite side of the field and sent a cross toward the box meeting Bayona.  Bayona helped the ball toward the net but Campos helped himself to a wide open goal and scored for a hat-trick.

Carolina continued to believe that attacking with few numbers was going to bring them closer to a goal.  Turnovers, however, continued to haunt Carolina and in the 71st minute, Ramirez, collected a ball in the midfield and raced toward the goal leaving the Carolina defense in his wake with only Agbossoumonde to beat.

Ramirez, couldn’t get past the defender and needed to adjust his attack but saw that Campos was all alone in front of goal.  Ramirez passed to Campos and the Brazilian forward padded his score total with a quick and easy finish topping a four goal performance against his former club.

Carolina had no illusions at this point and were giving everything to stay organized through the defense and midfield.  Zach Schilawski was the lone forward for Carolina and seemed lost amid a forest of white jerseys as he patiently waited for the ball.  The ball never came and when it did, the Scorpions defenders easily redirected Carolina’s advances.

The Scorpions continued their dominance toward the end of the match with an eight goal win shutting out Carolina in their second match of the season.  The Scorpions continue next week hosting the Puerto Rico Islanders who trounced San Antonio by four goals during their inaugural home opener.

The Scorpions have already beaten Puerto Rico at home and will go into the match with a great deal of confidence, especially up front.

“A striker needs confidence, when you’re not confident it’s very hard to score,” said Campos about his 4-goal performance. “My teammates respect me and they fight for me as I do the same for them.  It is a mutual feeling and that’s what makes a great environment to play in.”

Earlier in the week the Scorpions signed MLS veteran and goal machine Jeff Cunningham from his short stint in Guatemala. Cunningham comes into a squad with 32 points at the top of the table and will most likely provide additional scoring punch deep into the middle of the season.

On the prospect of Cunningham and Campos partnering in the offense, head coach Tim Hankinson said, “I do see Cunningham and Campos partnering up front, They’re slightly different types of players, it will take time for everyone to get to know each other.  But Pablo has played against him, Blake (Wagner), Pitchkolan, Harmse have all played with him, Wes (Knight) has played against him.  It’s not like he’s a guy coming from overseas that guys have never seen play before, so I think he will be embraced pretty quickly.”

U.S. International Terrence Boyd Stars in Austrian Debut

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U.S. International Terrence Boyd Stars in Austrian Debut.

Article about US International Terrence Boyd courtesy of IMSoccer News.

It’s obvious the player has talent, but we all need to remember he is still very young.  Some might say that it’s surprising a relatively unknown player would be selected for the senior USMNT so quickly, but I’m not one of them.  Terrance Boyd was on fire for Dortmund’s reserves side, leading the offense scoring 20 goals in 32 games leading the side to promotion.

I’m not surprised, however, that he never made it to the senior Dortmund side as they were busy claiming the domestic and league cup double.  It’s hard to imagine Boyd breaking into the line-up with players like Kagawa and Lewandowski ahead of him.  But is it really?

Look at Neven Subotic, another former US player now playing for Serbia, he broke into the squad when the talent was just being farmed and Dortmund began their recent run of good form.  Subotic benefited from the club moving in a new direction and a vacuum of talent.

Boyd might have benefited from staying with Dortmund, let’s hope his time in Austria is on loan because it appears that Dortmund might be in the market to sell some of their assets as they already have done with Shinji Kagawa after selling him to Manchester United.

Rumors continue to spin around top Bundesliga striker Lewandowski and German youngster Mario Gotze as to their future at the club.  But clearly Dortmund are looking to retool for the upcoming Bundesliga season with some new signings in Marco Reus and Leonardo Bittencourt.

The video is Terrence Boyd in a recent friendly where he had two stunning bicycle kicks, one of which ended up in the net.  It also features new Roma signing, US International Michael Bradley.

San Antonio Scorpions Outlast Fort Lauderdale Strikers for 1-0 Win

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First published on IMSoccer News

The SA Scorpions FC faced the Fort Lauderdale Strikers riding in on first place after a couple of strong performances on the road and a seven match unbeaten streak at home. The last meeting with the Strikers ended in a draw at Lockhart Stadium with two goals for both sides. Pablo Campos came into the match as the league’s leading scorer and looks poised to continue his strong form from last season.

The Strikers’ starting lineup was largely unchanged from their last match, but it was clear their game plan was offensive by nature, employing four forwards with only two midfielders in support in a  4-2-4 formation, somewhat reminiscent of the five forward lineup utilized by Tottenham Hotspur under Osvaldo Ardiles back in the day.

Fort Lauderdale was obviously looking to capitalize on the counterattack by shortening the distance between the defense and the attack. Although it was four forwards, clearly three of the forwards were lagging back at times making almost a 4-2-3-1 formation. It was a very organized attempt at pressuring early and often with long balls often bypassing the midfield to spur the attack.

Most of the pressure, however, was largely dealt with by the experienced Scorpions defense in the early stages of the game. Both teams had something to play for in terms of league standings so after the initial pressure was held the Scorpions began pushing back and Campos had a couple of ventures in and near the box that proved dangerous. The Strikers finally fouled the tall Brazilian, giving Denissen a free kick outside of Fort Lauderdale’s box. Denissen took an aggressive shot directly toward the goal mouth instead of crossing the ball, which caused Fort Lauderdale ‘keeper Matt Glaeser to punch the shot away at the last minute.

Campos uses his physicality to great effect at times and it often seems that officials have difficulty distinguishing a bonafide foul from Campos’ play-acting, according to Scorpions head coach Tim Hankinson. “I’ll have to analyze all the physical contacts that the referee felt he was diving and look at how many of those were actually where he was fouled; he had a difficult night that way,” said Hankinson.

Things started to progress for the Scorpions after that moment until Aaron Pitchkolan went down injured and had to be replaced by Fabian Kling. The injury didn’t seem to slow San Antonio down defensively, with players like Kling who can practically be inserted anywhere along the back line. “Going into the stretch run, guys are going to get dinged up, you’re gonna have to plug guys in and guys are gonna get minutes whether they like it or not and we’re gonna need them down the stretch,” said Scorpions centerback Greg Janicki.

The Scorpions’ most dangerous chance in the early stages happened in the 24th minute when Pablo Campos beat his defender on the lefthand side of the box. Campos elected not to shoot directly, however, and kindly passed to an oncoming Hans Denissen, but the pass was too far behind the Dutchman and a wide open opportunity came to nothing.

The Scorpions’ attack continued to be resilient with Walter Ramirez leading the way, taking advantage of the Strikers’ left back Scott Lorenz. Ramirez continually stretched the back line in wide positions, attacking the flank and cutting inward quite effectively for a couple of dangerous shots on goal.

“Walter, I thought, had some great runs down the left. Early in the game he was setting up shots from the right side, cutting in from the flank. I think that late in the game, some of his runs gave them (Fort Lauderdale) something to worry about,” said Hankinson.

In the 24th minute, Fort Lauderdale went down a man due to a red card to Andy Herron after fouling Scorpions defender Wes Knight from behind.  The referee showing no tolerance early on sending a strong message after Herron clearly fouled Knight after he was dispossessed.

Campos and Denissen hooked up once again, right before the end of the half when both forwards broke toward the Fort Lauderdale goal and Denissen ended up with the ball alone against Glaeser, who caused Denissen to miss the initial shot which was sent just wide for a corner. Scorpions defender Greg Janicki ended up on the end of the resulting cross for a near miss on a technical header wrapping up the first half.

The second half started with a goal from substitute Esteban Bayona when a cross was sent in by Walter Ramirez and Bayona nicely headed the ball in the bottom left corner, just deflecting off Glaeser into the goal, but the Colombian was offside and the goal was called back to leave the two teams scoreless. Bayona would get on the end of a through ball a few minutes later but failed to capitalize.

The deadlock was broken, however, just under an hour at the 56th minute with a Campos run from a nice through ball from Ramirez. Campos collected the ball at the top of the eighteen and finished with confidence low and to the right of Glaeser.

Playing a man down and without their initial formation intact, Fort Lauderdale’s offense seemed disorganized in the second half. As the game wore on, the Strikers began rallying around the #10, Walter Restrepo. The midfielder’s movement was impressive throughout the match but in the latter stages looked like the only source of offense for the Strikers at times. Restrepo constantly got involved from midfield positions, from the flank, and being the outright attack through the center of the park. The  Strikers could only manage five shots for the game but three of those came in the second half and Restrepo was largely responsible for getting his teammates in threatening positions.

Although San Antonio was playing with a man advantage for a great portion of the match, Fort Lauderdale was doing enough to put up a fight. Until during the 69th minute, when Scorpions captain Kevin Harmse found himself in the middle of a debate at midfield which ended in his ejection as he earned two straight yellow cards for dissent.

The two teams were even for the remainder of the match and the Strikers were encouraged to pick up the pressure but it proved to be too little too late.  The game ended with the Scorpions victorious staying atop the league with a two-point advantage and Pablo Campos continues his lead as top scorer in the NASL with 11 goals for the season.

“Clearly they have some very dangerous players which always keeps the match alive, I think we bring a lot of pressure on ourselves by not finishing early chances.  There have been some confrontations between these two teams and both teams were disciplined but it’s the referees job to let the players decide the outcomes. It’s very important to get these victories and losing three guys for next week we need to look at other players to step up,” said Scorpions Head Coach Tim Hankinson.

Scorpions stay atop NASL standing with Bayona strike

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First published on IMSoccer News

The fourth of July festivities were scheduled for today at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio, Texas but not before NASL league leaders SA Scorpions FC took on FC Edmonton to round out a busy week for both clubs.

FC Edmonton drew with the Puerto Rico Islanders on the weekend amid a structural change in formation for head coach Harry Sinkgraven, moving from a 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2 diamond.  The new look allowed the Eddies to utilize danger man Shaun Seiko to create in a more central position on the pitch.  Seiko is in the top 5 for both shots and assists in the league and Seiko sees more of the ball at the top of the diamond than in a wide position where he was previously.

San Antonio on the other hand look to sustain their recently affirmed top spot and continue a string of solid performances in an attempt to create some distance at the top of the table.

Early on, the FCE defense looked to benefit the most from a congested midfield with a tightly organized defense throughout most of the scoreless first half.  Certainly having more support through the center of the park protected the Eddies from counterattacks but with the additional cover the back four competed nicely.

Things came to ahead in the second half as the Scorpions came out with more determination amid a flurry of near misses.  During a lull of play at about the 60th minute Jonathan Greenfield found himself alone on the left flank about thirty yards out and sent a direct cross into the box to a waiting Esteban Bayona who headed the ball into the back of the net practically uncontested to score his fourth of the season.

The match ended with most of the possession belonging to the Scorpions and a few heated interchanges but San Antonio emerged victorious with three points leaving them top of the table.  Both teams journey to Puerto Rico with Edmonton facing the Islanders on July 7th setting up huge clash with San Antonio facing Puerto Rico on July 11th.

Campos brace helps Scorpions topple Silverbacks

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Esteban Bayona celebrates scoring his third goal of the season
Courtesy of San Antonio Scorpions

The San Antonio Scorpions overcame the Atlanta Silverbacks 3-0, Saturday night with a goal from Esteban Bayona and two goals from Pablo Campos.

Atlanta sit at the bottom of the table with a -13 goal differential and struggling to compete on a consistent basis and are finding it even more difficult earning points away from home.  Atlanta were determined to turn this opportunity into a road win but the match very quickly began to resemble their last encounter at Heroes Stadium.

Just under the 15 minute mark Wes Knight pushed forward for the Scorpions on the right side to send a cross toward the six of Atlanta’s defense but it deflected for a corner.

The resulting movement forward seemed to instigate the attack for San Antonio and brought the second place team to life.  The next 5 minutes San Antonio would dominate possession.

Then, Pablo Campos was released for a direct scoring opportunity but the ball traveled a little faster on the turf than he could keep up with.

Again, in the 23rd minute, Hans Denissen found himself at the end line on the right side and just did enough to kick the ball in the air toward the opposite side of the six where it fell to Esteban Bayona who expertly headed the ball in the opposite direction beating the keeper for his third goal of the season.

Five minutes later Atlanta pressed forward and managed a nice attack from the right side by Danilo Turcios.

But San Antonio would continue to press with yet another well coordinated attack from Denissen moving across the field to find an open Jonathan Greenfield.  Greenfield was in an optimal position to slot the ball behind an advancing Illyes but elected to pass.  The resulting through ball proved to be too fast on the artificial turf for Bayona to catch, however.

Toward the end of the half Atlanta kept their spirits up and continued to fight bolstered by the play of Atlanta midfielders Borfur Carr and Danilo Turcios.  Both players were desperately trying to get service into forward Matt Horth, hoping to get the Atlanta forward off the mark as he did so often in 2011 with eight league goals.

But the night would prove to be fruitless for Horth and Atlanta, were forced to bring on their leading scorer Navias who started the match on the bench but came on just before an hour into the game.

Coming out at the second half the Scorpions continued their onslaught advancing the ball on the left side with spirited wing play from Greenfield and Blake Wagner.  In the 54th minute Atlanta was awarded a free kick at the top right side of the box.  Danilo Turcios sent the ball just over the right corner trying to catch Sattler off his line.

At the 63rd minute, Pablo Campos received the ball from a quick counter attack almost near the middle of the park and ran straight for goal with only Atlanta defender Shane Moraney to beat.  Campos swerved back and forth with typical Brazilian ease moving past Moraney and rifled a shot low and to the left beating Illyes, finishing a beautiful individual piece of work.

The second goal took a lot of steam out of Atlanta but to their credit maintained a free and open attack pressing San Antonio with some great interchanges from end to end.

But toward the end of the game, Campos broke free again in the box and slammed home a well placed corner from Walter Ramirez at the top of the six with almost no effort to score his eighth goal of the season.

The game finished 3-0 to send San Antonio top of the league with seven wins.  San Antonio faces FC Edmonton with a midweek feature for the July 4th holiday but the standings could change yet again when Puerto Rico take on FC Edmonton Sunday.

“All these games are difficult and it was great getting three points tonight,” said Scorpions head coach Tim Hankinson.  “We’ll be fighting for three points on Wednesday and we’ve got Puerto Rico and Ft. Lauderdale coming up.  It’s important to focus on the next three games as well.”

Charlotte Eagles end San Antonio US Open Cup run with extra time win

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First published on IMSoccer News

The USL-Pro Charlotte Eagles continue their run into USOC play with a 2-1 quarterfinal win against the San Antonio Scorpions FC (NASL).  The match was locked up at the end of regulation but an extra time penalty was the deciding factor that sees Charlotte advance to take on Chivas USA in the next round.

What FC Dallas slowly learned, the Scorpions quickly realized. Don’t expect the Charlotte Eagles to play like a team from the lower division who is on the road.

The Charlotte Eagles pressed on the gas early and resembled a free flowing offensive minded outfit committed to constantly attacking the opponents goal.  In the first 20 minutes, Charlotte created several chances and ended up with seven shots in the first half.  Their formation was fluid and resembled a 4-3-3, which switched to a compact formation when on the defensive side of the ball.

“We try to attack, we like to attack, whatever game it is we try to set the tempo and make a statement early and we defend as far as we can, but we’re coming after it,” said head coach Mark Steffens.

But as one would expect, any team who is offensive minded, can be left open to counter attacks and that was certainly the case with Charlotte.  In the 16th minute Pablo Campos was released into the box near the byline and centered the ball to a semi-open Esteban Bayona who lazily swung his leg in an attempt to catch Charlotte keeper Irwin Clinton but he was easily in the right place.

Bayona would continue to keep getting involved in the offense at the outset but for all his work, couldn’t find the right connecting pass on several occasions.

Things came to a head for the Eagles when in the 27th minute Charlotte forward Nathan Thornton went on a run from deep within midfield and punished the Scorpions back line for allowing him through unmolested while he powered a 25-yard shot past Scorpions keeper Daryl Sattler.  The goal was the first allowed by Sattler in USOC play.

After a few opportunities from the Scorpions, the attack continued for Charlotte and in the 35th minute a corner came in and resulted in a shot on Sattler’s goal who dealt with it but immediately got up and gave his defenders an ear full.

Immediately after on the other end, Pablo Campos was released on the right-hand side of the box from a short pass by Hans Denissen.  Campos was patient enough to expertly get round the defender and take a shot toward the opposite side of goal that just rolled into the goalpost and deflected back into the traffic of the oncoming Charlotte defense.

After a yellow on Campos for diving in the box, Bayona was fouled on the left for a free kick.  The cross ended up at the head of Campos whose header was saved by Clinton to end the half.  The Scorpions were frustrated but they were not defeated and came out immediately in the second with an early shot from Campos once again, on the left side of the box.  Campos finished with eight shots on the night and put in a 120 minute performance to score his team’s only goal.

Charlotte never wavered and in the 57th minute Charlotte continued to pester the Scorpions defense and Eagles forward Mauricio Salles broke free from San Antonio defenders and shot low and toward the feet of Sattler who smothered the ball.

Scorpions winger, Walter Ramirez, was putting in an encouraging effort on the left flank and even assumed defensive duties in order to allow Blake Wagner, at left back, to move forward in attack at times.

He wouldn’t finish the match, however, as he was subbed for Javier Saavedra to which he  exited the game visibly disappointed.  Meanwhile, Hans Denissen was replaced due to injury, and Esteban Bayona was replaced by Fabian Kling, who usually plays as a defender.

Despite the changes, in the 73rd minute, Scorpions midfielder, Jonathan Greenfield, pounced on a misplaced pass and rifled a shot on goal forcing Irwin to save wide.  The resulting corner was cleared but ended up at the feet of Javier Saavedra, on the right, who sent the ball to the opposite side where campos leaped over two defenders to just direct the ball toward the ground where it rolled just out of reach of a Charlotte defender to equalize, 1-1.

Just as the Scorpions finished celebrating, Charlotte advanced the ball from their own half at lightning quick speed and shot the ball from a forced turnover in San Antonio’s box almost instantly going ahead if it weren’t for Sattler’s quick reaction save.

The play between Charlotte midfielder Juan Guzman and forwards, Mauricio Salles and Darryl Roberts proved to be dangerous throughout the night for San Antonio.

After that, Wes Knight rescued the ball deep in midfield and raced toward the box with only Campos to his right.  Knight sent Campos into the box, and patiently waited for the return pass.  When it was given, he was slightly off balance and shot the ball up and over the bar to finish out regulation time.

Both teams came out slow in extra time, until Wagner went on a tear through the Charlotte defense and shepherded the ball into the box and almost completed a glorious run until the last shot was snuffed out by the defense.

From that point, each team traded blows with creative efforts at both ends of the pitch.  Charlotte continued playing with quality on every possession and picked out defensive lapses in the waining minutes to get forward with quite impressive passing into the first period of extra time.

The second period started with more of the same on both ends, and players on both teams were expecting to score at any moment.  Until a handball penalty was awarded to Charlotte when Scorpions defender, Ryan Cochrane, handled a low flying cross into the box.

Mauricio Salles stepped up and sent Sattler the wrong way to finish an impressive match deep into extra time.

“We had a number of opportunities but we just couldn’t finish them and that ended up being the difference,” said Scorpions head coach Tim Hankinson.

As the ball was sent into the box, it appeared to skip off the ground and strike Cochrane in the hand but the referee was forced to call the penalty.

“When games go late, referees can decide the result and we need to do better in controlling the result.  Let the players finish and decide the result, referees should never decide the result [of the match] and I think that he did tonight,” said Hankinson.

The Charlotte Eagles move into the quarterfinals to face MLS side, Chivas USA at the Home Depot Center in Carson California, Tuesday, June 26th at 7:30 p.m.

“The Home Depot Center will get the guys pumped, it’s a couple of weeks away so we have some time.  We’re struggling in the league but I think this will unify our team but we’re excited to play Chivas,” said Charlotte head coach Mark Steffens.

San Antonio Scorpions and Minnesota Stars battle for point

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First published at IMSoccer News

The second and third place teams in the NASL faced off in San Antonio in a match which ended scoreless with a point each for the Scorpions and Stars.

The Minnesota Stars FC and San Antonio Scorpions were each looking to continue their good form amid advancing in the US Open Cup. Minnesota has been on the road now since May 12th. This was their 3rd league game away and their 5th game on the road in all competitions since then. They will be on the road for two more matches,  traveling to San Jose for their USOC 4th round game on Tuesday. After returning home the team turns around and heads out one more time to play Carolina in Cary, N.C. on a brutal road journey.

San Antonio, on the other hand, have enjoyed a relatively comfortable travel schedule hosting the Houston Dynamo midweek in their win against the MLS side which sees them advance in USOC play. They will host the Charlotte Eagles (USL-PDL) midweek before taking on Atlanta at the weekend for league play.

The starting lineup for Minnesota had only two regular starters, VanOekel (GK) and Simone Bracalello who has started half the games this season for Minnesota.  That didn’t prevent the Stars from coming out early and testing San Antonio as they almost executed on some early opportunities.

But it was clear in the early goings, the game was a chess match between two squads who like to dominate possession.  Both squads were very organized with Minnesota sharing a larger portion of possession forcing San Antonio’s defense to bunker down.

Minnesota began to have some early success on the right side of the pitch with some experienced flank play between Andy Lorei and Bracalello.  The combination of the two players attacking the right side led to a few dangerous chances but the offense were frustrated by the disciplined San Antonio defense.

Chances for San Antonio often resulted from counterattacks but were undone with sloppy play moving forward. A clear header on goal from Wes Knight in the 19th minute was handled easily by VanOekel and was their most dangerous attack in the first half.

The trend continued in the second half with Minnesota pressing early and limiting equal possession, but San Antonio never quit making things difficult for the visitors.  As the Bexar County club began taking care of the ball they started seeing more possession develop.

Scorpions forward Pablo Campos began presenting problems in the second half with the Brazilian’s physicality a difficult proposition for Minnesota’s back line.

Both teams were frustrating each other and enjoyed some equal possession.  San Antonio went offensive and changed their tactics a bit by bringing on Esteban Bayona and playing with three up front on the attack.

To counter, Minnesota brought in Martin Nunez to slot in behind Devin Del Do in an effort to open up the attack for the Stars.

An injury to San Antonio forward Hans Denissen caused the Scorpions to alter their shape and adjust offensively. Just as the change was made, the ball was moved out to the right flank with Stars’ right back Evan Sassano sending a ball into the box for Del Do who had a direct header toward goal go just over the crossbar.

The match ended with both teams trading blows and having equal opportunities on goal without any reward. Minnesota head coach, Manny Lagos, received a red card for dissent and was sent off prior to the second half winding down.

“I thought we did really well at times, it’s not easy for guys playing a lot of minutes to come in and do well in a tough place like this and I thought we did a good job creating tempo and we had a few chances,” said Lagos.

“I thought we had two PKs that should have been called, unfortunately I reacted emotionally and I wish I hadn’t but I was disappointed both calls didn’t go our way.”

San Antonio defended their home but couldn’t wrestle the win away from the Stars while the games continue to add up for them.

“I was very pleased under the circumstances, our play wasn’t great, our conditioning wasn’t great, [but] we didn’t give the match away and we were patient.  The chances were there for three and we understand the fight to become first is going to be difficult,” said head coach Tim Hankinson.

Both teams advanced in Open Cup play by besting two very experienced MLS sides and turn around in a 48-hour window of preparation for fourth round USOC action. Minnesota has now lost only 1 game in the last 19, going back to last season, and are still undefeated this year.  They are now tied with the Islanders after their loss Saturday night to Carolina.

The Scorpions are one point back from the league leaders and are unbeaten in 7 games stretching all the way back to the home opening loss to the Puerto Rico Islanders.