NSC Stars Play Best Game of Season Yet Lose 1-0

Geison Moura distributes for Minnesota. Photo by Jeremy Olson - www.digitalgopher.net

As the players of the NSC Minnesota Stars walked off the field and headed for the locker room after their match with Crystal Palace Baltimore the looks on their faces said it all. “Its gut wrenching,” said midfielder Ely Allen. “It feels like they stole one from us. It was just one of those days where we couldn’t finish, and they made us pay for it.”

Allen was being kind because it didn’t just feel like Crystal Palace Baltimore stole the game in the 86th minute with a goal from Tsuyoshi Yoshitake, they did steel the game. In front of 2,136 soccer fans at the NSC Stadium in Blaine, Minnesota the Stars played their best game of the year. Players were hustling, passing accuracy was high, creativity was good with great runs and good vision. The Stars players were being patient, pinging the ball around for long stretches of game, shifting the ball from flank to flank and probing and testing the CP Baltimore defense. The Stars had chances, but unlike the match last weekend in Baltimore where Minnesota scored three goals, the team could not find an answer on Sunday evening.

Possession percentages do not win games and the longer the match went on without a Minnesota goal the more you had that sinking feeling that the game could turn on its heels with a strong counter attack. That’s exactly what happened. Yoshitake was fed a perfect throughball late in the game by Dan Lader who won a challenge from Brian Kallman in the middle of the field. After winning the ball he instinctively floated a pass over the top of the Stars defense to Yoshitake, who sprinted onto the ball. He fired a low shot to the far post beating Stars goalkeeper Joe Warren. The Minnesota keeper got his hand to the ball but it was not enough to keep the shot from bulging the net and putting CP Baltimore ahead for good.

Yoshitake, the Japanese-born forward, seems to have good luck when he comes to Minnesota. Last season he played for the Charleston Battery and had an outstanding game against the Minnesota Thunder, eventually scoring a goal and celebrating by grabbing the ball and tucking it under his shirt while running back to the center circle. “You remember that,” asked Yoshitake while laughing.

“The Minnesota defense was very good all night,” said a very happy Yoshitake. “Little by little we could make chances, so we just had to work and keep going. The goalie got a touch on my shot but it still went by him, so I was a little lucky.”

The Stars’ missed chances were on the minds of both head coach Manny Lagos and assistant coach Carl Craig. “I think we showed that we can play well and dominate teams at home, but unless you finish your chances are and  smart about the way you finish the game you get exposed,” said head coach Lagos. “When I think about the game — some of the movement and passes were by far the best all season. It was probably one of the best games to watch this year if you’re a purest of the game and like the movement and possession.”

“We work on finishing a lot in training during the week,” added Lagos. “You want to make sure the guys are technically sharp and efficient but just as importantly you hopefully build up their confidence so when they have the ball they don’t have to second guess themselves or think twice about it.”

“It’s a repeat of the St. Louis game isn’t it,” said Craig. The assistant coach was referring to the AC St. Louis Open Cup game where Minnesota dominated but couldn’t finish and eventually lost the game and crashed out of the tournament. “You create the chances but don’t take them you end up getting bitten in the backside. We’ve seen it before, but because we’ve seen it before we should be wise to it. It’s an honest loss but at this level you have to be a bit more than honest, you have to be smart. If you start a run (of wins) those chances start going in the goal. But because this team is up and down it puts added pressure on the players and perhaps the confidence is not there to take care of business. I see them do it in training on a daily basis so I know they can do it.”

Referring to the defensive mistake late in the game that allowed the goal Craig reflected, “We are gung-ho and I respect that. Yes, we’re creating the chances, but it’s 90 minutes isn’t it? It’s not 45 or 60 or even 80 minutes. We have to make sure that insurance policy is firmly in place and paid up before we go throwing everything out the window.”

Game Notes:

23-year-old Brazilian midfielder Geison Moura has been seeing more playing time since Johnny Menyongar was injured several weeks ago with a hip flexor problem. Moura has been worming his way into the starting lineup with excellent distribution of the ball and he drew 5 fouls in Sundays game. Ice bags wrapped around his ankle and knee were rewards for his effort. But his work rate, vision and passing accuracy are not going unnoticed. “I thought he had a great game,” said Lagos. “We took him off only because he was lagging just a bit at the end of the game and was looking a bit tired. But I thought his defensive work rate was outstanding and I thought his possession was good and he drew key fouls throughout the game for us.”

Asked if Menyongar would have to earn his way back into the lineup with Moura playing so well. “That’s a good question,” said a poker faced Lagos.

You can find a full game report at the NSC Stars website.