NSC Stars Get Much Needed Win Over AC St. Louis

The NSC got three vital points on the road Saturday night at AB Park in St. Louis, MO.  The Stars defeated AC St. Louis 3-0 with all three goals being scored in the first  half with a dominating performance.

Simone Bracalello scored his third of the season in the 25th minute for the Stars. The Italian received a ball from defender Scott Lorenz and turned the ball, shooting into the lower right corner.

In the 33rd minute, Daniel Wasson, who sits in 5th place in the league for minutes played this season, chipped a ball across the box to a waiting Ely Allen. The former LA Galaxy player headed the ball home from close range for his third of the season.

Just before halftime the Stars Lucas Rodriguez was fouled at the top right side of the box. After some pushing and shoving and thee yellow cards handed out to frustrated AC St. Louis players, Bracalello stepped up for the free-kick. He drove the kick low and hard from 20 yards out for his 2nd of the evening. The goal was the final offering from either team as Minnesota was able to sit on the 3-0 lead through the second half and see out the game to its conclusion.

The win allowed Minnesota to go 3-points clear of FC Tampa Bay who drop to 9th place while the Stars now sit alone in 8th place with 31 points. NSC Minnesota is clinging onto the last playoff spot in the USSF D2 Pro League. However, the Rowdies have a game in hand on the Stars playing 26 games to Minnesota’s 27.

With last night’s loss, AC St. Louis stay in 10th place with 26 points and lose ground in the hunt for the playoffs.

USSF D2 Pro League Playoff Standings as of 9-12-10

Playoff Berths: A total of EIGHT (8) teams earn berths to the playoffs. Each Conference leader qualifies for the playoffs, ONE (1) each from USL and NASL. The SIX (6) teams with the next most points, regardless of Conference, receive the remaining Playoff berths.

Seeding: The two conference leaders (USL and NASL) will earn the first two seeds, with the overall regular season points leader earning the No. 1 seed and the other conference leader earning the No. 2 seed. The next six seeds will be determined by most points, regardless of conference.

All 12 USSF D2 Pro League teams saw action last night bringing the playoff picture a bit closer into focus.

Miami FC won 2-1 over the Montreal Impact bringing their point total to 23. The Blues would have to win all three of their remaining games to make the playoffs while the 8th-11th place teams lose the remainder of their games — a very unlikely scenario.

Crystal Palace was defeated by Vancouver yesterday 3-0. They sit in 11th place with 24 points. Palace have only 3 games remaining against 5th place Carolina, 4th place Portland and 10th place Tampa. While it is mathematically possible for Baltimore to make the playoffs, like Miami, it’s highly unlikely.

Carolina tied Portland last night at Wake Med Park with a score of 0-0. With the win for Whitecaps and the draw for the RailHawks, Vancouver moves one step closer to wining the tightly contested NASL Conference as they sit at 44 points to Carolina’s 38. The RailHawks do have one game in hand on Vancouver.

The Rochester Rhinos defeated FC Tampa Bay last night at Marina Auto Stadium in Rochester, NY by a score of 3-0, while the Austin Aztex fell to the Puerto Rico Islanders by a score of 3-1  at Estadio Juan Ramon stadium. The Rhinos win leap-frogged them ahead of the Aztex and moves them into the top spot in the USSF D2 Pro League with 51 points. Austin has 49 points but both teams have already locked down a playoff spot. Vancouver and Portland are also assured of making the playoffs.

Minnesota returns home this Wednesday evening for their second to the last home game of the season. The Stars will face off against the Carolina RailHawks who as previously mentioned are fighting for first place in the NASL conference while MN battles for the last playoff spot. The matchup looks to be a good one with kickoff at 7:00 p.m.