NASL Week 23: Montreal and Minnesota to Battle for Last Playoff Berth

Only two more weeks of play remain in the NASL. This weekend, the Montreal Impact dropped the first place Carolina RailHawks 1-0 on Sunday afternoon, but couldn’t gain ground for the last playoff spot on NSC Minnesota, as the Stars shut out the Atlanta Silverbacks 2-0 Saturday evening in Blaine.  On Sunday evening, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers visited Edmonton and took all three points home with a last-minute 2-1 victory. FC Tampa Bay’s match in Bayamon against the Puerto Rico Islanders was postponed because of impending gale force winds and torrential rains.  The game has been rescheduled for Wednesday September 21.

Montreal Impact 1-0 Carolina RailHawks

Photo courtesy of Montreal Impact and Pépé

The Carolina RailHawks have clinched first place and the resulting bye to the NASL playoff semifinal round, so it’s somewhat understandable, and perhaps forgivable, that they had one of their lesser performances of the season at Saputo Stadium against a Montreal Impact side that absolutely needed a win for a reasonable chance to make the playoffs.  The Impact came through before over 12,000 fans Sunday afternoon by a 1-0 margin.

There is no great love lost between the two clubs, going back at least to last year’s playoffs, and the match Sunday saw 39 fouls called and six yellow cards distributed. Montreal earned the three points on a 40th minute goal by former Bradley Brave Luke Kreamalmeyer, his first of the season. The D2 veteran scored on a cross caught by Carolina goalkeeper Brad Knighton, but unfortunately for Carolina, Knighton was past the goal line when he snared the ball.

Knighton had another strong match despite allowing the goal, as he had  earlier stopped a point-blank attempt by Mignane Diouf, along with other first half attempts by Miguel Montano and Ryan Pore. The RailHawks could only generate four shots, although they threatened on free kicks by prolific goalscorers Etienne Barbara and Pablo Campos, which were stopped by Montreal keeper Evan Bush.  In a season where much has gone wrong for the Impact, the acquisition of Bush as a backup to Bill Gaudette was a solid move — Bush earned his seventh shutout of the season after replacing the injured Gaudette.

“The mindset of our players was great and we did everything to win this game,” said Impact head coach and sporting director Nick De Santis. “We played a complete game at all levels today. We created at least seven or eight good scoring opportunities in the first half. Defensively, we did not give them any space to play. We also managed the game well in the middle of the field. We played with rhythm, with a good cohesion and we were the better team on the field today. It was one of our best performances of the season. We still have two important games to play and we have to prepare for the upcoming week.”

The good news for Montreal not only included Kreamalmeyer’s first goal of the season but the return from injury of forward Eduardo Sebrango, who entered the game as a substitute in the 75th minute.  On the other hand, the yellow cards received by Montreal defenders Simon Gatti and captain Nevio Pizzolitto are the fifth of the season for each, meaning both will be suspended for Montreal’s next match against FC Edmonton. And while a loss is never good news, coach Martin Rennie can take some solace in the fact that newcomers Gareth Evans and Tyler Lassiter got another game under their belts on the backline.

NSC Minnesota Stars 2-0 Atlanta Silverbacks

Stars’ coach Manny Lagos can breathe a bit easier now that his team have broken a seven game winless streak by beating the visiting Atlanta Silverbacks 2-0 Saturday evening.  The Stars took all four matches from the struggling Silverbacks this season, outscoring the Atlantans 9-1 in 2011. The win gives NSC Minnesota 32 points on the season, three points more than Montreal for the NASL’s final playoff berth with two matches remaining for each side.

Former AC St. Louis man Jeff Cosgriff notched the game winner in the 12th minute for NSC Minnesota, with Kyle Altman scoring late on a penalty kick. Stars’ goalkeeper Joe Warren notched his seventh shutout of the year.

For more on the game, see IMSoccer News earlier recap.

FC Edmonton 1-2 Fort Lauderdale Strikers

Getting a result at Edmonton’s Foote Field isn’t the easiest assignment for NASL clubs.  Not only is Edmonton coach Harry Sinkgraven an astute veteran on the sidelines, but he has a talented blend of veterans and young Canadians on his roster, and the small size of Foote Field, along with its hard, fast turf, present challenges to visitors. But Fort Lauderdale needed a result, and the Strikers came back from a 1-0 first half deficit to win the match 2-1. The result clinches a playoff spot for the Strikers, meaning either Montreal or NSC Minnesota will join Atlanta on the outside looking in when the playoffs begin.

For FC Edmonton, it was a night of missed opportunities.  Their one goal came in the 44th minute, as Alex Surprenant teed up a left-footed free kick into the box.  Defender Paul Hamilton headed across goal to John Jonke, who guided the ball past Strikers’ keeper Nic Platter from close range.

Fort Lauderdale came back to equalize near the 70th minute. New York native Mike Palacio bore towards the left of goal, and his shot hit the foot of Hamilton, going into the Eddies’ net. FC Edmonton were looking for a result to get home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs, but their chances all but evaporated very late in the contest. Brian Shriver broke open down field, and as Edmonton goalkeeper Rein Baart came out to stop him, Shriver got off a touch that rolled into the goal as he was falling to the ground, giving the Strikers a dramatic win. The Eddies still have a mathematical chance of playing their first playoff game at home, but it’s now a longshot.

FC Edmonton had many early chances on goal, but could not get the ball past Platter. Kyle Yamada, Ilja van Leerdam and Michael Cox all had good opportunities within a minute or so of each other around the 13th minute before Jonke got his goal, while Eduardo Coudet sent a Strikers’ free kick on net just past the half hour mark, and teammate Bryan Arguez struck the crossbar with a long shot near the hour mark for Daryl Shore’s men. Platter made a good save on Edmonton’s fine midfielder Shaun Saiko right before Shriver netted the game-winner.

With the loss, FC Edmonton’s season record stands at 10-6-11, very good for an expansion team if a disappointment considering the Eddies’ fast start. Their final game of the season is next Saturday evening in Montreal, as the Impact will be desperate for a win.

NASL News

While FC Edmonton has only one regular season match remaining, FC Tampa Bay still have three left and the other six NASL clubs have two left.  Besides the Canadian matchup next Saturday, other games will include NSC Minnesota traveling to Tampa Bay looking for another three points as they push towards the playoffs, while the Fort Lauderdale Strikers host the Atlanta Silverbacks and the league’s two top teams, Carolina and Puerto Rico, face off for the final time in the regular season in Bayamon.