NSC Minnesota Stars Clinch Final Playoff Spot with Win Over Carolina RailHawks

Brian Cvilikas celebrates with teammate Devin Del Do after his game-winning goal. Photo by Rob Kinnan.

The NSC Minnesota Stars defeated the regular season NASL Champion Carolina RailHawks on Saturday evening to secure the 6th and final playoff spot that was up for grabs. The Stars defeated the RailHawks 2-1 with the game winner being scored by Brian Cvilikas in the 52nd minute.

Brian Cvilikas had not seen much game time this season until the Stars went into a late season slump. Head coach Manny Lagos inserted the forward into the lineup to try and mix things up. The Stars had seemed to lose the attitude they had earlier in the season where they would battle for each other to hold onto and get results. With Cvilikas starting up front as a true target man and battling for balls up top, Lagos found the fighting spirit that had become synonymous with the Stars. So it was fitting that the Highland Ranch, Colorado native was the player who scored the winning goal in Saturday night’s contest to clinch the final playoff spot for Minnesota.

“It doesn’t matter who’s out there,” said Cvilikas. “Whether it’s the new guys who have come into the team or the guys who have been here all season, we’re going to battle for each other out there. We did that tonight.”

Cvilikas said the Stars had a great deal of confidence heading into the critical game Saturday night in Cary, N.C., a  match that was a must-win according to the forward. The Montreal Impact, who were just one point off of Minnesota, were also playing Saturday night against the league’s weakest team, the Atlanta Silverbacks.

“We just went out there to win tonight. For the players on this team there’s definitely a rivalry. You go back to the playoffs last year and all the games this season and the games are always pretty chippy with a lot of fouls. But we’ve always matched up well against them. The games have always been close and we seem to be able to hammer out results. So going into it we really felt like we had a good shot.”

If you were one of the 6,234 RailHawks fans that packed WakeMed Park on Saturday evening, you better not have gotten back to your seats late from halftime. It only took 4 minutes for the game’s 3 goals to be scored, all starting in the 48th minute of play. That’s when Minnesota’s Jeff Cosgriff was tripped in the box by Carolina’s captain Kupono Low. The Stars captain and center back Kyle Altman stepped up and confidently buried the PK putting Minnesota up 1-0.

Just 2 minutes later RailHawks midfielder Jonny Steele fed Pablo Campos a though ball on a counter attack that the Stars defense fell asleep on. By the time Minnesota’s Altman and keeper Joe Warren closed Campos down he was able to touch the ball past both and calmly slot the ball home for the equalizer.

It took Minnesota just two more minutes before they would regain the lead. Right outside midfielder Lucas Rodriguez picked off a Carolina pass and started his own counter attack. He poked the ball past a RailHawks defender and then patiently waited for Cvilikas to get open, which he did to the right of the box. The Stars striker fired the ball hard and to the right of RailHawks keeper Brad Knighton who was able to get a hand on the ball. But the velocity of the shot was too much for the RailHawks keeper to handle and Minnesota found themselves in the lead again.

Stars head coach Manny Lagos said after the game he was very pleased with the team’s response going into the game as well as their attitude and play on the field after they took the lead for the second time. Lagos, who said he was being kept abreast of the Montreal vs. Atlanta game with score updates during the game, felt it was the wide midfield play after the goal that was the key to keeping the lead. He said Cosgriff and Rodriguez’ job was to play end-to-end covering back but just as importantly pushing forward to keep possession of the ball  to let Carolina know they were not going to just absorb pressure.

The stingy Minnesota defense was able to turn away a potent Carolina offense holding them to only one goal. Photo by Rob Kinnan - www.robkinnanphotography.com

“The guys could have gone one of two ways both coming into the game and then during the game when they were up a goal on the road and once again gave up a goal to tie it up. Which basically meant we were losing the game at that point,” said Lagos. “After we scored the second goal I thought the response was even better. The guys really committed to making sure they limited Carolina’s chances.”

Lagos said the season is long and tough and it was important to remind his players before Saturday’s match that the Stars had large stretches where they had played great soccer and were sitting amongst the top teams in the league. He said the Stars had a poor month of play, then got a bit unlucky and the next thing you know they were fighting for a playoff spot.

“The key was reminding the guys that we have played at a high level and been competitive at home and on the road. I think they really embraced that kind of attitude.”

He also praised his back line for their role in holding the victory against the RailHawks who he called “the best team in the league” and in front of a “hostile crowd.” “After our second goal I thought the whole back line was just outstanding tonight in relation to their shape, composure and ability to absorb pressure but also to continue to play positive soccer.”

Cvilikas stated that the team didn’t do anything particularly different in their play against Carolina. Instead, they just tried to be consistent in their play. “We’re trying to keep numbers behind the ball and win the ball in good areas of the field. For me personally it’s about forcing the play one way and making it predictable for the guys behind me and putting in a good effort against the four on the back lines.”

According to Cvilikas, the team wasn’t really thinking about playing spoiler to the Montreal Impact who now bow out of Division 2 soccer, where they have played since 1997, and head to MLS next season. With the Stars win, Minnesota kept the 6th and final NASL playoff spot for themselves and in doing so barred the Impact from post season play for the first time since 2001. Cvilikas said the team felt the final playoff spot belonged to them which meant it was Minnesota’s to lose.

“The mentality we had going into this game was we weren’t playing spoiler. It was our spot from the get go and we just needed to take care of business. It was Montreal that would have been playing spoiler. Montreal was obviously on a great run the last quarter of the season and were behind us the whole way. It was just great that our group was able to come together and hold onto the spot even with the incredible run they’ve had at the end of the year.”