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NASL Week 3: A Look Back

Stars Edmonton (FC Edmonton)

photo by FC Edmonton

By FRANCO PANIZO

FC Edmonton's start to the season is becoming one they would like to quickly forget.

Edmonton dropped to 0-3-1 on the season after suffering a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to Minnesota Stars FC at Clarke Stadium in Edmonton, Canada on Sunday night. The Stars overturned a 3-2 deficit with Kentaro Takada providing the equalizer in the 68th minute and Devin Del Do scoring the winner in stoppage time in a game that was a rollercoaster of emotions for the hosts.

Minnesota's rally erased a great start and valiant comeback effort by FC Edmonton. Shaun Saiko scored early in front of the 1,273 spectators in attendance, but goals from Neil Hlavaty and Kyle Atlman's gave the Stars a 2-1 lead going into halftime.

FC Edmonton responded in the second half, as Paul Hamilton and Kyle Porter put the hosts ahead. That was not enough for Edmonton to get its first win of the season, however, as Takada equalized and Del Do knocked in a demoralizing header in the 92nd minute.

Here is a look back at the rest of the Week 3 action in NASL:

ISLANDERS REMAIN IN FIRST WITH WIN OVER CAROLINA

The Puerto Rico Islanders kept themselves atop the NASL standings on Saturday, defeating the Carolina RailHawks, 3-1, in front of 1,542 spectators at Bayamon Soccer Complex in Bayamon, PR. David Foley and Richard Martinez set the tone with goals four minutes apart midway through the first half, but an own goal by Jay Needham gave the RailHawks some hope. That was shortlived, however, as Nicholas Addlery scored his third of the season seven minutes later for the Islanders.

SCORPIONS GRAB LATE EQUALIZER VS. STRIKERS

The Ft. Lauderdale Strikers were seconds away from recording their first road win of the season, but a late goal by San Antonio Scorpions forward Hans Denissen changed that. The Scorpions and Strikers played to a 2-2 draw in front of 10,114 fans at Heros Stadium in San Antonio, TX on Saturday thanks to a last-gasp finish by Denissen. The forward's strike negated Andy Herron's second goal of the night, and sparked a fight between the two teams that resulted in four ejections. Pablo Campos scored the first equalizer for the Scorpions after Herron had broken the deadlock in the first half.

NAVIA GOAL SEES ATLANTA AVOID DEFEAT TO TAMPA

Reinaldo Navia came to the rescue of the Atlanta Silverbacks, scoring a late goal to give them a 1-1 draw with the Tamp Bay Rowdies at Atlanta Silverbacks Park in Atlanta, GA on Saturday night. Playing in front of a crowd of 3,261, the Silverbacks went down in the 70th minute after a goal from Daniel Antoniuk before Navia scored his third of the year three minutes before the death. The results now makes the Rowdies 1-1-2 on the year, while Atlanta has settled for three straight draws to start the season.

 

NASL Standings

1. Puerto Rico Islanders (3-0-1, 10 points, +7 GD)

2. Minnesota Stars FC (1-0-2, 5 points, +1 GD)

3. Ft. Lauderdale Strikers (1-0-2, 5 points, +1 GD)

4. Tampa Bay Rowdies (1-1-2, 5 points, 0 GD)

5. Atlanta Silverbacks (0-0-3, 3 points, 0 GD)

6. Carolina RailHawks (0-1-3, 3 points, -2 GD)

7. San Antonio Scorpions (0-1-2, 2 points, -4 GD)

8. FC Edmonton (0-3-1, 1 point, -3 GD)

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What do you think of FC Edmonton's woeful start to the season? Happy to see the Islanders remain in first place? Surprised that neither Florida team was able to seal the deal despite having late leads?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Free Gale A.! Has he even played a minute on his, “this is better for me than MLS” stint in Carolina? No U23, no Olympics, no Carolina PT, if he does get another gig he will be so coated in rust he might fall apart first player that touches him.

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  2. IF MLS was operating objectively rather than under some “NY 20” obsession, they’d have to give a city with the size and minor league attendance of SA a look (and San Diego, Phoenix….)

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  3. Thanks for the NASL cvg SBI.

    Rowdies are now 1-1-2, which isn’t terrible. What is disconcerting is its play in the final third. No imagination. No player who can break down the defenders with dribbling. Miss Millian.

    Even more of a concern is that the Rowdies have yet to score more than ONE goal in a game. They’re not giving them up either, but…ONE per game. That won’t carry you very long.

    In any event, COME YOU ROWDIES. Looking forward to a Strikers beat down this upcoming Saturday.

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  4. The islanders are setting the pace they ve always had a good team can’t wait for the stadium renovations to be finished though even though they are playing close to my house and I go on foot

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  5. Love the NASL coverage. Edmonton are terrible, sorry. They are going to be worse than Montreal were last year (when Minnesota relegated them to the MLS).

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  6. There were 2 Wednesday’s game that were played and the attendance for the FC Edmonton vs Puerto Rico and the Carolina vs Tampa Bay games weren’t announced. Puerto Rico Islanders are putting a good product and continues to get fan base and the player from that team I will like to see in a MLS uniform one day is midfielder Johnathan Fana. He very good on free kicks and can create a shot. So far, Fana has 2 goals and 2 assists in the 2012 season and it is getting better.

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  7. Arent Edmonton & Calgary pretty conservative, and akin to the US midwest I’ve read that Calgary, on account of oil,has many people from Texas (where I grew up, and where footie was referred to as a “socialist sport” by rednecks). However, Calgary may have been a better fit on account of recent massive numbers of Asian immigrants. I saw about 5 min of that stream, and it was pretty pathetic w/turf and cars going by. Hopefully Ottawa will be better

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  8. I was at the SA Scorpions game … it didn’t look like 10K but the support is there and growing. Brought a friend to the game and he bought season tickets (especially after seeing the fight lol). Excited to see futbol grow in SA. Any thoughts on the potential of an MLS team in SA in the future Ives?

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  9. You do realize that MLS franchises aren’t awarded based on on-field results, but rather ownership groups and how much $$$ they have, right? Even if they were awarded a MLS team most of, if not all of the current team would be replaced.

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  10. SBI, thanks for the NASL reviews. I would be going to Scorpions games in my old hometown if I still lived there. Instead, I get to enjoy Red Bulls games! :-p

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