photo courtesy of the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers
By FRANCO PANIZO
If the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers are going to move up in the NASL standings and reach the playoffs this season, it appears Mark Anderson will be the player to lead them there.
The Strikers forward netted two more goals on Saturday night at Lockhart Stadium to help Ft. Lauderdale defeat the Carolina RailHawks, 2-1. The RailHawks entered the game undefeated in their last five league fixtures and on a four-game winning streak, but Anderson's brace put an end to that despite Nick Zimmerman pulling one back late for Carolina.
Anderson scored the opener five minutes into the match played in front of 3,506 fans before doubling the hosts' lead in first-half stoppage time. Anderson's two goals gave him seven on the season, which is second to only Pablo Campos of the expansion San Antonio Scorpions.
Here is a look back at the rest of the Week 13 action in NASL:
SCORPIONS ADD TO SILVERBACKS' WOES WITH BIG WIN
The San Antonio Scorpions jumped back into the pole position in the NASL table, and the last-place Atlanta Silverbacks suffered in the process. The Scorpions cruised past the struggling Silverbacks, 3-0, as 11,912 fans turned out to Heroes Stadium to watch San Antonio win on Saturday night. Esteban Bayona scored the winner while Pablo Campos added a second-half brace. The loss was Atlanta's league-leading eighth and it cost head coach Alex Pineda Chacon and Director of Soccer Rodrigo Rios their jobs.
ROWDIES BLANK STARS TO WIN THIRD STRAIGHT
From a results point of view, the Tampa Bay Rowdies are playing their best soccer of the season right now. The Rowdies won a third consecutive game on Saturday night, riding a pair of second-half goals to a 2-0 win over Minnesota Stars FC at Al Lang Stadium. Mike Ambersley netted the winner and Tsuyoshi Yoshitake added an insurance goal late to bring the 2,594 spectators in attendance on their feet.
FC EDMONTON HOLDS ISLANDERS TO SCORELESS DRAW
The Puerto Rico Islanders fell out of first place in the league standings after failing to find the back of the net in a scoreless draw with FC Edmonton on Sunday. The Islanders only tested Eddies goalkeeper Lance Parker twice, but he came up with saves both times to record a cleansheet and get a point in front of a crowd of 1,474 at Clarke Stadium on Canada Day.
NASL Standings
1. San Antonio Scorpions (7-2-4, 25 points, +9 GD)
2. Puerto Rico Islanders (7-3-3, 24 points, +11 GD)
3. Tampa Bay Rowdies (6-5-3, 21 points, 0 GD)
4. Minnesota Stars FC (5-3-5, 20 points, 0 GD)
5. Ft. Lauderdale Strikers (5-5-4, 19 points, -2 GD)
6. Carolina RailHawks (4-5-5, 17 points, +1 GD)
7. FC Edmonton (3-7-3, 12 points, -3 GD)
8. Atlanta Silverbacks (1-8-5, 8 points, -16 GD)
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What do you think of this weekend's NASL action? Impressed by Anderson's scoring streak? Agree with the Silverbacks' decision to fire their Pineda Chacon? How many more consecutive wins do you see the Rowdies picking up?
Share your thoughts below.
Soccer fans here in San Antonio are exactly what I hoped for. MLS approached SA about a team years ago and our mayor at the time thought the fan base was not here…Idiot set us back years, but we are so happy to have the scorpions.
I agree. I like what SA is doin with attendance and orlando as well. throw in a few more clubs that draw like them two and we can start talking. we need the lower divisions to take off. Cities like sacramento, fresno, tulsa, and the like should have some d2-3 teams. cities like that would be nice to grow the lower levels of soccer in this country. The open cup can also help promote lower level soccer as seen this year with all the upsets. Id love for a usl or nasl squad to win the open cup once and really get things going down in d2
I’m a Soldier stationed here in San Antonio. I go to their games regularly, and there’s a great soccer atmosphere here. The town supports the team. It won’t be long…
Totally. It’s a precarious financial environment, and I know no franchise would agree to relegation… for now.
Point is this: If second tier soccer is consistently drawing level with first tier soccer in terms of attendance, then the threat of relegation is more palatable/financially acceptable from a ownership perspective. Of course it is still a pipe dream and will probably remain that way for at least a decade.
ya id like to see some kind of pro/rel in the future but i just dont see the owners oking something that puts their product on tier2. MLS is already playing second fiddle to europe SA and mexico.
Let NASL build up and and grow to more than 10 teams and then maybe
Looks like you smacked your keyboard when you created your name.
Anyway, yeah, that’s why I called it a dream.
huh? sorry but there wont be any pro.rel for a very very long time. they will be in mls before long but not because they are NASL champs. you have to realize that these mls owners payed alot of money to be in the league and arent going to let d2 teams in just because they are the best of d2. $$$ put up or shut up
Huge! That’s on par with New England, Chivas, Columbus, and San Ho (for capacity reasons only).
San Antonio gives those of us with of pro/rel dreams reason to be hopeful.
San ANtonio will have an MLS team. maybe not team 20 but they will get one. they are acquiring alot of fans at the moment and could create a great tri rivalry with dallas and houston. they are building there own SSS that will eventually hold 18k after expansion. I believe they should immediately expand to 12k and pack it our for a year. MLS offcials couldnt resist that. then expand to 18k and get your asses into mls
11,912 fans? Contract Montreal, expand to SA.