By FRANCO PANIZO
Not many people expected the San Antonio Scorpions to have much success in their first season in NASL.
They were wrong.
The Scorpions leapfrogged the Puerto Rico Islanders to take sole possession of first place in the standings after beating them, 2-0, in front of 1,551 fans at Bayamon Soccer Complex on Saturday. Estaban Bayona and Pablo Campos scored on each side of halftime as San Antonio picked up a road victory despite being a man down for much of the second half.
The win extended the expansion team's unbeaten run in league play to nine games and gave them their third win in their last five matches.
Here is a look back at the rest of the Week 11 action in NASL:
ROWDIES RALLY TO STUN STARS
Minnesota Stars FC jumped out to an early lead against the Tampa Bay Rowdies, but even that was not enough to help them pick up their first win in June. Having failed to pick up a victory during the first two weeks of the season, the Stars allowed Tampa Bay to rally and pick up a 2-1 upset road win in front of a crowd of 2,908 at NSC Stadium on Saturday night. Martin Nunez opened the scoring for the Stars nine minutes in, but a late first-half goal from Tsuyoshi Yoshitake and an 87th minute finish from Keith Savage lifted Tampa Bay to victory.
RAILHAWKS CONTINUE TO ROLL WITH WIN OVER SILVERBACKS
The Carolina RailHawks' upward trajectory continued this weekend. Carolina topped the lowly Atlanta Silverbacks, 2-0, to pick up its first road win of the year and third straight victory. Zack Schilawski netted late in the first half and Brian Ackley added an insurance goal in the 86th minute in front of 6,000 disappointed fans at Atlanta Silverbacks Park on Saturday. The RailHawks are now 3-4-5 and in sixth place in the standings.
STRIKERS GET PAYBACK, DEFEAT EDMONTON
A week after losing on the road to FC Edmonton, the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers got payback at home. The Strikers defeated Edmonton, 1-0, as 2,663 fans watched on at Lockhart Stadium on Saturday night. The game's lone goal came in the second half when Andy Herron finished off a feed from Walter Restrepo in the 68th minute.
NASL Standings
1. San Antonio Scorpions (6-1-4, 22 points, +7 GD)
2. Puerto Rico Islanders (6-3-2, 20 points, +10 GD)
3. Minnesota Stars FC (4-2-5, 17 points, +1 GD)
4. Ft. Lauderdale Strikers (4-4-4, 16 points, -2 GD)
5. Tampa Bay Rowdies (4-5-3, 15 points, -3 GD)
6. Carolina RailHawks (3-4-5, 14 points, 0 GD)
7. FC Edmonton (3-6-2, 11 points, -1 GD)
8. Atlanta Silverbacks (1-6-5, 8 points, -12 GD)
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What do you think of this weekend's NASL action? Impressed by the Scorpions being in first place in their first season in NASL? Surprised by the Stars' skid in June?
Share your thoughts below.
Credit to Hankinso and the Scorpions for going down to Bayamon and getting three points while being a man down.
The Islanders starters weren’t good enough and the bench players that started and saw a lot of time that night weren’t good enough.
San Antonio played very well. When Foley hit the crossbar with his pk, it was clear that it just wasn’t going to be their night.