News

Strikers Defeat Scorpions 2-1
Late San Antonio Falls Short in Fort Lauderdale
Posted on Sat, Aug 25, 2012

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Aug 25, 2012) - A late comeback effort fell short for the San Antonio Scorpions a 2-1 road loss to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers on Saturday night. The game was played under a Tropical Storm Warning in the area but still 3,268 fans attended the match.

The Scorpions remain in first place in the NASL standings and will continue their three-game road trip with a road match against the Minnesota Stars FC on Saturday, Sept. 1.

The Scorpions and Strikers split their season series with four points each.

"We've got to be able to do better," Scorpions Head Coach Tim Hankinson said. "None of the aspects of our game worked tonight."

With clouds hanging overhead and strong winds blowing into Lockhart Stadium, both teams had trouble developing scoring chances in the early stages of the match.

The Scorpions had a great chance early on when Hans Denissen received a pass from Walter Ramirez and tried to chip a shot over Strikers keeper Matt Glaeser in the 23rd minute, but the shot went over the crossbar.

In the 30th minute, Daryl Sattler made a diving save on a shot by Mark Anderson to keep the match scoreless.

Sattler would remain busy as the Strikers continued to go on the attack in the 36th minute. Anderson received a long cross into the box and passed it back for Hosman Ramos, but the shot from Ramos went wide of the net.

Pablo Campos got into the action in the 38th minute, receiving a pass at edge of the right box from Denissen and fired a shot on goal, but was stopped by Glaeser.

The game remained scoreless heading into the second half and the Scorpions had one of the best scoring chances of the night when Ryan Cochrane received a pass at the top of the box and blasted a shot that went off the post in the 54th minute.

Five minutes later, the Scorpions found themselves in trouble after a handball inside the box on a Strikers corner kick was called to set up a penalty kick. Abe Thompson converted to give the Scorpions a 1-0 lead in the 59th minute.

Thompson fired a shot on goal in the 69th minute that Sattler was able to partially get a hand on, but the ball trickled into the net to give Thompson his second goal of the match.

The Scorpions attempted to make a comeback late in the match and nearly picked up goal on a Denissen free kick in the 76th minute, but his shot went off the inside of the right post and away from the goal line.

A free kick by Javier Saavedra just outside the box in the 83rd minute brought the Scorpions back to life after the ball was knocked into the back of the net by a Strikers player for an own goal, cutting the Striker lead to one goal with just minutes to go.

Despite an effort to find the equalizer in the final moments of the match, the Scorpions failed to score the second goal and salvage a point on the road.

“To be able to shut down two of the league’s best goal-scorers in Pablo Campos and Jeff Cunningham says a lot about our team,” said Strikers head coach Daryl Shore. “Getting this win was big for our confidence as a team.”

Fort Lauderdale’s newest acquisition, Michael Tetteh, came onto the field in the 74th minute for Hosman Ramos. Tetteh was acquired this past week on loan from the Seattle Sounders of MLS.

“I think the kid’s very talented, and you saw a little bit of that tonight. When he starts figuring out where guys are going to be on the field I think you’re going to see good things from him,” said Shore.

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San Antonio Scorpions 3 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 1
Atlanta Silverbacks 2 Carolina RailHawks 0
Minnesota United 2 Tampa Bay Rowdies 3
Scorpions Hold Halftime Lead Over Strikers
Silverbacks Have Edge Over RailHawks At Halftime
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Standings
TEAM GP W T L GD PTS
Carolina RailHawks 6 3 2 1 4 11
Tampa Bay Rowdies 6 3 2 1 3 11
Atlanta Silverbacks 6 3 1 2 1 10
Minnesota United FC 6 2 2 2 1 8
FC Edmonton 6 2 2 2 1 8
San Antonio Scorpions 6 1 2 3 -4 5
Fort Lauderdale Strikers 6 1 1 4 -6 4
*Tiebreakers: 1. Goal Differential - 2. Total Goals - 3. Head-to-Head record