Match Preview: San Antonio Scorpions vs. Minnesota United FC

Webcast: NASLLive.com

TV: ESPN3; SAS-MeTV KSAT 12.2

A battle of the top teams in the 2014 NASL Standings as the San Antonio Scorpions host Minnesota United FC at Toyota Field in one of the two ‘Matches of the Week’ on ESPN3.  The Scorpions, who are currently first in the Fall Campaign but are second in the Combined Standings, are coming off a 3-1 loss to the host Carolina RailHawks last week.  Meanwhile, United, who’s already qualified into The Championship as the Spring Season Winner, topped the visiting Fort Lauderdale Strikers, 2-1, last weekend.  San Antonio, who has an eight-game unbeaten streak at home, have not defeated Minnesota in the last three encounters.  The previous meeting between the two clubs took place this past Spring when goals from forward Christian Ramirez and defender Kevin Venegas gave visiting United a 2-0 victory at Toyota Field on April 12.

Last Five Games:  SAS – T W L W L            MNU – W T L T W                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Recognition:

SAS-N/A

MNU-Miguel Ibarra, Christian Ramirez, Kevin Venegas (Team of the Week-10)

Stats leaders:

SAS-Goals –Tomasz Zahorski (6); Assists – Billy Forbes (6)

MNU-Goals– Christian Ramirez (15); Assists – Christian Ramirez (5)

Series:

NASL Head-to-Head: (9 meetings): United 3 wins, 4 ties, 2 losses— 8 GF/7 GA (+1 GD)

At Scorpions: (5 meetings): United 2 wins, 2 ties, 1 loss — 6 GF/5 GA (+1 GD)

This Year: (1 meeting): United 1 win, 0 ties, 0 losses— 2 GF/0 GA (+2 GD)

Last Meeting: April 12, 2014 at Toyota Field — Scorpions 0-2 United

Coaches quotes:

“Saturday's game will undoubtedly be an exciting contest between the top two teams in the league with potential implications for The Championship, but we're approaching our preparation with the same objective as any other game - to get three points. The team is ready and looking forward to battling in front of our passionate home crowd that not only elevates our intensity and creates an electric atmosphere on the field, but also give us an extra edge, which is perfect for big games like this." – Scorpions coach Alen Marcina

“First and foremost, the Scorpions are a better team than when we faced them early in the Spring Season.  Certainly their roster has changed and they have shown that they are a club that deserves to be at the top of the League. It's important for us to be excited about the way we played last week and the result that we got, but we are moving into a big challenge this weekend against a strong team that has some great players on both sides of the ball and we need to be ready to build off last weekend and have a good game.” – United coach Manny Lagos

Referee: Younes Marrakchi

Asst 1: Pedro Trejo Jr.

Asst 2: William Tomlinson

4th: Christopher Mercado