Buffalo Flash Late Goal Ties Lady Lynx

Lady Lynx Victory Gone in a Flash
Injury time goal by Buffalo results in 1-1 tie

Toronto — A last-minute goal by the Buffalo Flash salvaged a tie for the visitors against the Toronto Lady Lynx this afternoon at newly refurbished Centennial Park Stadium. Clare Rustad’s 71st minute goal looked as if it would hold up as the winner for Toronto as the clock moved to full-time, but Rosie Tantillo beat Justine Bernier to level the match in injury time, and the teams split the points. The tie raises the Lady Lynx’ record to 3-2-3 (12 points) on the season, but they remain in fourth place in the Great Lakes Division, one point behind the Flash ( 4-2-1, 13 points). Toronto wins the season series between the two clubs, earning a win and a tie in two matches.

Toronto controlled play throughout much of the first half of the match, the Lady Lynx’ first of the year at Centennial and its new artificial surface. The young squad could not find the scoresheet, however, and the half ended with both squads level at nil-all.

Neither team was able to set the pace as the second half opened, and the game became a very physical affair with hard tackles on both sides of the ball. Toronto began to press towards the later stages of the frame, and finally found the scoreboard in the 71st minute off of Rustad’s head. The W-League veteran headed home a Bryanna McCarthy corner kick for her second goal of the season, and Toronto found itself with a well-earned 1-0 lead.

As the game progressed towards time, it looked like Toronto would get the three points and sweep the season series from the Flash. Buffalo pressed, but could not crack the strong Lady Lynx defense, and Toronto nearly netted an insurance goal on a number of their many counter-attacks, but a second goal was not in the offering.

The Flash spoiled the afternoon for the Lady Lynx and their fans deep into injury time when Tantillo slotted home an Amanda Abdullah pass to knot the affair at 1-1. Toronto was unable to clear the ball following a frantic Buffalo attack, and the full points were snatched cruelly from their hands.

The Lady Lynx now head into a well-deserved ten day break before their next action. The team heads east to Laval for a Canada Day encounter at 4:00 PM, and then travel to Hamilton on Monday July 6 at 7:00 for a make-up match against the Lady Avalanche following last Wednesday’s postponement. The team then returns home on July 8 at 11:00 AM for a Youth Day rematch against Laval. Tickets for the match may be purchased by calling the Lynx ticket hotline at 416-251-4625 x 31, or at the Centennial Park Stadium box office one hour prior to kickoff.

Lineup Toronto
Bernier, Marton, Rustad, Chapman, Afonso (Schroter, 45), MacDonald, Szwed, Henderson (Ruhe-Lischke, 63), Mangal (Cameron, 45), McCarthy (Morra, 90), Frederick

Lineup Buffalo
Brandao, Sahlen, Tarr, Wagenfuhr, O’Rourke (Barbuto, 60), Sutton (DeSevario, 78), Abdullah, Lacek (Lawrence, 73), Ruiz (Craft, 83), Tantillo

GAME STATS Toronto-Buffalo
Shots: 11-10
Saves: 6-6
Fouls: 11-16
Offsides: 1-4
Corners: 3-3

Scoring
TOR … Rustad (McCarthy) 71′
BUF … Tantillo (Abdullah) 90′

Next Game
July 1, 4:00 PM
At Laval