Soccer In Toronto 07.12.08

By Rocket Robin Soccer In Toronto

Final Score
Toronto Lady Lynx 4, Western Mass Pioneers 3

Venue
Edelweiss Park, Bolton

Kickoff
1:00 pm

Highlights
3 min … Lady Lynx Alicia Donaldson GOAL
Donaldson gets ball on left wing, rounds defender Amanda Markham and shoots 8 yarder from left between left post and goalie Erin Herd.

9 min … Pioneers Brie Gray GOAL
Gray shot from left 12 yards into center of net. Gray gets to ball after defender had blocked shot and ball was passed over to her. The ball had spun off the goalie’s save.

39 min … Lady Lynx Brittany Bisnott GOAL
Bisnott rolled ball on rush up middle and her low 15 yard shot is into the left side of net.

45 min … Lady Lynx Stefania Morra GOAL
LL Alyssa Lagonia rush on left rolls pass ahead to Morra who rounds defender and gets 10 yard shot over goalie.

58 min … Pioneers Brie Gray GOAL
Gray charges up right wing and chips over sprawling goalie Elise Kuhar-Pitters and into middle of net from 15 yards.

65 min … Pioneers Hannah Bromley earns Yellow card for tripping LL Brittany Bisnott on breakaway. Referee Richard Oliviera awards a Penalty kick.

66 min … Lady Lynx Stefania Morra GOAL
Morra blasts penalty kick into right side of net with goalie frozen.

68 min … Pioneers Terese Smith GOAL
Pioneers Karen Ray cornerkick from left has Smith head ball in from 5 yards.

Notes
» Attendance was not announced but was 937 in ticket sales. Today was part of the Bolton Soccerfest and I’d say about 300 people were watching this game. The weather was hot and hazy and the threat of rain was realized almost as soon as the game ended with a downpour that drove the crowd to shelter. The field was natural grass and not closely cut so the ball looked like it was rolling out of bounds but would stop and stay in play. The field the Lynx used was surrounded by hills on three sides and swamp on two and forest on the other with one side leading to the other fields and exits. I was surprised that balls weren’t lost but the ball retrievers could find them right away. I could imagine the bug problem in the evenings with mosquitoes but I didn’t come across any but I did get a bee sting on the arm while watching the game.

» I expected the Lady Lynx would run away with this game especially scoring so early on a rather soft goal. Before the game the Pioneers record was 1 win, 7 losses, and 1 tie while the Lady Lynx record was 9 wins, 1 loss, and 1 tie. Instead the visitors would keep coming back and closing to within a goal. The Lady Lynx limited them to no chances after their last goal.

» Lady Lynx forward Brittany Bisnott sang the American and Canadian (half English and half French) national anthems before the start of the game and then scored to keep pace with Stefania Morra. Both players scored a hat trick against Rochester, a goal each against Laval last game and then a goal apiece today.

» With today’s win the Lady Lynx should clinch a playoff berth if Rochester loses to second place Ottawa Fury in Ottawa tonight. Two more regular season games to finish their regular season await. Next Saturday a 4:00pm home game at Varsity Centre against Hamilton and then Sunday a road game against Rochester. I will miss my first home game as I’ll be at the MLS game between Toronto FC and San Jose. I expect they will have one playoff home date by either finishing first or second.

Final Score
Toronto Lynx 4, Indiana Invaders 0

Venue
Edelweiss Park, Bolton

Kickoff
5:00 pm

Highlights
26 min … Lynx Kevin Omokhua GOAL
Lynx cornerkick from right is knocked down by Lynx Chris DeAbreu at 20 yards and his short pass has Omokhua turn and blast 12 yard shot up middle over goalie Phillip Tuttle and just under the bar.

43 min … Lynx Daniel Revivo GOAL
Lynx Jean Tshimpaka on left crosses from 15 yards on end line and Revivo scissor kicks ball in from 5 yards from middle into left side of net. WOW!

81 min … Lynx Lloyd Grist GOAL…Lynx Daniel Revivo rushing in from left towards goal and pushes pass to Grist who rolls shot to far right corner of net from 7 yards.

82 min … Lynx Jean Tshimpaka GOAL
Lynx player passes ball from left and Tshimpaka shoots one-timer in from 7 yards to right side of net from left.

Highlights
» Attendance was not announced but was 937 in ticket sales. Today was part of the Bolton Soccerfest and I’d say about 300 people were watching this game. The Lynx ran into bad luck as just after the Lady Lynx game ended (a 4-3 win for them) at about 3:15pm, the sky opened up and chased the crowd away. The rain stopped about an hour later and the weather was hot and overcast but the field was fine. It was nice that so many people returned or came for the first time as the Lady Lynx regularly outdraws the Lynx. The wet ground led to a lot of sliding tackles and referee Michael Izzo game out a few Yellow cards for those kinds of plays.

» The field was natural grass and not closely cut so the ball looked like it was rolling out of bounds but would stop and stay in play. The field the Lynx used was surrounded by hills on three sides and swamp on two and forest on the other with one side leading to the other fields and exits. I was surprised that balls weren’t lost but the ball retrievers could find them right away. I could imagine the bug problem in the evenings with mosquitoes but I didn’t come across any but I did get a bee sting on the arm while watching Lady Lynx game.

» Erik DiLorenzo was the captain of the Lynx today probably in honour for Bolton being his hometown. Nils Binstock earned the shutout for the Lynx. He was good at smothering or clearing through balls before they became dangerous chances. The defenders were blocking shots on the edge of the box. I was surprised that the Lynx limited the Invaders to so few chances.

» Indiana’s record coming into today’s game was 5 wins, 4 losses, and 2 tie while the Lynx were 6 wins, 5 losses and 2 ties. The Lynx lost their game in Indiana 3-1 a month ago.

» It looks like the Lynx will finish third in their division. That should earn them the final playoff spot however a fluke scenario would have them miss the playoffs if division leading Michigan Bucks are not don’t finish as the best team in the conference. In that case they would get in as the first place team rather than a ‘bye’ team and there’d only be one other spot and that would go to the second place Cleveland Internationals. The scenario would leave the Lynx in an awkward spot as if they lose their game against Michigan it would ensure Michigan wins the conference and if the Lynx win, they’d knock themselves out! However it is expected that this week’s results will have Michigan steamroll the opposition to the Lynx can play to win when the two teams meet up next Sunday.