A penalty kick by Bert Williams in the dying seconds of the second and final overtime gave the Connecticut Wolves a 1-0 victory over last year's A-League finalists, the Minnesota Thunder, on Friday night in New Britain, Connecticut, in the first league match of the season for both teams. The teams generated few quality scoring chances between them in a lackluster first half. Wolves forward Patrick Beech had one of the best opportunities, a run onto a through ball on the left wing that required Minnesota goalkeeper John Swallen to come out of his area to challenge for the ball and force Beech to foul him, negating the opportunity. Minnesota's best opportunity of the half came as forward Shawn Kroener beat the Wolves' offside trap for a clear shot against Wolves keeper Adam Throop, but Kroener put his shot just wide of the post on the left-hand side.
The second half saw both teams increase their intensity, especially in the first half hour after the interval. The Wolves began to carry the play, with Mobi Oparaku proving especially dangerous on the right side of midfield. Oparaku's efforts led to a flurry of chances for the Wolves in quick succession early in the second half. Wolves midfielder Winston Griffiths hit the side netting on a chance created by a Bert Williams interception of an errant pass by Thunder midfielder Morgan Zeba. Oparaku then had the best opportunity of regulation soon thereafter, as his shot from fifteen yards deflected past Swallen but rebounded back into play off the right post. After this period, Minnesota began to show their experience, carrying the play for much of the rest of the half, with midfielder Stoian Mladenov putting a shot just wide to the left from twenty-five yards away.
With the score still 0-0 at the end of regulation, both teams tried to add offense through substitutions at the beginning of the first extra session. Johnny Menyongar came on for Minnesota and immediately had a clear scoring chance that he missed just wide of the right post. Former New England Revolution striker Fabio Zuniga replaced Beech for the Wolves, creating a scoring chance for fellow subsitute Erik Barbieri. After ten minutes, the game was still scoreless. The two teams found new energy in the second overtime, as Zeba forced a fine save from Throop in the Wolves net, while at the other end Swallen did well to deny Barbieri after a scramble in front of goal. The game seemed destined for a 0-0 draw, but Zuniga made one last run onto a Williams through ball with seconds remaining in the match. Zuniga went down in a tussle with a Minnesota defender just inside the penalty area. Referee Augusto St.Silva called a foul and pointed to the penalty spot. Williams stepped up for the Wolves and calmly put his shot in the top left corner, out of Swallen's reach, giving Connecticut the victory.
The victory means that Connecticut has now equaled their win total from last season. They look to build on this success against Rochester on Saturday, May 5, while Minnesota travels to Long Island later this weekend.
Connecticut Wolves: Adam Throop, Jeff Rigby, David Kelly, Russell Hutchinson, Bert Williams, Mobi Oparaku (Dan Rudolph 105), Dean Sewell (Erik Barbieri 80), Paul Oyuga, Winston Griffiths, Patrick Beech (Fabio Zuniga 91), Temoc Suarez.
Minnesota Thunder: John Swallen, John Coughlin, Don Gramenz, Mark Schultle, Eric Otto, Mike Gentile, Kirk Miller, Morgan Zeba, Stoian Mladenov, Shawn Kroener (Paul Schneider 77), Amos Magee.
