Connecticut Wolves: 2, Toronto Lynx: 1
Starting Line Ups: Toronto: Theo Zagar, Adrian Serioux, Marco Reda, Mauricio Vincello, Lyndon Hooper, Brian Ashton, David DiPlacidio, Robbie Aristodemo, Chris Pozniak, Kristian Grzetic, Franciso Dos Santos. Connecticut: Adam Throop, Max Zeiky, Dean Sewell, Mobi Oparaki, Fabio Zuniga, David Vaudrevil, Temoc Suarez, James Proctor, Winston Griffiths, Paul Oyuga, Patrik Beech.
(Varsity Stadium, Toronto) The day was set for the Toronto Lynx to get things back on track. They had outplayed the Rochester Raging Rhinos a mere 48 hours previous, and walked off the pitch with an unfortunate 1-0 loss. Today, under a sunny cool sky, in front of a legion of 4,211 young Lynxsters, and against an opponent they had thrashed 4-0 the previous year (an opponent that only managed 1 victory throughout the 2000 season), everything was lined up for a glorious hometown win.
Until the final 11 minutes of the match, it was to be just that. As had occurred against Rochester, Toronto monopolized the pace and control of the game, the same story again; even Kristian Grzetic's 62nd minute goal was eerily reminiscent of the one he put past the Montreal Impact on May 19th. Then, things in the hometown end began to fall apart.
The first 45 minutes were a spirited and hard-nosed affair. Toronto tackled hard, pushing up in waves again and again, and left goalkeeper Theo Zagar with very little to do. Their dominance was obvious, and although the Wolves fought back, it was only a matter of time until the Lynx showed their true stripes. An early, precise left line slide from Brian Ashton stripped a rushing Temoc Suarez of possession (and left him reeling in its wake), Adrian Serioux time and again stopped a threatening Paul Oyuga dead in his tracks, Robbie Aristodemo terrorized the right side with his fleet-footed speed, and it seemed as though every Lynx striker and midfielder had a crack at the Connecticut net.
At 16 minutes in, David DiPlacidio tried an unsuccessful 30-yard bouncer from centrefield. 4 minutes following that, Francisco Dos Santos slinked past the Wolves backline deep on the right and pummelled a rocket from 10 yards. Connecticut's 'keeper Adam Throop stood strong, cut the angle down, and cleared the blast free for a corner. Chris Pozniak curled the kick in to a severely occupied crease, the ball then half-cleared by the Wolves to the feet of a waiting and unmarked Brian Ashton. The sturdy midfielder offered his powerhouse right-footer 35-yards out, only to see it sail wide of the post.
Toronto continued to press and at 29 minutes a frantic juggle in front of the Wolves net ended with Lyndon Hooper cracking a close range shot into the grasping arms of Throop. At the 42nd, Dos Santos was given another point blank opportunity, which Throop blocked right side to a waiting DiPlacidio. He chipped it in to a rushing Kristian Grzetic, who put too much on the one-timer and sailed it over the crossbar. At the halftime mark, Toronto left the field with a sense of inevitability, while Throop, no doubt, walked off with stinging hands and forearms.
After the second half whistle blew, all action pressed again into the Connecticut end. With controlled passing and an unwavering resolve, the Lynx finally took advantage of the Wolves backline uncertainty. At 62 minutes, attacking defending Adrian Serioux hustled the Connecticut back wall by speeding the ball in from the right flank, trying his own luck from about 25 yards. Throop blocked frantically, the Wolves misjudged their clearance, and a swooping Kristian Grzetic gave the Varsity fans his second goal of the season and first of the match.
Toronto maintained their pressure and control, but slowly Connecticut began to force action back and assert themselves; first into the midfield, then deeper in the Lynx end. At the 79th minute, they took a page from the Lynx own book: a deep right side cross from David Vaudrevil found the head of an airborn Fabio Zuniga, who expertly guided the ball past Theo Zagar. Connecticut found their second wind and threw everything into an impressive assault, raising the last 10 minutes to a fever pitch. Lynx stalwart defender Mauricio Vincello mistimed a challenge on Zuniga just outside the goal box at 84 minutes, resulting in a free kick decision at 21 yards. Toronto's wall stood strong, but the subtle curl of Temoc Suarez left 'keeper Zagar with his cleats nailed to the grass. The power, speed and precision of the strike put the trailing visitors ahead with 6 minutes to go.
Toronto provided fresh legs with a late substitution of Waldo Sponton for Hooper. Almost as soon as he took to the field, the South American nearly walked the ball in for a shot attempt, but an extremely questionable high elbow from the Wolves' Dean Sewell stopped him cold. Although no foul was ruled, Toronto were given their last opportunity at the stroke of 88 minutes. A shirt-grabbing skirmish for possession afforded the Lynx a long-range free kick at 45 yards. While the bulk of Toronto pressed in behind the Connecticut wall, kicker Ashton opted to side pass to an extrememly late subbed Joe Mattachione, who heaved a strong volley wide of the right post. At the final whistle, memories of Sunday's fixture versus the Rhinos came back all too clearly.
"Again, we had a real lack of defense when we needed it" lamented a wearied Peter Pinizzotto (Toronto head coach and GM) after the game. "This match (and the Rochester game) were two incidents that never should have happened. We had some lapses even though we maintained position and worked hard on the ball. (Connecticut) is a team though that just keeps pushing, and when the game was tied late, we tried to push them also, but we found ourselves without enough players back."
Brian Ashton also added, "it's extremely frustrating. That's professional sports though, it's the way it goes. We seem to be going through this thing where we can play hard for 80 straight minutes, then in those 10 (minutes) where we don't, we pay for it with the end result. Home games like this are the important ones, and we just have to start winning them."
When asked about the expectations of the upcoming June 3rd home fixture against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, Pinizzotto offered "we're going to have to make a change for that one. Not necessarily for the score result, but (midfielder Chris) Pozniak is going overseas to play for his nation (Canada, off to Paraguay for the U20 Nation Championships). I haven't figured it out just yet how to work with that, but we'll see what happens."
The Lynx drop to a record of 1-2, while Connecticut still remains undefeated at 3-1-0.
Card Infractions: Toronto- Adrian Serioux (yellow, 14 minutes), Brian Ashton (yellow, 25 minutes), Connecticut- David Vaudrevil (yellow, 14 minutes), Fabio Zuniga (yellow, 25 minutes).
