Soccer Bowl 2014

Last updated
Soccer Bowl 2014
2014 NASL Championship Logo.jpg
Event Soccer Bowl
San Antonio Scorpions Fort Lauderdale Strikers
21
DateNovember 15, 2014 (2014-11-15)
Venue Toyota Field, San Antonio, Texas
Man of the Match Rafael Castillo (SAS)
Referee Ted Unkel
Attendance7,847
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NASL Championship Final 2014 was the North American Soccer League's postseason championship match of the 2014 season to determine the NASL Champion. The event was contested in a one-game match between the San Antonio Scorpions (Fall Season champions) and the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. San Antonio defeated the New York Cosmos 2-1 [1] in their semi-final match while Fort Lauderdale defeated Minnesota United FC (Spring Season champions) in a penalty shootout 5–4 after a 1–1 tie [2] in the other semi-final game. The match was played on November 15, 2014, at Toyota Field, in San Antonio, Texas and televised live on ESPN3, ONE World Sports, NASLLive.com as well as on San Antonio's MeTV KSAT 12.2 and Fort Lauderdale's Sofloradio.com. This was the Scorpions first Soccer Bowl championship. The Soccer Bowl trophy is the third oldest men's professional outdoor soccer league prize in the United States. [3]

Contents

Background

Neither the Scorpions nor the Strikers have ever lifted the NASL Soccer Bowl trophy. The Strikers are making their third overall appearance (between NASL Golden and Modern Eras) in the league's championship final, while the Scorpions are playing in their first ever title game. San Antonio is coming off a 2–1 victory over the visiting New York Cosmos in The Championship Semifinals. In the other semifinal match, Fort Lauderdale topped Minnesota United FC, 5–4, on penalty kicks to earn its first berth to the finals since 2011. The Strikers were on an eight-game unbeaten streak, while the Scorpions had won their last three encounters.

San Antonio leads the head-to-head series against Fort Lauderdale, however, the teams played an even series this year (1-1-1). The last meeting between the two sides took place on August 29 when goals from forward Fafà Picault and midfielder Mark Anderson gave the Strikers a 2–0 home victory at Lockhart Stadium. [4]

Game summary

Before a modern-era NASL Championship game record crowd of 7,847 on a cold and misty night at Toyota Field, the San Antonio Scorpions reached the top of the NASL mountain and raised the Soccer Bowl trophy for the first time in their history with a 2–1 win over a determined Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

The Alamo City lads triumphed on the strength of a spectacular 70th minute bicycle kick goal by Rafael Castillo and a 75th minute breakaway strike by Billy Forbes. The Strikers had a golden opportunity to grab the lead just past the hour mark, but rattled the cross bar from the penalty spot. Fort Lauderdale ensured the closing 11 minutes would be tense when Walter Ramirez halved the deficit. As the game unfolded, both the Scorpions and the Strikers began to grow in confidence. San Antonio was unable to take advantage of two corner kicks in the span of a minute as Fort Lauderdale contained the threat and pushed out on the counterattack.

San Antonio came close to breaking the scoring open in the 15th minute when Rafael Castillo sent a free kick into the box that Greg Janicki got his head on, but his effort went wide of the goal. In the 20th minute Castillo got the crowd on their feet with a shot from 30 yards out that went wide of a diving Kamil Contofalsky and also beyond the goal. Six minutes elapsed before the Strikers got another chance to counterattack, but after Darnell King raced down the left side his pass into the box was just out of reach of Mark Anderson and the scorebook remained closed for the time being. The Strikers twice nearly broke the first half deadlock through Aly Alberto Hassan as his effort beat Josh Saunders but bounced outside of the left post. In the 62nd minute the Strikers nearly went ahead through a long-range effort by Shawn Chin, but Saunders was on the spot and dived low to make the save. On the rebound the Strikers were awarded a penalty kick after Anderson was brought down in the box. Martin Nunez stepped up to the spot, but his effort glanced off the top of the crossbar and a golden chance went begging.

The Scorpions finally opened the scoring in the 70th minute in spectacular fashion. Castillo produced a perfectly executed bicycle kick that flew beyond the reach of Contofalsky and tucked inside the far left post to send the Toyota Field crowd wild. In the 74th minute Forbes doubled the advantage and had the Scorpions believing they had one hand on the trophy after he reached Castillo's long through ball and raced around Contofalsky to put the Scorpions ahead 2-0. Fort Lauderdale fought back in the 79th minute when substitute Ramirez got the better of Saunders, finishing off a give-and-go with Anderson with a roofed shot that meant the hosts lived nervously during the closing stages of the match. The first yellow card of an intense game was not issued until the 84th minute when Scorpions substitute Giuseppe Gentile brought Chin down from behind on a slide tackle, and San Antonio's Hassli also picked up a card after he came in late on a tackle.

San Antonio held on for the final minutes, as Fort Lauderdale threw everything they had at them, to become the fourth different team to hoist the coveted Soccer Bowl trophy in as many years in the NASL's modern era. [5]

Championship results

San Antonio Scorpions 2–1 Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Castillo Soccerball shade.svg69'
Forbes Soccerball shade.svg74'		 Report
Report 		Nuñez [6]
Ramírez Soccerball shade.svg79'
Toyota Field, San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 7,847
Referee: Ted Unkel
Kit left arm SAScorpions 14h.png
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body SAScorpions 14h.png
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm SAScorpions 14h.png
Kit right arm.svg
Kit shorts.svg
Kit socks long.svg
San Antonio Scorpions
Kit left arm yellowshoulders.png
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body redhorizontal.png
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm yellowshoulders.png
Kit right arm.svg
Kit shorts.svg
Kit socks long.svg
Fort Lauderdale Strikers

2014 NASL Champions: San Antonio Scorpions

San Antonio Scorpions:
GK25 Flag of the United States.svg Josh Saunders
DF2 Flag of the United States.svg Jonathan Borrajo
DF3 Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg Julius James
DF12 Flag of the United States.svg Greg Janicki
DF21 Flag of Jamaica.svg Stephen DeRoux
MF5 Flag of El Salvador.svg Richard Menjivar
MF7 Flag of the United States.svg Wálter Restrepo Sub off.svg 85'
MF16 Flag of Colombia.svg Rafael Castillo
MF19 Flag of the United States.svg Josue Soto
FW8 Flag of the Turks and Caicos Islands.svg Billy Forbes
FW10 Flag of Costa Rica.svg César Elizondo Sub off.svg 74'
Substitutes:
GK1 Flag of the United States.svg Daryl Sattler
DF44 Flag of the United States.svg Juan Leone Cruz
FW9 Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg Trevin Caesar
FW20 Flag of The Gambia.svg Sainey Touray
FW22 Flag of Poland.svg Tomasz Zahorski
FW28 Flag of the United States.svg Giuseppe Gentile Yellow card.svg 84'Sub on.svg 74'
MF29 Flag of France.svg Eric Hassli Yellow card.svg 88'Sub on.svg 85'
Manager:
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Alen Marcina
Fort Lauderdale Strikers:
GK1 Flag of Slovakia.svg Kamil Čontofalský
DF21 Flag of the United States.svg Darnell King
DF33 Flag of Brazil.svg Rafael Alves
DF2 Flag of Serbia.svg Stefan Antonijevic Sub off.svg 77'
DF12 Flag of Honduras.svg Iván Guerrero
MF8 Flag of Brazil.svg Pecka
MF14 Flag of Haiti.svg James Marcelin
MF9 Flag of Uruguay.svg Martín Núñez Sub off.svg 73'
MF17 Flag of the United States.svg Shawn Chin
MF20 Flag of England.svg Mark Anderson
FW15 Flag of the United States.svg Aly Hassan Sub off.svg 60'
Substitutes:
GK22 Flag of the United States.svg Lionel Brown
DF5 Flag of the United States.svg Justin Chavez
DF18 Flag of Haiti.svg Stéphane Guillaume
MF6 Flag of Guyana.svg Chris Nurse
MF11 Flag of the United States.svg Fafà Picault Sub on.svg 60'
FW19 Flag of Brazil.svg Jenison Brito Sub on.svg 77'
MF73 Flag of Honduras.svg Walter Ramírez Sub on.svg 73'
Manager:
Flag of Austria.svg Günter Kronsteiner

Man of the Match:

Rafael Castillo (San Antonio Scorpions)

MATCH OFFICIALS

  • Assistant referees:
    • Gianni Facchini
    • Felisha Mariscal
  • Fourth official: Armando Villarreal

See also

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References

  1. ↑ http://www.nasl.com/matchcenter/gsmid/1962591 Report
  2. ↑ http://www.nasl.com/matchcenter/gsmid/1962589 Report
  3. ↑ "Oops! Sorry, Something Went Wrong | Nasl".
  4. ↑ "Oops! Sorry, Something Went Wrong | Nasl".
  5. ↑ "Oops! Sorry, Something Went Wrong | Nasl".
  6. ↑ Wagner, Joe (November 16, 2014). "Scorpions Raise Soccer Bowl Trophy With 2-1 Win Over Strikers". nasl.com/.
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