Standing Room Only Crowd Sees Thunder Throttle Edmonton 3-0
Castellanos Scores Two Goals
July 24, 2004 (St. Paul, Minn.) –
The Minnesota Thunder easily handled visiting Edmonton FC 3-
0 Saturday evening at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota in
front of a standing room only crowd of 5,109. Because Macalester’s
stadium holds only 4,200 people, fans crowded onto the track that
surrounds the field, creating an intimidating atmosphere for the
Aviators.
The Thunder next play at home on August 4th versus the San Jose
Earthquakes of Major League Soccer in the fourth round of the U.S.
Open Cup. With the increasing number of fans seen at home games and
the already brisk pace of ticket sales for the August 4th game a
sellout is expected. Order your tickets now to ensure your spot at
this historic game, as the Thunder make their first-ever appearance
in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup. The Thunder advanced to
the quarterfinals after defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS) 1-0.
Tickets can be purchased by visiting
www.mnthunder.com or by calling
the Thunder office at 651-917-8326.
Forward David Castellanos scored two goals and midfielder Marco
Ferruzzi chipped in a goal and an assist in leading the Thunder to
the 3-0 win over Edmonton. Goalkeeper Joe Warren made three saves
in securing his A-League leading 12th shutout.
Thunder head coach Buzz Lagos was pleased with his team’s performance
and the outcome of the game.
“We went right at them right away and created several great chances
for goals. Melvin [Tarley] had some chances, David [Castellanos] had
some chances, but we couldn’t quite put them away,” he said.
And indeed the Thunder did pressure the Edmonton defense early in the
game as both Tarley and Castellanos created excellent shots on goal
from the right side of the field. Tarley had his shot blocked by
Edmonton goalkeeper Nick Stankov in the 3rd minute and Castellanos’
shot rolled just wide of the goal in the 5th minute of play.
In the 34th minute Castellanos received the ball on the left side of
midfield and fed a pass to Godfrey Tenoff who helped the ball along
to a streaking Ferruzzi. Ferruzzi took his first touch towards the
Edmonton goal and then drilled a low shot from 30 yards past a diving
Stankov into the left corner of the goal to put the Thunder up 1-0.
“We got a gorgeous goal with a combination pass in the midfield from
Godfrey Tenoff and Marco,” said coach Lagos, “and that gave us an
important lead.”
The Thunder dominated play in the first half with nine shots on goal
to Edmonton’s single attempt. The Thunder also had four corners in
the first half, while Edmonton was awarded only one.
The second half continued in much the same way the first half ended,
with the Thunder dominating possession and play.
“[In the] Second half we came out strong again, dominated, and didn’t
let them get across the midfield much, we got our second goal, our
third goal and basically put the game away,” said coach Lagos.
In the 52nd minute Freddy Juarez brought down a long outlet pass on
the left side of the field and carried the ball deep into the
Edmonton goal box. Juarez beat one player near the end line and then
fed a pass across the goalmouth to a streaking Castellanos who hit a
low shot as he fell to the ground only to have it saved by Stankov.
The rebound, however, came directly back to Castellanos who was able
to hit a second shot, while lying on the ground, into the back of the
net for the 2-0 lead.
The Thunder increased their lead to three in the 70th minute when Jay
Alberts collected the ball on the left side of the field and drove a
long diagonal ball into the goal box that found the head of Marco
Ferruzzi, who directed the ball across the goal mouth to a wide open
Castellanos who easily slid the ball into the back of the net from
three yards.
Edmonton’s best chance to score in the game came in the 77th minute
of play when Nikola Vijnievic collected the ball just outside the
Thunder goal box. Vijnievic moved past one Thunder defender and hit a
curling shot that ricocheted off of the cross bar.
“We were able to make some substitutions, rest some players and get
some of the other guys some playing time,” said coach Lagos of the
second half.
The Thunder made five substitutions in the second half, which may
prove to be important as the Thunder prepares for next weekend in
which they will play three games in six days. The Thunder first
travels to New York to face the Rochester Raging Rhinos on Friday
(July 30) and then the Syracuse Salty Dogs on Saturday (July 31).
They will then return to Minnesota to prepare for their August 4 game
at James Griffin Stadium with the San Jose Earthquakes.
The win over Edmonton improves the Thunder’s A-League record to
10-4-3 (W-L-D).
Game Summary
Scoring:
Minnesota: Ferruzzi 34 (Tenoff)
Minnesota: Castellanos 51 (Juarez)
Minnesota: Castellanos 70 (Ferruzzi)
Lineups:
Minnesota: Warren, Branan (Wilson 75), Brunt, Jacquette, Tenoff
(Roberts 81), Alberts (Magee 71), Friedland, Ferruzzi, Juarez
(Vorenkamp 71), Castellanos, Tarley (Menyongar 61)
Edmonton: Stankov, Ebo, Munoz (Drummond 66), Hart, Bosch, Chin,
Vignjevic, Vikrem, Dhaliwal, Fraser, Takie
Minnesota: Shots: 19 Fouls: 14 Offside: 4 Corners: 7
Edmonton: Shots: 6 Fouls: 13 Offside: 1 Coners: 2
Goalkeeper Stats:
Warren (Minnesota): Shots Faced: 6 Saves: 3 Goals Allowed: 0
Stankov (Edmonton): Shots Faced: 19 Saves: 5 Goals Allowed: 3
Cautions:
Minnesota: Alberts 27
Edmonton: Munoz 40, Bosch 44
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