After 110 minutes of entertaining soccer, the Connecticut Wolves and Boston Bulldogs played to a scoreless draw on Friday night at Veteran's Memorial Stadium in New Britain.
The Wolves used a revamped lineup, moving Fernando Fernandes up front to forward with Mike Saunders, while utilizing the speed of Kevin Wilson at the right midfield position. Newcomer Ricky Blanchard also provided some spark at left midfield. Connecticut dominated the posession game in the first half, keeping the ball for nearly two-thirds of the opening period. The Wolves pressured the Boston backline, forcing a number of turnovers and scoring opportunities. The best chance for the Wolves came in the 22nd minute, when Saunders picked up a loose ball to start a 3 on 2 break. Saunders passed to Kevin Wilson at the top of the penalty area, made a nifty move then chipped a pass to the right where Fernando Fernandes drew out Boston goalkeeper Anthony Latronica. Fernandes switched to his right foot and got a low shot off, but the ball trickled within inches of the post.
In the second half, Boston built some momentum, and the run of play was even throughout. Latronica made the save of the game tipping a free kick blast by Carlos Parra (who was on loan to the Wolves from their Major League
affiliate New England Revolution). Both 10-minute overtimes saw Boston with some scoring chances, but Goalkeeper Juergen Sommer (also on loan from the Revs to the Wolves) used his 6'6" frame to intercept numerous crossing passes and cornerkicks. After Wolves defender Sean Nealis picked up his second yellow card in the 104th minute, the Wolves' defense clamped down and preserved the 0-0 score.
The Connecticut Wolves now hit the road for a four-game road trip. Sunday, May 28 at Montreal, Thursday, June 1 at Toronto, Saturday, June 3 at Rochester and Wednesday, June 7 at Long Island. The Wolves return home on Sunday, June 11th for a 7:30 game against the Long Island RoughRiders. Gates Open at 6:00pm for the Pre-Game Entertainment
(Northstar Acoustic D.J. Party).
http://www.ct-wolves.com
