A-League champs face old foe El Paso; Home opener is May 27 vs. Indiana
The A-League national champion Minnesota Thunder pro soccer team opens the 2000 season tonight against the host El Paso Patriots. Game time is 8:35 p.m. (CST) at Socorro Stadium.
The Thunder's home opener against the Indiana Blast is Saturday, May 27, at the National Sports Center in Blaine. After losing to Indiana in overtime on Aug. 7 of last year, Minnesota won 13 straight games and its first national title after three unsuccessful trips to the finals.
The Thunder return eight of 11 starters from last year's 28-6 team. Minnesota's two-year record of 52-16 includes an 11-1 playoff mark.
Minnesota is just 4-4 all-time against El Paso, and the Thunder have lost two of three road games against the Patriots. El Paso (1-1) opened the season April 15 with a 4-2 win over U.S. Pro-40 before falling 1-0 to the visiting Orange County Waves April 29.
Patriots midfielder Bisser Georgiev was named A-League Player of the Week after scoring two goals and adding an assist in the win over U.S. Pro-40. He is one of four Bulgrians who have played all 180 minutes for El Paso thus far, joining goalkeeper Dimitar Popov and defenders Dimitar Vasev and Dimitar Dimitrov.
All four Bulgarians were signed by El Paso director of soccer Greg Petersen, who also signed former Thunder defender Kalin Bankov when he was coach of the Nashville Metros. Petersen and Bankov helped Nashville win the 1998 Central Division title ahead of Minnesota.
THUNDER FACE FLASH SATURDAY IN SAN DIEGO
Minnesota closes its season-opening weekend trip Saturday in San Diego against the two-time Pacific Division champion Flash. Game time is 9:35 p.m. (CST) at Mesa College's Douglas Stadium.
Saturday's game will be broadcast live on the Web at www.internetsoccer.com.
Minnesota improved to 5-0 all-time against San Diego by sweeping last year's best-of-three Western Conference championship series. The Thunder also swept the Flash in the 1998 conference finals and stopped visiting San Diego 1-0 in a shootout last July 11.
San Diego (3-1) is led by forward Mark Baena (2-1-5), the 1998 A-League MVP and two-time league scoring leader with the Seattle Sounders and California Jaguars. Colin Clark, San Diego's first-year coach, represented Northern Ireland at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
