Coming off the most important victory in franchise history over the Tampa Bay Mutiny in the U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday evening, the Connecticut Wolves hoped to carry the momentum into a stretch of four A-League matches in eight days, starting with a home match against the Toronto Lynx. But Connecticut could not build on Tuesday's performance in a 1-1 draw with Toronto on Saturday night at Willow Brook Park, New Britain, Connecticut.
From the start of the match, the referee controlled play with frequent, late, and often inexplicable whistles. Each team had a player cautioned in the opening fifteen minutes, with Wolves forward Fabio Zuniga carded for what appeared to be a clean steal on a slide tackle.
When the play was not being interrupted, Connecticut managed to put pressure on the Toronto defense, gaining advantages in both territory and possession in the first half. Dean Sewell and Mobi Oparaku proved particularly dangerous with their speed and hustle. Sewell nearly found Oparaku with a far post cross, but the Toronto defense scrambled back to cover and Lynx defender Mauricio Vinecello headed the ball over the endline off Oparaku just as the Wolves midfielder was about to head the ball towards goal from close range. Oparaku had the best chance of the first half after half an hour, when his rising shot from 15 yards just barely went over the crossbar.
Toronto, to their credit, played a strong, controlled defense to frustrate the Wolves in the first half, preventing Connecticut from creating many scoring chances despite their clear edge in territory and possession. The pivotal moment of the match then occurred shortly before halftime. Zuniga went for another slide tackle, won the ball cleanly, and began to dribble towards goal. The referee then decided that Zuniga had committed a foul on the tackle, a late call that infuriated Zuniga and the Wolves bench. Zuniga punted the ball high into the air in his anger, and was immediately issued his second yellow card, an automatic ejection. But it was only after the Toronto bench pointed out that it was in fact Zuniga's second yellow that the referee finally showed the red card in the 44th minute. The score remained 0-0 at the interval.
Down to ten men in the second half, Connecticut showed their skill and courage early on, still managing to maintain pressure for the first 20 minutes. Indeed, one movement after three minutes of the second half led to a Wolves goal and a 1-0 lead. Sewell came forward again from left back to steal the ball and dribble through the Toronto defense. He then put a perfect pass into space behind the defense for Oparaku, who easily slotted the ball past Lynx keeper Theo Zagar from 10 yards. It was Oparaku's second goal of the season, both in the last two games and both just rewards for the skill and work ethic that he has brought to the team all season long.
The Wolves then nearly increased their lead on two occasions, with Dean Sewell hitting the crossbar with a header from close range, and then on an open shot from 18 yards by Jake Dancy that forced Zagar to make an excellent save. But then the tide turned as Toronto brought on three substitutes, putting more pressure on the ten men of the Wolves.
The Lynx brought on a fourth substitute, David DiPlacido, in the 79th minute after an injury to midfielder Brian Ashton. DiPlacido paid immediate dividends, passing to Lynx defender Joe Mattacchione in space inside the penalty area on the right side. Mattacchione made no mistake with his shot, blasting the ball into the back of the net to tie the score in the 80th minute. Toronto then nearly grabbed a winner in regulation, as second half sub Aaron Benjamin barely missed wide on a header and fellow replacement Robbie Aristodemo unleashed a dipping drive from 30 yards that only just went over the crossbar.
The match went to overtime with the score still 1-1. The first extra session was largely uneventful, until the referee blew his whistle to end the overtime. The problem was that the teams had only been playing for nine minutes instead of the required ten. After much confusion, the first overtime resumed.
Toronto gained the ascendancy in the second overtime, with Vinecello in particular looking dangerous as he pushed forward out of defense. The Wolves did manage to get a quality scoring chance at the end off a free kick, but Temoc Suarez shot high over the crossbar. To cap off a strange night, the referee blew the whistle for full time with Toronto in the midst of an attacking movement, infuriating the Toronto bench. While it was the Wolves players and staff who had to be kept away from the referee at halftime, it was the Lynx who were angry at the officiating by the end of the match.
For Toronto, the tie breaks their five game losing streak, but the Lynx still find themselves at the bottom of the Northern Conference. Connecticut remains in second place, squandering another opportunity to gain maximum points at home. Indeed, the Wolves are only .500 at home in A-League play (2-2-2), having failed to gain a bonus point in any of those games. The Wolves have their next match on the road Wednesday against the Montreal Impact.
Connecticut Wolves 1, Toronto Lynx 1
Goals: Wolves- Mobi Oparaku (assisted by Dean Sewell)- 48th minute
Lynx- Joe Mattacchione (assisted by David DiPlacido)- 80th minute
Cautions: Wolves- Fabio Zuniga- 7th minute
Lynx- Joe Mattacchione- 13th minute
Lynx- Juan Arango- 32nd minute
Wolves- Fabio Zuniga- 44th minute
Wolves- David Vaudreuil- 44th minute
Wolves- Paul Oyuga- 49th minute
Wolves- Mobi Oparaku- 50th minute
Lynx- Mauricio Vinecello- 110th minute
Expulsions: Wolves- Fabio Zuniga (second yellow)- 44th minute
Lineups: Toronto Lynx- Theo Zagar, Marco Reda, Mauricio Vinecello, Joe Mattacchione, Lyndon Hooper, Brian Ashton (David DiPlacido 79), Darrell Gomez (Robbie Aristodemo 64), Chris Pozniak (Aaron Benjamin 67), Waldo Sponton (Kristian Grzetic 64), Francisco Dos Santos, Juan Arango
Connecticut Wolves- Adam Throop, Jake Dancy, Adam Eyre, Tony Soto, Dean Sewell, David Vaudreuil (Erik Barbieri 46; Dan Rudolph 91), Temoc Suarez, Winston Griffiths, Mobi Oparaku, Paul Oyuga, Fabio Zuniga
