The Calgary Storm continued their losing streak at Foothills Park
tonight where they fell
to the Portland Timbers 1-0. The Storm have now lost seven consecutive
matches. For
the second straight game the club stayed even with their opponents only
to concede a goal
in the last couple of minutes of the match.
The first half did not have many goal scoring opportunities. The first
quality scoring
chance occurred in the 17th minute when Timber forward Rees Bettinger
put a header
over the bar after receiving a cross into the box.
As the half neared completion, both clubs had corner kick opportunities
that were not
converted. Storm defender Liam DeSilva’s header went wide right in the
41st minute
while Timber midfielder Benjamin Somoza put one wide left three minutes
later.
When the second half began, it was clear that both teams wanted to open
up the play. In
the 54th minute, Calgary keeper Lars Hirschfeld launched a long goal
kick on the short
Foothills Park pitch. Kurt Bosch put a head to the ball which was
bouncing towards the
Portland goal but Matt Napoleon made the save.
In the 63rd minute, Damir Jesic nearly broke the deadlock by launching a
cracker from
about 30 yards but Napoleon was there again.
As the second half progressed, Portland forward Fadi Afash showed why
he’s such a
dangerous striker. In the 75th minute, Afash launched a volley over the
net after
receiving a cross from the right side. In the 80th minute, Hirschfeld
was forced to make
the best save of the match when Afash got his foot on a corner kick into
the box. Afash
eventually did convert a chance in the 88th minute when Hirschfeld made
a save and was
out of position, allowing the striker to knock the rebound into the
empty net.
The Storm had one last chance to tie in the 90th minute when a
well-placed Nicholas
Zuniga corner was put over the bar by Mike Pavicic.
The loss puts the Storm at 1-1-8 and in last place in the Pacific
Division. The win moves
Portland into third place in the division with a record of 3-1-6.
Calgary now begins a three game road trip which takes them to Toronto,
Montreal and El
Paso. Their next home game is Friday, June 21 at 7pm when the El Paso
Patriots return
to Foothills Park.
Lineups:
Calgary: Hirschfeld, Chala, Pavicic, DeSilva, Auvigne, Ledgerwood,
Jesic, Zuniga,
Martins, Bosch, Napuri (McKenna 60)
Portland: Napoleon, McAuley, Wilkinson, Sancho, Costigan,
Alcaraz-Cuellar, Somoza,
Winters, Afash, Bettinger (Adair 60), Sagare (Benedetti 82)
Cautions:
Calgary: Chala 83rd
Portland: Sagare 39th
Weather: cloudy 12C (54F)
STORM WARNINGS: Storm forward Chris Lemire sat out this game as a
result of a red
card from an earlier match. Peter Heidler missed his second consecutive
game due to
injury. Mark McKenna’s injury healed sufficiently for him to play the
last thirty minutes
of the game. The club also added three local products on three-game
trials. Sean Friesen
has experience with Mount Royal College and the Alberta Major Soccer
League Calgary
Dinosaurs. Andrew Zakaluzny spent last season with the University of
Calgary and also
plays for the AMSL Calgary Blizzard.. Angelo Sestito has pro experience
with the
defunct NPSL Edmonton Drillers. He currently plays for the AMSL
Edmonton Victoria
and is the new head coach of the men’s soccer program at Concordia
College in
Edmonton. The trio are expected to provide depth during this spate of
injuries and
suspensions.
