As the crowd of 2241 soccer fans entered Foothills Park on Friday night,
there was a
feeling of renewal in the Calgary air. The first day of summer brought
the best weather
and biggest crowd of the season for a Storm game. Maybe this would be
the night that
the Storm would end their nine game losing streak and get back into the
playoff race by
defeating divisional rivals El Paso. Perhaps the club would not let
another last minute
goal spoil their result.
Apparently, someone forgot to give the new script to the players. The
Storm extended
their losing streak to ten games with their 3-2 defeat to the Patriots
on a Luis DaGama
goal in the final moments. The club is now 1-1-11 and are saddled with
the worst record
in the A-League.
The Storm were quick out of the gate with some threatening runs by Nik
Ledgerwood in
the first few minutes. The scoring would soon follow. In the 16th
minute, Peter Heidler
made a good run but was fouled about 25 yards away from the goal. Jamie
Auvigne took
the free kick. The ball landed in a scramble in front of the net where
an unmarked Damir
Jesic put it high past the keeper, giving the Storm a 1-0 lead.
The Storm kept attacking. A few minutes later Chris Lemire passed to
the speedy Kurt
Bosch, who forced Patriots keeper Jesse Llamos to punch the ball over
the bar. In the
20th minute, Nicholas Zuniga blasted a shot from 25 yards out that went
just over the net.
Bosch made another good run but the shot was right at Llamos.
In the 25th minute, the Storm extended their lead. Jesic took a shot
that Llamos knocked
away, giving Calgary the corner. Peter Heidler placed a perfect cross
into the box that
found Liam DeSilva, who headed it past the keeper. This gave the Storm
their first two
goal lead at any point this season.
The second goal seemed to wake up the Patriots. Luis DaGama put a free
kick just high
and left in the 27th minute. Shortly afterward, Omar Mora was left
alone in the box and
just put a volley wide to the right of the net. In the 32nd minute,
Mora put one off the
post from six yards out.
In the second half, the Patriots had several early opportunities on free
kicks by substitute
Jose Abarca in the 50th minute and Carlos Martinez in the 58th, but they
were unable to
convert. In the 59th minute, Calgary keeper Lars Hirschfeld rushed out
and grabbed a
great through ball to Paul Cabrera before he could put a foot on it.
In the 63rd minute, the Patriots got onto the scoresheet when Luis
DaGama knocked a
cross into the box past Hirschfeld, making the score 2-1 for Calgary.
Jamie Auvigne of the Storm tried to put the game away for Calgary in the
71st minute,
but his shot from the left side was saved by Llamos. Five minutes
later, Auvigne blasted
the ball from 25 yards out but it went just high and to the left.
In the 80th minute, the Patriots drew even on a nearly identical goal to
the first one. Jose
Abarca put a ball into the box which Mora headed past Hirschfeld.
The Storm attempted to regain the lead as the game neared completion.
Auvigne
launched another shot just over the bar in the 84th minute. Peter
Heidler’s free kick from
about 30 yards out almost dipped into the goal. Two more corners in the
89th minute also
did not result in a winning marker.
As the game entered injury time, the crowd was anticipating the whistle
that would lead
to overtime. However, El, Paso was given a controversial free kick in
the final moments.
The Calgary’s defense broke down at this key moment, and DaGama was able
to score
the winner.
The Storm’s next match is on Friday in Vancouver. Their next home game
is on July 1,
which is Canada Day, in a return match against the Whitecaps.
Lineups:
Calgary: Hirschfeld, Chala, DeSilva (Napuri 73), Sestito, Auvigne,
Ledgerwood, Heidler,
Zuniga, Lemire, Bosch, Jesic
El Paso: Llamos, Dos Santos, Martinez (Figueroa 62), McFarlane, Juarez,
DaGama,
Waldrum (Cabrera 32), Quinones (Abarca 46), Schell, Mora, Sosa (Lomeli
46)
Goals:
Calgary: Jesic (17th), DeSilva (25th)
El Paso: DaGama (63rd and 90th), Mora (80th)
Cautions:
Calgary: Ledgerwood (63rd)
El Paso: Mora (38th)
Attendance: 2241
Weather: 24 C (75 F)
STORM WARNINGS
Angelo Sestito of Edmonton made his debut with the Storm on Friday.
Sestito played a
strong 90 minutes at defender, replacing the injured Mike Pavicic...Four
former members
of the NPSL’s Edmonton Drillers were on the field for Calgary with
Sestito, Lars
Hirschfeld, Kurt Bosch, and Damir Jesic...Canadian soccer supporters are
setting up a
competition similar to the Southern Derby. The Voyageurs Cup is a
trophy that will be
presented to the Canadian A-League club that has the most points in the
scheduled
all-Canadian A-League fixtures. The fans have set up a web page at
www.voyageurscup.ca and are looking for donations to buy a
trophy...Jesic was captain
for the Storm in the absence of the injured Mark McKenna.
