What a difference a couple of days can make. On Sunday, the Calgary Storm easily played their best match of the season in their victory over Indiana. On Tuesday, they certainly played their worst match in their tough first year in the A-League. The Toronto Lynx came to town and showed no mercy on the young Calgary side, demolishing them 6-0.
Toronto opened the scoring in the 8th minute when Shawn Faria was open at the penalty spot. He received a cross from the right side and put the header past Alan Flanagan.
Calgary had a decent chance in the 17th minute when Jordan Gillespie crossed the ball into the box, but Conrad Chala could not convert.
In the 24th minute, the Lynx increased their lead when Niki Budelic launched a hard shot that Flanagan got his fingers on, but couldn’t stop it from rolling past the goal line.
Chala had another chance for the Storm in the 33rd minute when Nicholas Zuniga’s pass from the left side came to him. His header went straight to Lynx keeper Theo Zagar.
Toronto continued to press and in the 37th minute, Elvis Thomas blew past Storm defender Angelo Sestito along the right sideline to the corner. From there, Thomas moved along the goal line and passed to an unmarked Budelic who easily knocked it past Flanagan.
The domination of the Lynx continued. In the 42nd minute, Thomas received the ball from a throw in. He went past Storm defender Liam DeSilva and got the ball to Robbie Aristodemo, who nailed the shot from ten yards out, leaving the score at the half Toronto 4 Calgary 0.
Perhaps the most brilliant individual effort of the night occurred in the 52nd minute when Thomas headed the ball over a Calgary defender then took a shot from the right side that went just inside the left post.
Calgary had a chance to break the shutout in the 63rd minute when Kurt Bosch broke towards the net forcing Joe Mattacchione to foul him in the box. Jamie Auvigne took the penalty kick, but his mid-level shot to the right side was knocked away by Theo Zagar.
The final goal of the match was scored in the 69th minute by Adrian Serioux when he chipped the ball over a falling Flanagan and into the net.
The unopposed Lynx had one more chance in the 73rd minute when Thomas put a quality ball through to Budelic in the box, but he missed the ball. It was a minor error in a masterful performance by the Toronto side. The final score was Toronto 6 Calgary 0
This loss puts the Storm out of contention for the Voyageurs Cup. The Lynx are in first place in the Voyageurs Cup table at present.
Calgary’s next match is on Friday at Foothills Park when the Cincinnati Riverhawks visit at 6:30pm.
Lineups:
Calgary: Flanagan, Dugas, Sestito, DeSilva, Pesznecker (Ledgerwood 46), Gillespie, Auvigne, Zuniga (Kamdem 46), Chala (Wheeldon 46), Bosch, Bachelu
Toronto: Zagar (Kryger 70), Faria, Kojic (Rosenfeld 59), Mattacchione, Vincello, Diplacido, Serioux, Vignjevic (Ashton 54), Aristodemo (Penalillo 59), Budalic (Plachy 62), Thomas
Goals:
Toronto: Faria (8th), Budalic (24th and 37th), Aristodemo (42nd), Thomas (52nd), Serioux (69th)
Cautions:
Calgary: Wheeldon (47th)
Attendance: 1012
Weather: sunny with a few occasional raindrops, 18 C at kickoff, 14 C by final
STORM WARNINGS: The Storm are still missing Waldo Dutra and Chris Lemire (Canada U20), Damir Jesic (suspended), Mike Pavicic (injured) and Mark McKenna (injured). Jesic should be back for the club’s next game on Friday...Nik Ledgerwood has returned to the fold after leading the Alberta U17 all-stars to victory at the Canadian national championships in Newfoundland. Another member of the all-stars was Ryan Gyaki, who played for the PDL this season and sat on the bench tonight...Two more newcomers to the roster include 23-year-old Tommy Wheeldon Jr., the son of the Storm’s head coach. His last club was Weston-super Mare, a semi-professional club in England. Goalkeeper Allan Flanagan is a 21-year old native of Ireland who most recently played for Kingstonian, an English semi-pro club.
