Toronto Lynx: 4, Virginia Beach Mariners: 1
Starting Line-Ups:
Toronto- Theo Zagar, Jan Veenhof, Tyler Hughes, Adrian Serioux, Josue Mayard, David DiPlacido, Robbie Aristodemo (SUB: Paul Lewis, 70th min), Giuliano Oliviero (SUB: Niki Vignjevic, 61st min), Jonathan Westmaas (SUB: Nick Blicharski, 58th min), Shawn Faria, Sebastian Barclay (SUB: Ryan Lucas, 59th min).
Virginia Beach- Joe Larson, Steve Danbusky, Russel Hutchinson, Carl Bussey, Derek Phillips (SUB: Kevin Knott, 64th min), Jeff Moore (SUB: Daniel Alvarez, 66th min), Jacob Fenger, Jamath Schoffner (SUB: Gary Williams, 66th min), Hamisi Amani-Dove, Roy Lassiter, Carlos Garcia.
(Centennial Park Stadium, Toronto) The old vaudeville saying goes "always leave 'em wanting more". This evening the Toronto Lynx brought fierce pride and last chance resolve to their final fixture of the season and mopped the pitch with a truly sluggish and seemingly disinterested Mariners squad, hammering the playoff bound visitors with a final goal margin of 4-1.
Obviously, the case can be made the Mariners have already secured a post-season berth for themselves and Toronto are long since removed, but both the Toronto faithful and the Lynx themselves would have none of it; they played hard, and played well. Quietly, coach/GM Peter Pinizzotto beamed afterwards "honestly, have you ever seen this team play so well? We could've beat any team in the league tonight."
In many ways, this evening's match was thew culmination of several factors that have trailed the Lynx all season long: a slew of injuries to important players, no chemistry in the scoring line, dissatisfaction with the home pitch, and rumors of intermittent unrest in the dressing room. The actual reason notwithstanding, Toronto blew 4 quality goals past a highly improved and enviable A-league squad with their sights already set on Eastern Conference hopes.
As early as the second minute of play, Toronto's Sebastian Barclay slipped in alone past a sluggish visiting defence, shot low and hard, and had his effort turned aside by a desperate Joe Larson (easily one of the most improved keepers in the league). But Barclay was sniffing for blood from the get go, and was rewarded for his hunger at the 13-minute mark. Recently returned Robbie Aristodemo chested down a high pass from the left flank and lobbed in into a swarming Mariners box; Giuliano Oliviero, making good on his early season promise with a truly memorable showing this evening, sidefooted the ball by his marker to a waiting Barclay. The Argentine connected well, and gave himself his 5th of the season as cool as you please.
Waking up at least momentarily, the Mariners midfield began with the eventually sterile ploy of trying to feed through a series of passes to either Lassiter or Garcia, but were constantly caught glaringly offside. Either distracted or complacent, one of the highest scoring teams in the league just could not get anything to click from the start (and they certainly didn't help matters any by resting both scoring killers Dante Washington and Roland Aguilera); Lassiter didn't offer anything of substance until as late as the 76th minute, with a one-on-one Theo Zagar turned aside deftly, his 65th minute penalty kick notwithstanding. Amani-Dove, quite frankly, was doing his best Kevin Bacon impression as The Hollow Man, noticeable only in a small offering of short range passes and one futile strike that went miles over Zagar's net in the 30th minute.
Despite the visitor's offensive sterility, their backline had some solid moments, with tough Hutchinson tested time and again and getting the job right every time. The appearance of Mariners fave Kevin Knott also bolstered a defensive core looking weary and out-of-step with countless plays.
Toronto's second goal came from Giuliano Oliviero, a 42nd minute close range bullet that strained the mesh on Larson's net with screaming vigor. "My season's been a bad one" the injury stricken midfielder commented afterwards, "and I wanted to at least go out on something big." With a distinguished multi-year career as an Impact regular behind him, 'Gules' had a hard season plagued with recurring injuries and never hit his expected stride in the yellow and white. His final effort was a memorable one, a lasting visual that will stay with Lynx fans for some time.
Toronto beat Larson a 3rd time in the 69th minute with a scrappy finish from tenacious fullback Mayard, a straining one-timer that sailed in perfectly from the right off Aristodemo. "Hey, I gave the fans their pizza goal tonight!" beamed the wiry Montreal native, making reference to the sponsorship deal of 3 Toronto goals in a game equates as a free slice from Pizza Pizza.
Finally, on his 26th birthday, substitute striker Ryan Lucas finished on a lovely solo effort, carried in from the top of the 18-yard box and hammered low under a sprawling Larson in the earliest moments of injury time.
Obviously, questions about another under-achieving season will have to be answered in the long months until next spring. Several theories have been bandied about through the entire 2003 campaign, from an indecisive striking line, to budgetary restrictions, to simple bad luck through debilitating injury. Question marks remain around several players and their place next year, and even Pinizzotto has hinted at perhaps different pastures for 2004. That said, this is a good team, with a strong close-knit core of talented players who combine silky finesse with gritty resolve. Changes will be made to be sure, but perhaps not as many as some may think. Pinizzotto estimates perhaps three simple roster switch-ups for a truly competitive playoff squad, which sounds a reasonable estimation. With both the Pittsburgh Riverhounds and Charlotte Eagles reformatting to a D3 level, several players will become available for consideration, and only an idiot would miss the potential to strengthen a striking line with personalities like Dustin Swinehart, Thiago Martins, and Ricardo Villar floating around. As the saying goes here in Lynx-land, wait and see. Regardless, the 2003 ride has ended, and we await the 2004 campaign with anxious curiosity and the returned promise of a final-four squad which seems like a million years ago (in fact, only three). Perhaps Aristodemo said it best after the game with "if it wasn't for all those injuries…"
Card Infractions: Toronto- Josue Mayard (YELLOW, 40th min), Barclay (YELLOW, 53rd min). Virginia Beach- Fenger (YELLOW, 47th min).
Special Note: "Well done lads!" The worthy recipients for the 2003 Toronto Lynx player awards are as follows: Public Relations- Shawn Faria, Fan Favorite- Brian Ashton, Best Defensive Player- Mauricio Vincello, Best Offensive Player- David DiPlacido, MVP- Theo Zagar.
Till 2004, Go Lynx Go…
