Stars Fall to Montreal 2-0
The Montreal Impact defeated the NSC Minnesota Stars 2-0 for the second time in a row Saturday night at the NSC Stadium in Blaine. With the loss the Stars are now tied for fourth in the NASL standings with a 7-8-8 record.
Montreal scored six minutes into the match, giving the Impact an early lead. Simon Gatti took the ball down to the corner before passing it into the midfield where Sinisa Ubiparipovik made the connection for the upper corner goal.
Ubiparipovic scored again late in the second half for the Impact after receiving a ball on a counterattack, where he snuck past the Minnesota defense to strike a shot in the upper left corner. The goal put the Impact up 2-0.
After a frustrating start the Stars picked up the pace and looked determined to even up the score in the second half. NSC Minnesota played a dangerous ball into the penalty area a few minutes into the half, but Tino Nunez couldn’t quite get a foot on it. Simone Bracalello had a great opportunity in the 72nd minute when he hit a shot from the top of the box, but it sailed just over the crossbar.
The Stars will be back in action Saturday night as they head to Canada to face FC Edmonton for the final time this season. The Stars are currently tied with Edmonton for fourth place, and with the Strikers only one point behind in the standings a win will be crucial.
Match Recap
Minnesota Lineup: Joe Warren, Justin Davis, Cristiano Dias, Kyle Altman, Chris Clements, Andrei Gotsmanov, Neil Hlavaty (Sandy Gbandi 82), Scott Lorenz, Tino Nunez (Ryan Woods 57), Simone Bracalello, Devin Del Do (Brian Cvilikas 75)
Montreal Lineup: Evan Bush, Cameron Knowles, Hassoum Camara, Luke Kreamalmeyer, Simon Gatti, Amir Lowery, Ian Westlake, Sinisa Ubiparipovic (David Testo 80), Ryan Pore (Leonardo Dilorenzo 87), Eduardo Seisrango, Mircea Ilcu (Mignane Diouf 65)
Scoring Summary
MTL: Ubiparipovic 7′
MTL: Ubiparipovic 72’
Misconduct Summary
MTL – Sebrango, caution 37’
MIN – Bracalello, caution 50’
MIN – Davis, caution 78’
Statistics
MIN: 5 shots, 10 corner kick, 2 offside, 14 fouls, 3 saves
MTL: 7 shots, 2 corner kicks, 2 offside, 13 fouls, 2 saves
Attendance: 2,267, NSC Stadium, Blaine, MN
