Leading at the half

The Minnesota Stars may lead 3-1 after the first leg of the two-game, total-goals North American Soccer League Championship Series against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, but two mantras have floated through the hallways at the National Sports Center all week.

It’s halftime.

Play like it’s still 0-0.

The Stars travel to Fort Lauderdale Saturday night for the second game of the series knowing that the Strikers will be pushing hard to make up the two-goal gap and take advantage of what has been the best home-field advantage in the NASL playoffs. In two home games, the Strikers have outscored their opposition 7-1 at Lockhart Stadium.

“One of the challenges we face is coming off a game where we played so well knowing that we need to continue to get better,” Stars head coach Manny Lagos said. “We need to be ready to match the Strikers for intensity in a tough environment.”

The Stars got the series off to a dream start last Saturday with a 3-1 win in front of 4,511 fans in Minnesota. Neil Hlavaty scored after only four minutes, and the Stars recovered from an own goal in the 52nd minute with goals in the 53rd and 78th minutes to build the two-goal advantage.

Now the onus turns to protecting it. With 90 minutes left to play to decide the championship, Lagos said he doubts the Strikers will take unnecessary chances by throwing men forward right away, but he expects some attack-minded lineup and tactical changes from Fort Lauderdale head coach Daryl Shore. Stars players know an onslaught could be coming, and the longer Saturday’s second leg stays scoreless the more pressure the defense will need to cope with.

“The first goal and if or when it comes is critical,” said Lagos, who played in his share of two-legged series during his career in Major League Soccer. “If we can get it, we can take away the crowd and force them to take chances; if they get it, it opens the game up.”

Saturday night’s game kicks off at 6:30 p.m. CDT. A live broadcast of the match is available on NSCMinnesota.com and NASL.com, and GolTV will air the match on tape delay starting at 9 p.m. CDT Saturday. The Stars return to the Twin Cities Monday and welcome fans to join them at Brit’s Pub in downtown Minneapolis Tuesday night from 7:30 to 9:30 to celebrate the 2011 NASL season.