USSF D-II: Austin held by Portland, Montreal falls in Minnesota

Posted Jun 10, 2010 by Nick Murray

Updated Jun 10, 2010 at 12:40 PM

Austin is held by Portland, Minnesota takes victory late against Montreal, and Miami rallies in a six-goal thriller against Baltimore in Wednesday’s USSF Division II action.

AUSTIN 0, PORTLAND 0: The Timbers controlled the rhythm of the game from the outset, and almost grabbed a winner in the second half when George Josten hit the crossbar from distance.

The Aztex, who were without manager Adrian Heath as he served the first game of a two-game suspension for his ejection on Saturday, struggled to find their attacking rhythm. Timbers goalkeeper Steve Cronin was forced into making only one save, while his counterpart in the Austin net Miguel Gallardo had to make five.

The point, though, means the Aztex extended their lead over the FC Tampa Bay Rowdies to six points, the Rowdies now having one game in hand.

MINNESOTA 1, MONTREAL 0: The Stars continued Montreal’s recent slide as Melvin Tarley’s 87th-minute goal gave Minnesota victory at the NSC Stadium.

Montreal played well, but while they took 12 shots and forced seven corners, Minnesota goalkeeper Joe Warren was only required to make two saves to earn the shutout. The defending USL-1 champion Impact are now winless in three games ahead of their trip to Tampa on Saturday and have scored just six goals in nine games.

MIAMI 3, BALTIMORE 3: Crystal Palace Baltimore appeared to have secured a valuable three points on the road against Miami, but a late rally capped by Christian Gomez’s fourth goal of the season stole a point for the Blues.

Randi Patterson had given Baltimore the lead in the second minute, but former Clearwater High standout Brian Shriver tied the game for Miami in the 21st minute. Patterson again struck early in the second half, his volley in the 47th minute restoring the Eagles lead, and Lucio Gonzaga’s free kick in the 80th minute appeared to have sealed all three points for his side.

Miami hit back quickly, though, Ariel Germiniani scoring in the 84th minute, and then Gomez headed home at the far post from Shriver’s cross from the right to equalize.

VANCOUVER 1, CAROLINA 1: The Whitecaps finally conceded a goal at Swangard Stadium as Etienne Barbara converted from the penalty spot after being brought down by Nelson Akwari in first-half stoppage time.

That goal cancelled out Ansu Toure’s goal in the 31st minute and earned the RailHawks a point to complete a highly successful four-game road trip that saw the side go 2-0-2. Vancouver, though, will likely be happy with a point that allowed it to retain its three-point advantage over Carolina at the top of the NASL Conference.