USSF D-II: Austin, Rochester finish deadlocked

Posted Jul 10, 2010 by Nick Murray

Updated Jul 10, 2010 at 12:22 PM

Austin and Rochester play to a draw, while Puerto Rico takes victory against Baltimore in Friday’s USSF Division II action.

AUSTIN 0, ROCHESTER 0: The Aztex maintained their six-point lead at the top of the USL Conference standings as honors ended even at Marina Auto Stadium.

One a wet evening, Austin had more shots and more corners, and almost stole victory in the 82nd minute as Eddie Johnson’s header from 15 yards out skidded just wide of the left post with Rochester goalkeeper Neal Kitson beaten.

The Rhinos had chances of their own, the best coming to Tyler Roselund who should have scored from six yards out only to see his shot go off the crossbar in the 76th minute. Max Ferdinand also had a late opportunity after Austin’s Miguel Gallardo let a ball slip through his hands, but a covering defender was able to block Ferdinand’s shot.

PUERTO RICO 2, BALTIMORE 0: A pair of first-half goal gave the Islanders victory, allowing them to close the gap between themselves and the rest of the USL Conference while still holding a game in hand.

Richard Martinez gave the Islanders the lead in the 22nd minute, a deflected cross coming to the edge of the penalty area coming to Martinez who fired home. A defensive miscue then doubled the Islanders advantage in the 34th minute, Baltimore defender Andrew Marshall redirecting a cross into his own net.

The Islanders now sit just two points behind FC Tampa Bay and currently sit in eighth place in the overall standings with at least one game in hand on all of its USL Conference rivals.

TODAY’S GAMES

MONTREAL (4-5-5) AT ST. LOUIS (2-8-3): St. Louis faces it second game in three days, having made the trek back from Vancouver where they earned a 1-1- draw against the Whitecaps on Thursday night.

The Impact are winless in their last four games, including two straight defeats to Vancouver and Carolina, and have given up two goals in their last three contests. Tony Donatelli has four goals this season, but has received little support offensively with the Impact having scored only 13 goals in 14 games.

MIAMI (2-4-8) AT PORTLAND (5-5-5): The Timbers rebounded from a poor run of form to pick up seven points in their last three games and were unlucky not to earn their third straight victory when they were held by Vancouver last Saturday in a 0-0 draw.

Portland outshot Vancouver 20-6 in the contest, forcing Whitecaps goalkeeper Jay Nolly into seven saves. Miami goalkeeper Caleb Patterson-Sewell may need to produce a similar performance if the Blues are to come away from PGE Park with a result.