USSF D-II: Miami heads to face Aztex in Saturday’s action

Posted Jun 19, 2010 by Nick Murray

Updated Jun 19, 2010 at 11:27 AM

Miami travels to Austin, while Portland and Minnesota face off for the second time in three days at the National Sports Center as part of the rest of the USSF Division II action on Saturday.

MIAMI (2-2-7) AT AUSTIN (7-2-3): The Aztex will try to bounce back from just their second loss of the season when they host the Blues in the final game of a four-game homestand at Home Park.

Vancouver rallied to earn a 2-1 victory last Saturday in Austin as they held both Eddie Johnson and Jamie Watson without a point. Miami has picked up five points in its last three games to get back into the playoffs hunt, including a 1-0 victory against Portland last Saturday. Christian Gomez’s play has picked up to help the Blues, and he now has four goals and three assists on the season.

PORTLAND (3-5-4) AT MINNESOTA (5-7-2): A rematch of Thursday night’s game that the Stars won 1-0 in Portland, Minnesota will be trying to add to its impressive defensive run of form that has seen the Stars earn shutouts in their last three outings.

Tonight’s game will mark the halfway-point of the regular season for the Stars, who have played more games than any other team so far this season. Portland will want to try and gain ground, and find their first victory in the league since April 29, having gone eight games without a win since then.

The biggest issue for the Timbers has been goals, having scored only three goals in their eight-game winless streak. They’ve also been shut out in the last three contests, as no-one other than Ryan Pore has scored more than once this season.

BALTIMORE (3-6-2) AT CAROLINA (3-2-4): The RailHawks are undefeated in their last four contests, all on the road, but have only drawn in their last two and will want to pick up all three points against a Crystal Palace Baltimore side that has lost its way a little after a good run of form.

Carolina’s run of form has been led by striker Barbara Etienne, who now has five goals including two goals and an assist in the last three contests. The RailHawks have also conceded the second-fewest goals in the league, holding opponents to less than a goal a game.

Baltimore lost to Rochester last week, and then was unceremoniously dumped out of the U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday, the Eagles being the only USSF Division II team to suffer that fate. Now on the outside of the playoff picture, they need someone to help Randi Patterson going forward, with only Matthew Andongcho having scored more than one goal this season.