Ultramega Minnesota Semifinal Victory
du Nord, October 16, 2011
The NSC Minnesota Stars won one of the most dramatic soccer games ever played last Saturday night, knocking off #1 seed Carolina RailHawks in the Semifinals of the NASL playoffs. (EDITORS NOTE: I am still on a respirator and heart monitor 36 hours later.)Leading 1-0 from the 1st leg, the Stars went to Carolina and got off in grand style by scoring the games first goal in Leg 2 to go on top 2-0 early. For the second straight time it was unlikely goal scorer Andrei Gotsmanov with the strike for Minnesota.But just before half time the Stars made a big defensive miscue as centerback Kyle Altman and goalkeeper Joe Warren let the ball drop between the two of them and giant Carolina forward Pablo Campos took advantage of their hesitancy to poke the ball loose and then hammer it into the open goal. 2-1 Minnesota at half time.In the second half Minnesota struck again, this time it was Lucas Rodriguez cutting across the top of the box and shooting for glory. 3-1 Minnesota.But Carolina kept up the fight, and earned a p