Minnesota Thunder

2009 First Round: Late red cards ruin 402’s comeback attempt as Thunder win 3-2

June 9, 2009 by

NationalSports Center – Blaine, Minn. | 8:05 p.m.

	3	FT	2
Brian Cvilikas 30’ Leonel Saint-Prioux 40’ Brian Cvikikas (Saint-Prioux) 46’				12’ Andrei Gotsmanov (Torres) 57’ Tony Schmidtz 84’ Tony Schmitz (SENT OFF) 90’ Tim Walters (SENT OFF)

The Minnesota Thunder survived the challenge of Nebraska’s 402 with a 3-2 victory to advance to the Second Round.

402, named after Eastern Nebraska’s telephone area code, struck first when former Thunder player Johnny Torres assisted on Andrei Gotsmanov’s 12th minute goal. Minnesota nearly tied the score twice shortly after, but attempts from Brian Cvilikas and Rod Dyachenko could not cross the goal line.

Cvilikas finally broke through in the 31st minute when he drilled home a pass from Dyachenko. Leonel Saint-Preux gave the Thunder a halftime lead when he chipped a shot over 402 goalkeeper Ross Kaufman. The USL-1 club increased their lead in the 47th minute when Cvilikas scored his second of the game, when Saint-Preux fed him for the score. Just ten minutes later, 402 closed the gap back to one as Tomy Schmitz sent a 25-yard shot past goalkeeper Nic Platter.

Toward the end of the game, 402 were reduced to ten men when Schmitz was shown his marching orders for a hard foul on Saint-Preux. Minnesota will host the Chicago Fire PDL club next Tuesday in Round 2.

Starting Lineups:

Minnesota: Nic Platter; Quavas Kirk, Chris Clements, Jon Greenfield, Andrew Peterson; Lawrence Olum, Jeremiah Bass, Rod Dyachenko (Ricardo Sanchez 66); Melvin Tarley (Geoffrey Myers 66), Brian Cvilikas, Leonel Saint-Preux (Marco Terminesi 89)

402: Ross Kaufman; Matt Thomas (Andrew Watts 88), Chris Brunt (Matt Wadleigh 45), Ryan Junge, Jay Mims, Tim Walters, Tim Bohnenkamp (Jace Peters 45), Andre Gotsmanov, Joshua Moran, Tony Schmitz

Game Statistics

Minnesota: Shots 21, Fouls 8, Offside 0, Corners 1
402: Shots 12, Fouls 6, Offside 1, Corners 7

Goalkeeper Statistics
Platter (Minnesota): Shots faces 12, Saves 4, Goals Allowed 2
Kaufman (402): Shots faces 21, Saves 5, Goals Allowed 3

Cautions:
MIN: Saint-Preux, 25 ‘,Thomas, 83 ‘
402: Schmitz, 38’, Gotsmanov 84 ‘

Ejections: 402: Schmitz, 84’, Walters, 90 ‘
Attendance: 245
Referees: Elias Bazakos, Fotis Bazakos Troy Cohrs , Jorge Oncontrillo

2008 Second Round: Cleveland’s Floyd Franks named Player of the Round

June 25, 2008 by

: Floyd Franks scored two goals for the Cleveland City Stars in their 2-0 win against the USL First Division’s Minnesota Thunder. Photo: Cleveland City Stars

Floyd Franks is a bit different than most professional players in the United States. A former Major League Soccer forward, he currently plays for the Cleveland City Stars of USL Second Division. His two extra time tallies against the Minnesota Thunder of USL First Division led Cleveland to a 2-0 victory and a date with the Chicago Fire of MLS in the Third Round on July 1 at Toyota Park.

As a result of that performance, the editorial staff of TheCup.us named Franks the Player of the Second Round for this year’s competition. Floyd sat down with TheCup.us to talk about his career, the Open Cup to date, and his thoughts of facing his former side (Franks was with the Fire in 2006 and 2007).

TheCup.us: You’re originally from Alabama, went to college in Charlotte, and played for the Chicago Fire. How did you end up in Cleveland?

Franks: Cleveland Coach Martin Rennie had seen me play and he called me last off season to see if I was available. I was still under contract with Chicago at the time but after my time was up in Chicago I remembered our conversation and I called Martin back and they welcomed me with open arms.

TheCup.us: Compare playing in MLS with playing in USL-2 and the cities as well. Is there any resentment toward the Fire and/or any extra excitement about facing them on Tuesday?Franks: The level is definitely higher in MLS but there is a lot of individual talent that has been passed over by MLS teams in the USL. The cities are different in the USL and with budgets we don’t get as much chance to stay. We usually drive right back after the game is over.

As far as the Fire, there is no resentment at all. I’m happy to be where I’m at. This is the right place for me right now. I’m looking forward to going back to Chicago because I have a lot of friends on the team and I think it will be fun to play against them and a good challenge for our club.

TheCup.us: The team has been on the road in each of the first two rounds playing teams with solid pedigrees in the US Open Cup. How has the team embraced their underdog status in the competition?Franks: We just tried to feed off that with our work ethic in the games. On the road it’s always tough so you know you have to go outwork the home team. Going into these games we are not overwhelmed by our competition at all and that’s one of the reasons we’ve been successful, we have a lot of self belief.

TheCup.us: With your past experience not to mention three of Cleveland’s four goals in the competition, you are definitely seen by outsiders as the go-to player for the City Stars. Is that a role you relish?Franks: It’s always nice to have people feel that they can trust you and I’m happy to have earned my teammates’ trust. For me, my main thing is to go out there and work hard as a part of the team and not really as somebody who takes the onus on himself.

TheCup.us: What’s in the future for Floyd Franks? Are you looking for another opportunity at MLS, hoping to catch on with a USL-1 side….looking at Europe?Franks: I definitely want to keep playing. My goal is to go to Europe, but if an MLS team were to call I would consider playing for New York because of how much I respect Coach Juan Carlos Osorio. I played for him in the past and I believe he’s one of, if not the, best coaches in the league and I would love to play for him again. All in all, I would like to go play in Europe just because it’s always been a dream of mine. If you were going to play soccer anywhere, it would be great to play where the game started.

2008 Second Round: Cleveland’s Floyd Franks scores 2 in OT, leaves Minnesota seeing stars

June 24, 2008 by

The Cleveland City Stars booked a date next Tuesday with the Chicago Fire, thanks to a 2-0 extra-time victory over the Minnesota Thunder.

After the teams played the first 90 minutes to a scoreless draw, Cleveland finally opened the scoring near the end of the first 15-minute extra time period.

Anthony Stovall found Floyd Franks with a pass, and Franks chipped a shot past Minnesota goalkeeper Nic Platter for the 1-0 advantage. Just a few moments later, Stovall was sent off for striking the Thunder’s Ricardo Sanchez in the face. Sanchez spent several minutes on the ground before being helped off the field. After seeking medical attention, Sanchez was back on the pitch for the second half of extra time.

With the clock winding down in extra time, Cleveland got the goal to seal the victory. Ian Liebbrandt was taken down by Platter in the box, and Franks stepped to the spot and put away the penalty kick for the 2-0 win.

Cleveland will travel to Toyota Park to face the four-time Open Cup winners Chicago Fire, Franks’ former team.

2008 First Round recap: Hollywood United historic upset headlines the opening round

June 14, 2008 by

2008 US Open Cup First Round
(Home team listed on right)

June 10
Yakima Reds 1:5 Harrisburg City Islanders
Boston Olympiakos 0:2 Western Mass Pioneers
Fredericksburg Gunners 0:3 Richmond Kickers
Crystal Palace Baltimore 2:1 LA Legends
RWB Adria 1:2 (aet) Rochester Rhinos
Pittsburgh Riverhounds 4:0 AAC Eagles
St. Louis Lions 1:4 Minnesota Thunder
Cleveland City Stars 2:1 Michigan Bucks
Bradenton Academics 2:4 Miami FC
Atlanta Silverbacks 2:2 (5:4 PKs) Austin Aztex U23s
Clearwater Galactics 2:5 Charlotte Eagles
Seattle Sounders 1:0 (aet) Arizona Sahuaros
Hollywood United 3:2 Portland Timbers
Brooklyn Knights 0:1 Carolina RailHawks
ASC New Stars 0:3 Charleston Battery
June 13
NY Pancyprian Freedoms 2:3 (aet) Real Maryland

Player of the Round: Pat Healey (CP Baltimore)
Notable upsets in the First Round
Things you should know about the First Round

In the lone upset in this year’s opening round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, Hollywood United became only the second USASA club to defeat a USL First Division team in the tournament, knocking off the Portland Timbers with a dramatic, stoppage-time goal from Earl Alexander.

A pair of penalty kicks by Matt Taylor kept Hollywood level with their professional hosts. The Timbers tallied with goals fron Chris Brown (32nd minute), and Arsene Oka (51st minute). A crucial turning point in the match came in the 53rd minute, when Hollywood goalkeeper Javier Barragan saved a penalty kick from the Timbers’ Takayuki Suzuki, keeping the score 2-1 in favor of Portland.

Four other amateur teams nearly joined Hollywood in the Second Round.

In Phoenix, Arizona, the defending USL First Division Champion Seattle Sounders needed 118 minutes to find the winning goal against the USASA’s Arizona Sahuaros. Kenji Treschuk scored the winning goal with just a couple minutes remaining in extra time, before the match would go to penalty kicks.

In Austin, Texas, the Atlanta Silverbacks got a penalty kick goal from David Hayes late in overtime to tie the game back up at 2-2 and sent the game into a tiebreaking shootout against the PDL’s Austin Aztex U23s. However, Atlanta would prevail, with Hayes sending the USL-1 side to the next round with the winning kick.

In Rochester, the Rhinos also needed extra time to knock off Chicago USASA club RWB Adria 2-1. Awadallah Morad tied the game for Adria with just four minutes remaining in regulation, and Hamed Diallo scored the eventual winning goal for Rochester just seven minutes into the extra period.

One match on Tuesday’s schedule was washed out by inclement weather, but the day after New York Pancyprian Freedoms (USASA Region I) took the Real Maryland Monarchs (USL-2) to overtime. The Monarchs needed an 85th minute equalizer and a late extra time goal to end the Freedoms’ upset bid.

2008 First Round: Tarley’s brace helps Thunder tame St. Louis Lions, 4-1

June 10, 2008 by

Melvin Tarley opened the scoring and then squelched any hopes of a comeback by the St. Louis Lions, as the Thunder beat the PDL side 4-1 in Blaine, Minn.

With the Thunder up 2-0 after Ricardo Sanchez’s 57th minute goal, Tommy Heinemann got the Lions on the board and sliced the lead to 2-1 in the 79th minute. But a minute later, the lead was back to two thanks to Tarley, who scored his seventh and eighth career Open Cup goals. The Liberian striker scored six goals in the 2005 tournament, tying him for the top total in the competition. Six goals also ties him for the most goals scored in a single tournament during the Professional Era (1995-present).

Dayton O’Brien set up Tarley’s second goal, then set up Aaron Paye for an insurance goal in the 89th minute as Minnesota earns a Second Round game against the Cleveland City Stars of the USL Second Division.

Starting Lineups:
Minnesota: Platter; Kallman, Taylor, Arango, Friedland; Greenfield, Barron (O’Brien, Dan 83), Sanchez (Gibson 74), deRoux (O’Brien, Dayton 78); Gonzalez (Paye 79), Tarley.

St. Louis: Sailor; Gelven, Mueller, Merrick, Gregory (Dyson 70); Angus, Clayes, Patterson, Speiss (Plow 76); Holmes, Heinemann.

Scoring Summary:
MIN: Tarley 45 (deRoux)
MIN: Sanchez 57 (Kallman)
STL: Heinemann 79 (Patterson)
MIN: Tarley 80 (O’Brien, Dayton)
MIN: Paye 89 (O’Brien, Dayton)

Game Statistics:
Minnesota: Shots 15, Fouls 5, Offside 5, Corners 6.
St. Louis: Shots 7, Fouls 3, Offside 2, Corners 7.

Goalkeeper Statistics:
Platter (Minnesota): Shots faced 3, Saves 2, Goals allowed 1.
Sailor (St. Louis): Shots faced 7, Saves 3, Goals allowed 4.

Cautions:
STL: Gelvin 45
STL: Merrick 45
STL: Heinemann 70
MIN: O’Brien, Dan 88

Attendance: 483

2007 Second Round: After four red cards, California earn hard-fought 1-0 win over Minnesota

June 26, 2007 by

In a match that sometimes resembled a wrestling battle royal, the California Victory defeated the Minnesota Thunder 1-0, just two days after Minnesota prevailed over the Victory by the same score in a USL-1 league match.

The Thunder wasted no time jumping on attack, forcing Victory goalkeeper Eric Reed to thwart two breakaway attempts in the first twenty minutes. The Thunder also struck the crossbar during this time, off a shot from Brian Farber.

The first half wasn’t all Thunder, however. California’s Jose Retiz forces GK Nic Platter to make a flying save to knock the ball over the crossbar.

The first of four red cards were issued just after the restart, when California’s Cameron Dunn was sent off for his second caution of the match. Minnesota would only keep the man advantage for twenty minutes, as Jeremiah Bass was sent off in the 79th minute for his second yellow card. The teams finished scoreless after 90 minutes, and moved onto extra time.

Just five minutes into the extra session, California got the eventual game-winning goal. Ricardo Sanchez put away a free kick to give the Victory a 1-0 lead, as was also ejected from the match for his goal celebration, in which he mimicked urinating towards some of the Thunder fans. Just after the start of the second extra time period, the sides were once again level, as Ansu Toure was shown a straight red card for a tussle with Cal’s Jose Retiz. All told, the two teams combined for 45 fouls, 12 cautions, and 4 red cards.

Scoring
(CAL) Ricardo Sanchez 105’

2007 First Round: Thunder gets past NPSL’s El Paso Indios USA 3-2

June 12, 2007 by

The Minnesota Thunder survived a tough encounter with the NPSL’s El Paso Indios USA, managing a 3-2 win over the USASA side to advance to the Second Round.

El Paso got on the board almost immediately after the opening whistle, when Marco Vidal was left undefended inside the 18-yard box, and beat Thunder goalkeeper Nic Platter in the 5th minute. Indios kept the pros off the board for most of the first half, until Minnesota scored twice in four minutes. In the 37th minute, Jeremiah Bass scored from a Godfrey Tenoff cross, diving to head the ball past Indios goalkeeper Hernandez. The Thunder struck again in the 40th minute, Tenoff once again with the assist, this time to help Darren Spicer send a low ball past Hernandez.

Minnesota widened it’s lead twenty minutes into the second half. Leo Gibson took Kevin Friedland’s throw-in and chipped it over a surprised Hernandez. Indios would not quit, pulling a goal back in the 77th minute. Urbica Uglijesa chipped a ball towards Joel Rios, but found the feet of Minnesota’s Spicer. Spicer then indirectly hit the ball towards Rios, who beat Platter to move to within one.

The Thunder will host the California Victory in the Second Round on June 26. It will be the second game in three days between the two clubs, the other being a USL-1 contest on June 24.

Scoring Summary:
(EPI) Marco Vidal 5’ (Olivares)
(MIN) Jeremiah Bass 37’ (Godfrey Tenoff)
(MIN) Darren Spicer 40’ (Godfrey Tenoff)
(MIN) Leo Gibson 66’ (Kevin Friedland)
(EPI) Joel Rios 77’ (Uglijesa)

Minnesota Thunder: Platter; Friedland, Tenoff, Greenfield, Taylor; Spicer (Mallace 79), Toure (Farber 86), Bass, Lencho (Alvino 23); Gibson, Paye (Gotsmanov 73)

El Paso Indios USA: Hernandez; Rios, Tena, Olivares, Becerra; Uglijesa, Vidal, Carrazco (Silva 71), Salas (Salas, Sergio 56); Brooks, Leal (Desantiano 62).

Game Statistics:
Minnesota: Shots 15, Fouls 11, Offside 2, Corners 6.
El Paso: Shots 6, Fouls 10, Offside 4, Corners 3.

Goalkeeper Statistics:
Platter (Minnesota): Shots faced 6, Saves 4, Goals allowed 2.
Hernandez (El Paso) Shots faced 15, Saves 12, Goals allowed 3.

Cautions
Minnesota: Bass 43’, Friedland 45’, Spicer 65’
El Paso Indios: Becerra 25’, Juarez 89 ’

Attendance: 1,132