Okay so I spaced out and forgot the pregame thread, but we came back and tied it on a slick over the shoulder goal from David Santamaria. The unbeaten streak lives on! Discuss.
We had a hard time dealing with the turf and lucked into them falling asleep on the corner to let us tie the game. I'll take the points and the move into fourth place. Montreal gained two points on us, but hopefully that doesn't matter.
A 1-1 draw is better than a 0-1 defeat. Montreal's 3 points mean little now. The big thing is FCTB are 3 points up on us & we have Carolina next Saturday. We must beat them again to keep pace so we can catch FCTB on the 27th.
Considering the short turnaround from last game, plus that atrocious field (which may have caused us to lose Restrepo for at least awhile), and the fact that Edmonton is still a pretty good team, I'd say the result was definitely a positive. If you can go on a three game road trip against three playoff position teams and get points in each one, I'd say that is a highly successful trip. Now that formula means getting a result in Cary next weekend too. The 'Hawks seem to be stumbling a bit lately, so I'd say if we continue defending as strongly as we have been of late, we have a great opportunity. We're 9 points clear of 7th place now (and up to 4th!!) and looking pretty solid for making the playoffs. Now it's time to start thinking about positioning. I'm not sure 2nd is going to be reachable at this point thanks to too many ties. But 3rd certainly is, and let me point out the reasons I think it is absolutely crucial: Finishing 3rd puts you up against the bottom playoff team (6th) in the first round. Not always a joy, but this year I tend to think that whether it's MN, Edmonton, or MTL, it will be a good matchup for the Strikers. If you can win the first round matchup, you'll be facing the Islanders next instead of Carolina. I know the Railhawks have hit a bump in the road of late, but they're still for the most part the same team that ran out to that huge lead in the standings. If they regain that form rounding out the regular season, you don't want to face them until the finals I think if you can help it. Despite the season series being all even, we were one crappy PK call by a ref in PR away from having a decent shot at winning the season series. If the ref doesn't make that putrid phantom call, and Chacho doesn't get the red, who knows how that game plays out. Conversely, many Striker Likers have come to see it as a positive turning point for the season, that with Chacho out, the team has played better. Anyway, good stuff from the boys of late, and I can't wait for the match Saturday night in Cary. If we can come home with another point in our pocket, I think the road trip will be a success, and we'll be ready to take on those damn Rowdies, hopefully with a monster crowd at Lockhart!!!! Go Strikers!!!!
Good point last night, the strikers were obviously second best and saved by Santamaria. A point against Carolina would be a satisfying result, and given their recent form we could do even better.
That field was atrocious...the game morphed into some strange kickball-pingpong-trampoline exercise. Loved that neon-yellow endzone too.
That field is just unfair to any team who is used to grass. Actually, Edmonton wasn't that good on the ball, despite being familiar with pitch. It was an UGLY match, almost un-watchable. If every game was like that, I would never be a fan of this league. I'll take the point, whether we deserved it or not. A team should get a point just for playing on it.