Key Facts
Match: Fort Lauderdale Strikers at Minnesota United FC
Date: Saturday, July 13, 2016
Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET
Venue: National Sports Center Stadium; Blaine, MN
Broadcasts: SFL TV (Broward/Miami-Dade)
2016 Combined Records
FTL: 8th: 4-4-6; 16 pts; 13 GF / 18 GA, -5 GD
MNU: 4th: 7-1-5; 22 pts; 23 GF / 14 GA, +9 GD
Series History
First Meeting: April 26, 2014; 3-2 W in Fort Lauderdale
Last Meeting: April 16, 2016; 0-3 L in Minnesota
Series History (W-T-L): 5-5-12 (24 GF / 41 GA; -17 GD)
In Fort Lauderdale: 2-3-4 (9 GF / 16 GA; -7 GD)
In Minnesota: 3-2-8 (15 GF / 25 GA; -10 GD)
Previous Meeting
The last time these two teams met, the Strikers played a man down for more than an hour which contributed to Minnesota winning 3-0 at the National Sports Center on April 9. Geison Moura was shown red in minute 21 and the Loons took full advantage scoring twice before halftime. A Luis Zapata own goal finished out the scoring in minute 69.
Minnesota in the Fall
The Loons most recent match was against against English Premier League club AFC Bournemouth in an International Friendly. The Cherries handed Minnesota a 4-0 loss. The match started off as an open affair with both Minnesota and AFC Bournemouth having opportunities from dangerous positions.
In the NASL Fall Season, Minnesota is responsible for handing Indy Eleven their first loss since of the entire NASL campaign. The Loons went up by two goals early and held off the Boys in Blue for the remainder of the match. The win catapulted Minnesota into fourth in the combined table. The top four finishers qualify for the NASL postseason.
U.S. Open Cup Run
The Strikers historic Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup run has come to an end after a 3-0 loss to Chicago Fire in the Quarterfinals.
The first goal came early in the 6th minute, after Fort Lauderdale goalkeeper Diego Restrepo took down David Accam in the area. Accam capitalized from the penalty spot to give the Fire a 1-0 lead. The Strikers conceded two more times and were eventually reduced to ten men when Gale Agbossoumonde was shown a second yellow card in minute 69..
The Strikers were the only team NASL team to qualify for the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup, and the only team to advance past two MLS teams. Fort Lauderdale hosted the Richmond Kickers in their first match of the tournament, in Round 3. The match was forced into two extra-time and penalty kicks following a 1-1 draw. Diego Restrepo was the hero, saving three of the Kickers penalties as the Strikers won the penalty kick shootout 2-0. Against D.C. United, the Strikers were put into an all too familiar situation. After a scoreless 120 minutes, the match was forced into penalty kicks and the Strikers came out on a top with a 4-3 victory. It seemed like it was going to be deja vu in Orlando when the match was at a 1-1 draw going into extra time. Orlando City SC held off the Strikers attack throughout the extra time, but were caught off guard in stoppage time as PC scored a spectacular goal in the dwindling minutes of the second extra time period. The goal in the dying seconds allowed the Strikers to advance the Quarterfinals
