After John Smits put in a man-of-the-match performance Sunday, allowing 10-man FC Edmonton to escape its home date against the Tampa Bay Rowdies with a 0-0 draw, coach Colin Miller that Lance Parker is in no danger of losing his No. 1 job.
And, the Impact scored early and often as it overwhelmed the reigning NASL champion Tampa Bay Rowdies 4-1 at the Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic in Orlando, while Toronto FC overcame a terrible start in a torrential first-hald downpour to overcome USL-Pro’s Orlando City 2-0.
Eddies’ central defender Paul Hamilton was named to the squad, which was announced by the league on Tuesday. The centre back was named defensive player of week in mid-May and led the team in minutes played, with 2,024.
Despite being up a man for an hour, FC Edmonton couldn’t score — and, to make matters worse for the home team, the Eddies were caught at the back late in the game, as Luke Mulholland’s goal gave the Tampa Bay Rowdies a 1-0 win.
FC Edmonton couldn’t survive an early surge from the home team, and would later rue a series of missed opportunities, as the Eddies fell 1-0 to the Tampa Bay Rowdies Saturday night.
Takuya Yamada got the 87th minute winner, but the person most responsible for ruining the Montreal Impact’s 2011 NASL season opener was FC Tampa Bay keeper Daryl Sattler. Sattler stymied the Impact time after time, holding his team in the match until the home side could muster a charge in the final 10 minutes to win the game 1-0.
