Positive Numbers: Gopher soccer (Re-Entry!). As a side that missed the NCAA Tournament last year and is slated to finish sixth in the Big Ten this year, they need to bone up on their non-conference schedule to buttress any chance of getting into the postseason this year. And through the first weekend of the women's college soccer (and college sports) year, they have started off well. On Friday, Freshman Patricia Ward (with Assists from Makenzie Langdok and stalwart April Bockin), scored the only Goal in their win over Utah in Salt Lake City in the 90th Minute. (Technically, at least according to the box score on the Gophers sports' website, Ward scored with 11 seconds to go in regulation. I like that American college soccer marks time down to the second. It's way more precise than regular soccer convention.) Then yesterday (Sunday) afternoon, Maddie Castro (in the 69th) and McKenna Buisman (77') scored to bring Minnesota back from a Halftime deficit and defeat Utah St. in Logan, Utah, 2-1.
Maybe these players can make some noise? They certainly will be able to do that on an advantage, for they begin an eight-match homestand with weekend tilts versus Ole Miss Friday and Washington St. Sunday, both of which are a part of a quasi-tournament, only quasi- because Iowa will play the Cougars Friday afternoon but won't play the Rebels Sunday. The Hawkeyes will go home to Iowa City and play Indiana St. Sunday instead. Weird.
#-1: Twins (Last Week: -2). Holy crap -- the Twins won five-of-six this screening week! I was there Thursday for probably their most convincing victory of the week, where they clubbed the Detroit Tigers to the tune of 15-8. The Starting Pitchers are notable in that game. Guess who started for the Tigs -- Francisco Liriano! And the former Twin didn't even get through the Second Inning! (Tigers Manager Ron Gardenhire burned through seven Pitchers in the game!) Meanwhile, Twins starter Ervin Santana didn't fare much better. He was pulled in the Fifth after loading the bases. He didn't last long enough to automatically get credit for the win. Trevor May, who replaced Santana, started off extremely shaky, allowing two Runs with Walks, but he got out of the inning with the lead (even though it shrank from three to one). Minnesota plated seven Runs off two Tigers Pitchers in the Bottom of the Sixth; May was replaced by Addison Reed in the subsequent half-Inning, and even though he pitched in two fewer Innings than Santana, May was given the win, his first of the season, instead of Santana.
The only blemish this week was a comeback that came up short in Saturday's 7-5 loss to Detroit. Still, the series win over the Tigers, plus a two-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates mid-week, is impressive. And if the Twins had any chance of making the postseason, I and everyone else would care a whole lot more!
This week: They start off playing a three-game series against the White Sox, but this series is weird. Tonight's (Monday night's) game is at Target Field, the last of a seven-game homestand, as a make-up for the snowed-out contest on Tax Day. The two teams will then fly to the South Side to play a pair Tuesday and Wednesday at Comiskey. The Twinks will then fly back here for a four-game set vs. an organization the Twins would do well to emulate, the Oakland Athletics, who, despite a chronically small payroll and a really shithole of a stadium, not only regularly compete but are now battling the Houston Astros for first place in the American League Western Division.
#-2: United FC (Last Week: -1). No Francisco Calvo (double yellow suspension), no Collen Warner (Yellow Card accumulation suspension), no Darwin Quintero (???) ... but lots of rain Saturday for the Loons' match against the Dallas Burn. In fact, the storm coming through the Metroplex was so bad that the game was delayed for 154 minutes.
They might as well have called the game off. They didn't, but once they did, MNUFC wished they would have. These boys were shit, and FC Dallas convincingly beat them 2-0, the first Goal of which was started off when a deflection off Michael Boxall's head neutralized an offside call.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday with LAFC, Christian Ramirez did this:
But we didn't need him.
This shit is never not going to be funny.
The Roadtrip Where They Pound Nails Into Their Own Coffins continues Saturday when they visit the Kansas City Wiz(ards).
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