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The Minnesota Stars return home to NSC Stadium in Blaine Saturday night to take on the Tampa Bay Rowdies in a league match at 7:30 p.m.
The Stars are coming off of a seven game road swing that saw them go 3-2-2. The trip ended with a disappointing 5-1 loss to the Carolina Railhawks, their first North American Soccer League loss of the season. It was also the worst loss in club history, something the Stars are hoping to brush off as they return home.
"I think some of tonight’s result was the product of nearly a month on the road,” assistant coach Carl Craig told Adam Tucker of mnstarsfc.com following the game. “At some point you have to crack, and we cracked tonight against a very good team on the road.”
Minnesota (4-5-1 in NASL play) currently sits third in the league standings, just three points behind the league-leading Puerto Rico Islanders.
This will be the Stars second meeting of the year with the Rowdies. The two teams came to a 0-0 draw when they met at Al Lang Stadium on May 25th in Tampa.
The Stars will hope to generate a little more offense this time around. A key to the scoring is likely to be forward Amani Walker. Walker has already tallied three goals and three assists in the young season to lead the team. His aerial attack figures to play large in a game that could feature another defensive battle with limited opportunities.