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Minnesota Stars FC Try To Snap Five-Game Winless Streak In Atlanta

The struggling soccer team is sliding down the NASL standings, and having trouble finding the back of the net.

The Stars fell to Atlanta in the teams' last meeting, 2-0 at home. (Photo courtesy Jeremy Olson, <a href="http://DigitalGopher.net">DigitalGopher.net</a>)
The Stars fell to Atlanta in the teams' last meeting, 2-0 at home. (Photo courtesy Jeremy Olson, DigitalGopher.net)

We haven't been covering much of the Minnesota Stars FC soccer team this year, so here's a paragraph to bring you up to speed:

The Stars, who are the defending North American Soccer League champions, started the 2012 season on a nine-match unbeaten streak. In mid-June, though, they lost the final tilt of an epic road trip 5-1, and have since reverted to a more hit-and-miss form. With seven games to go in the season (out of 28), the Stars sit fifth in the NASL standings, three points behind fourth-place Fort Lauderdale.

All caught up? Good.

Saturday, Minnesota visits the last-place Atlanta Silverbacks, looking to end a run of five matches without a victory. This is the fourth meeting between the teams this year; the teams took a 2-0 win apiece in Minnesota. In the earlier match in Atlanta, however, Devin Del Do and Justin Davis both scored in the final five minutes of the match to snatch a 3-3 tie out of the jaws of defeat. (Frankly, you need to see Davis's goal, a 35-yard screamer in second-half stoppage time. Click here to see it on YouTube.)

The Silverbacks come into the weekend with a new coach; David Haynes takes over from former US men's national team star Eric Wynalda, who served as interim manager this season.

Meanwhile, the Stars are stuck in a struggle to get the ball in the net. Minnesota's scored just once in its past four games, and has lost 1-0 three times in that span.

Photographs by Micah Taylor, clairity, and Fibonacci Blue used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.