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Minnesota Stars FC is one game away from retaining the North American Soccer League title. The Stars face the Tampa Bay Rowdies Saturday night at 7:30 EDT at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, Fla., in the second leg of the NASL Championship Series. The Stars lead the total goals, home-and-home series 2-0 after last Saturday’s first leg at NSC Stadium in Blaine, Minn.

After a back-and-forth first half in which both club’s goalkeepers excelled, Amani Walker and Martín Núñez scored in the second half for the sixth-seeded Stars, who for the second year in a row travel to Florida with a two-goal lead for the second leg of the finals. The game will mark the third time this season the Stars have played at Al Lang Stadium, where they are yet to score a goal, having tied 0-0 on May 25 and falling 2-0 on June 30.

While scoring isn’t vital for the Stars, Manny Lagos and his charges won’t be content to defend for 90 minutes, especially a week after the offense crafted 21 shots against the Rowdies, who had NASL Best XI goalkeeper Jeff Attinella to thank for not conceding more than twice in the second half on Saturday. While the Rowdies’ home-field advantage and tighter pitch confines of Al Lang will likely eliminate some of the end-to-end play of the first leg, the Stars expect to have their chances as Tampa Bay moves forward looking for the two-goals it needs to even the series.

If Tampa Bay wins the second leg by two goals after 90 minutes we will go to extra time. If this scenario plays out, based on the 2-0 Minnesota win in the first game, we will advance to a 30 minute extra time period followed by penalty kicks if the game is still deadlocked. Away goals are not used in NASL, and the extra time period does not  feature a sudden death "Golden Goal" format.

Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. Minnesota Stars FC

NASL Championship Series

Aggregate: Minnesota 2-0 Tampa Bay

Second Leg: Saturday, October 27, 2012— 7:30 P.M. EDT

Al Lang Stadium

St. Petersburg, FL

Webcast: NASL on ustream

2012 Series:  Tampa Bay, 2-1-1, 7 points

2011 NASL Quarterfinal: Minnesota won 1-0

2011 Series:  Tampa Bay, 2-2-0, 8 points

                                               Minnesota                          Tampa Bay

Head Coach                        Manny Lagos                     Ricky Hill

2012 Records                   6^th: 8-11-9, 35 points       2^nd: 12-9-7, 45 points

Last Five Games               T W T W W                          T T W T L

Goals Leader                     Amani Walker (7)             Daniel Antoniuk (7)

Assists Leader                  Amani Walker (5)             Mike Ambersley (8)

Tampa Bay

• 7-6-1 at home during regular season
• Down 2-0 on aggregate
• Unbeaten in last 11 games at Al Lang (only home defeat: May 12 vs. San Antonio)
• Last five home matches have all ended in draws
• Eliminated by the Stars in 2011 NASL Quarterfinals playing at home. Winning Stars goal scored by current Rowdies midfielder Luke Mulholland
• Suspended: None

Minnesota

• 2011 NASL Champions
• 2-7-5 on the road during regular season
• Second successive Championship Series appearance
• Lead 2-0 on aggregate
• One loss in last eleven matches
• Suspended: None