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Silverbacks Start Road Trip in Texas
Posted on Fri, Jun 29, 2012

After dropping a pair of games during their most recent homestand, the Atlanta Silverbacks will take to the road, hoping to regain their form. The Silverbacks kick off a three-game road trip on Saturday night, as they visit the San Antonio Scorpions at 8:30 p.m. ET at Heroes Stadium.

Saturday night’s game will be played as part of the Scorpions International Challenge, a doubleheader featuring an exhibition game between Mexican sides CF Monterrey and San Luis FC following the Silverbacks (1-5-7) and Scorpions (6-4-2) matchup. The game won’t be easy for the Silverbacks as they get set to take on a red-hot Scorpions team who will be playing in front of one of their biggest crowds of the season.

The game will feature two of the NASL’s top three scorers in Silverbacks forward Reinaldo Navia and Scorpions forward Pablo Campos. Each player has scored six goals in league play this season, and will try to add to the total this weekend. Navia has cooled off after an impressive goal-scoring run to kick off the season, while Campos has been strong recently, having scored three times in his last three games.

Both teams are coming off the same result last week, with the Scorpions giving up a pair of late goals to fall to the Tampa Bay Rowdies, 3-2, and the Silverbacks coming up short against the Puerto Rico Islanders, 2-1. It was a heartbreaking loss for the Scorpions, who held a one-goal lead up until the 88th minute. Rowdies forwards Luke Mulholland and Tsuyoshi Yoshitake struck late to steal all three points away from the Scorpions at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The Silverbacks fell behind early against the league-leading Islanders after a goal from forward Nicholas Addlery, but Matt Horth brought the home team level before halftime with his first goal of the season. Addlery struck midway through the second half, though, sealing three points for the visiting Islanders.

Horth’s goal last weekend was an encouraging sign for the Silverbacks because the team knows how productive he can be in front of the net. As a rookie in 2011, Horth tallied eight goals, including a pair of two-goal performances. They will look to the tall striker for more production in the attacking department this weekend as they come up against one of the league’s most experienced defensive units.

One player that has emerged in recent weeks for the Scorpions is rookie midfielder Esteban Bayona. The Colombian’s four assists are good for a tie for second in the league, and two of them came against the Silverbacks the last time they visited Heroes Stadium.

Bayona, who also scored a goal and recorded an assist last week against the Rowdies, will try to help his team earn their second home win against the Silverbacks in the month of June. The Silverbacks fell, 3-0, against the Scorpions on June 9 at Heroes Stadium.

Kickoff is at 8:30 p.m. ET and the game can be seen live online at atlantasilverbacks.com/live. 

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Standings
TEAM GP W T L GD PTS
Carolina RailHawks 6 3 2 1 4 11
Tampa Bay Rowdies 6 3 2 1 3 11
Atlanta Silverbacks 6 3 1 2 1 10
Minnesota United FC 6 2 2 2 1 8
FC Edmonton 6 2 2 2 1 8
San Antonio Scorpions 6 1 2 3 -4 5
Fort Lauderdale Strikers 6 1 1 4 -6 4
*Tiebreakers: 1. Goal Differential - 2. Total Goals - 3. Head-to-Head record