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Stars Complete Day Two of Invitational Combine
Posted on Wed, Feb 20, 2013

Day Two of the Stars’ invitational combine is half done after a morning session that the Green side improve to 3-0 and Blue hand Red a loss to improve to 2-1. Click for an online photo gallery

Green took a 2-0 lead into the second half of the morning’s first game against Silver. With constant pressure, Silver cut the lead to 2-1, but Green hit on a counterattack late in the second half to restore their two-goal lead before surviving couple late breakaways to hold on for a 3-1 win.

In the morning’s other game, Blue and Red met with matching 1-1 records and played an even game. A mishandled corner kick led to a tap-in and an early 1-0 lead for Blue, but Red pegged them back early in the second half. It took a second-half penalty to decide the game, which ended 2-1 in Blue’s favor.

In the afternoon’s matches, Silver avenged its Day One loss against Red with a 6-1 victory in their rematch. Silver scored early after a poor defensive clearance led to a two-on-one counterattack, then doubled its lead a few minutes later with a close range tap-in after a low cross in front of goal from the left. Red responded with a breakaway, but the shot hit the post, and right before halftime it was 3-0 as Silver mirrored its second goal, attacking this time from the right. Red closed the gap to 3-1 on a break early in the second half, but Silver tallied three more goals—another close range finish from a low cross, a header from six yards and a tap-in off a rebound at the final whistle.

In the final match of the afternoon, Blue won for the second time on Day Two, ending Green’s unbeaten run with a 2-1 victory. Blue dominated the chances early, forcing a low diving save and hitting the near post directly from a corner, but it was Green who led midway through the first half after finishing a move from close range at the near post. Blue tied it up with the last kick of the match, scrambling home after keeping a corner kick alive. Blue found the winner midway through the second half to improve its record to 2-2 in the Combine.

Day Three only features a morning session in which every team will play a 90 minute game. The session, which begins at 8 a.m. in the Sport Hall at the National Sports Center, is free and open to the public.

Team records after Day Two (W-L, goals for, goals against)
Green 3-1, 11 F, 6 A
Silver 2-2, 13 F, 10 A
Blue 2-2, 6 F, 9 A
Red 1-3, 9 F, 14 A

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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