In this week’s recap of Minnesotans playing professionally outside of the state: Kolander has a goal called back, Villarreal C struggles, and David misses the playoffs.
Östersunds DFF played to a 1-1 draw to promotion bound Växjö DFF. In the teams’ previous meeting, ÖDFF was on the wrong side of a 5-0 drubbing. Josee Stiever put in a solid performance that earned her Player of the Game for her side.
Tarah Hobbs held Växjö off the score sheet until the 79th minute. After her defense conceded a foul, the keeper was beaten off the resulting free kick. ÖDFF responded quickly and came away with a much needed point in the fight to get out of the relegation zone.
The lone victor this week was Simone Kolander and AC Sparta Praha. Kolander earned the start in a 2-0 win over FC Slovan Liberec. The forward nearly had the game’s opening goal just after the half hour mark. After a soft clearance from a defender, Kolander flicked a shot back over her head towards goal. The ball found the back of the net, but a foul on the keeper negated the cheeky attempt.
Mukwelle Akale started for Villarreal C in a 3-1 loss to Torre Levante. The loss leaves Villarreal at the top of the relegation zone. The side gave up all three goals within 11 minutes during the second half, but pulled one back in the 83rd minute.
Eric Miller was the lone MLSer to play during the international window. The Colorado Rapids defender went the full 90 in a 1-1 draw with FC Dallas. Miller shifted to the left side and stayed close to home for most of the game. While his offensive impact wasn’t much, he did tally six clearances and three interceptions. He also blocked a pair of shots from Michael Barrios.
Saint Louis FC lost to the Richmond Kickers 1-0 and are now officially eliminated from the USL playoffs. Tyler David came on in the 55th minute after the Kickers took the lead early in the second half. Starting in the midfield, he moved into the back as STLFC threw players forward. David did earn a free kick at the top of the box, but the resulting shot missed just wide of the post.
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