Strikers Tie... again! Now its time for a Tampa road trip!

Almost 6,000 people showed up at Lockhart Stadium this Wednesday despite the rain and conflicting U2 concert. It's all because our most hated rival came to town. FC Tampa Bay (aka Rowdies) came into South Florida in search of points and unfortunately they took one point with them.

The Strikers dominated this game with an incredible 24 shots of which only 6 were on goal. It was a game where the result should have been an overwhelming win by at least 4 goals but it's apparent we just can't score. Tampa on the other hand had only 2 shots on goal converting one of them. One thing the Strikers have been able to do is come from behind and tie their last few games. But the fans want wins especially at home!

Worth mentioning are all the supporters that rocked the stadium all night. If you listen in on the video you can hear the Strikers supporter tell the few Rowdies fans present that they can't hear them as well as other Tampa hate chants. The twelfth man was definitely present! Check out the video if you haven't already.


The supporters also had a JVB1 sign in honor of Strikers goalkeeping legend Jan van Beveren who passed away this past Sunday in Houston Texas. They also had a Tifo sporting the words "Kings of Florida" just so that the Rowdies are aware that they are the Strikers peons!

“We were just missing the final pass on a couple of chances,” said head coach Daryl Shore. “We were the aggressor tonight and it’s frustrating. Soccer is funny because you can have a team on their heels and one chance and you go down 1 - 0.”

You can read more about the game HERE
Here are a few more pictures from the Tailgate, the game and screen shots from the video.

Tampa Road Trip
In case you didn't know, the Strikers are headed up North to St. Petersburg to play the Rowdies on Monday July 4th at 6 pm. If you want to be part of the caravan we will depart out of Lockhart Stadium at 10AM sharp on Monday.

SFU has set up a 15 person van and there are still a couple of seats so if you want to tag along it will be $40 on Monday morning which includes the game ticket. Derek Reese even supplied us with a picture indicating where the Strikers Likers will be seated. Check it out! Click to enlarge.

As you can see we'll be sitting behind home plate, close to the Mob's section.
So come on people, lets invade Tampa! Get in your cars or hop on the bus with us to support our Strikers! If you want to join us contact us ASAP or see you Monday morning at Lockhart Stadium.
Let's Go Strikers!

Tough week for South Florida Soccer as Strikers tie, USA and MagicJack lose.

Soccer Saturday came and went in a blink of an eye. It started off at the Strikers tailgate at Lockhart Stadium and ended at The Fox & Hound Pub as I saw the USA get beat by Mexico... It was a tough loss. I'm sure everyone else has covered that subject so I'll just leave it at that.
As I mentioned, the tailgate at Lockhart was perhaps the highlight of the day. We basically set up a tent city with a number of full bars of just about any drink you could desire (Except almost everything was the cheap stuff). Food was everywhere, from Strikers cupcakes to Sushi!

We even had a celebrity sighting as Rosario Dawson was seen sporting a Fort Lauderdale Strikers jersey! (See picture)
The game was set to begin but before anyone entered the stadium one of our Newcastle Striker Likers came out with a bagpipe!

The fans banged their drums, stomped their feet and yelled their heads off but it was the Puerto Rico Islanders who would score first. The large group of Islanders fans that came out to the Mecca cheered as Jonathan Fana came towards the Strikers Fans to taunt us.
But the Strikers pressed on and began to dominate. Soon after the Strikers score off of a  Martin Nunez  header which originated from a Christian Arrieta cross.

"It's good for him to give us a spark. He's been trying hard in practice and he's wanted to get onto the field. It's good for his confidence for him to do well and I believe he did well when he came in," said head coach Daryl Shore.

To read more about the game go HERE

Following are game day pictures of the fans:

 

 

 

 

MagicJack
MagicJack continues to feel the loss of their main squad due to World Cup duty as they fall to the Philadelphia Independence 3-1. The team was further hurt by the waiver of Rebecca Moros and Meghan Schnur last week. But the team added Middfielder and U.S. national team player Megan Rapinoe.
Read more HERE
Also of note is the start of the Women's World Cup which already started. Be sure to see the USA play vs North Korea tomorrow at 12pm

Jan van Beveren
Striker goalkeeping legend Jan van Beveren passed away this past Sunday in Houston Texas. Van Beveren played for teams such as Sparta Rotterdam, PSV Eindhoven, the Dallas Sidekicks and the Strikers from 1980–1983 where he played 110 games. Jan also played numerous times for the Dutch National Team during the late 1960s and 1970s.

Miami Ultras Alive
Everybodys favorite fan led show continues tonight at 10 pm as Miami Ultras President Pieter Brown and sidekick Uncle Ed tackle another week of South Florida Soccer. This time join us as we say good bye to Strikers PR guru Ignacio "Benedict Arnold" Rodriguez who will be leaving to his new position with the Puerto Rico Islanders.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/miamiultras/2011/06/28/miami-ultras-alive-12
Full coverage of the Grenade Bomb scare on Miami Ultras Alive tonight.
Check out the video from the Sun Sentinel:





UPDATE 6/28/11 Miami Ultras Alive Roast of Ignacio Rodriguez :
The Roast of soon to be former Strikers PR Director Ignacio "Benedict Arnold" Rodriguez. With guests Big O from 640 AM, Gol Tv's Juan Arango, Ralph's MOB President Steve Holler and many more.
Listen to it here:

Listen to internet radio with Miami Ultras Alive on Blog Talk Radio

Soccer Saturday: Strikers vs Islanders - USA vs Mexico

This weekend we have a soccer Saturday in South Florida.
It begins at 7:30 pm when the Fort Lauderdale Strikers play against the Puerto Rico Islanders at the Mecca of South Florida soccer, Lockhart Stadium.
The Strikers are on a 5 game undefeated streak and look to extend that at home against an Islanders team that come off a 3-1 victory over the Atlanta Silverbacks.
The last match the Strikers played was a 0-0 tie away at Montreal. Strikers defender Martyn Lancaster made a last second save to deny the Impact a goal. While the Strikers had a legitimate goal denied by the referee. Also of note on that play was the absence of video coverage on the highlights by the Impact. Something to make you go hmmmmm... But as you can see from the screen shot taken by a fan (Red Harvest on bigsoccer) you can see the ball clearly cleared the goal line. It looked in to us!

But now we must put that in the past and concentrate on the Islanders!
For a full guide to game day visit strikers.com 

Gold Cup Final USA vs Mexico 
The Gold Cup comes to an end Saturday night as the dream final comes true, the United States will play Mexico at 9 pm at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
South Florida soccer fans that view the Strikers game live can actually walk a few blocks away to The Frog and Toad Pub located at 5782 Powerline Road, Fort Lauderdale,FL 33309 Telf: 954-491-3697 where you can watch the remainder of the USA vs Mexico game.
You can also head out to the official AO Bar, Mickey Byrnes in Hollywood located at 1921 Hollywood Blvd  Telf: 954-921-2317
We hope to see you at the games!
Join Uncle Ed, the Miami Ultras  a few of the American Outlaws and the rest of South Florida United at the Strikers game. We will start tailgating at 4:30 pm and after the game head out to Frog & Toad.
Go Strikers! Go USA!

Yosniel Mesa to play for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers?

Attacking Midfielder Yosniel "Capi" Mesa defected from the Cuban national soccer team on June 9 and was seen practicing with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the North American Soccer League (NASL).  This reported by Dave Brousseau of the Sun Sentinel.

Mesa, who left behind his mother and 5-year-old daughter in Cuba, defected following Cuba's 5-0 loss to Mexico in a Gold Cup game in Charlotte, N.C. He walked out of his hotel without alerting any of the Cuban coaching staff, got into his uncle's car and drove to Miami where his uncle lives.

Yosniel is still waiting on his work permit. Rumors have surfaced that he will also have a tryout with the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer (MLS).
Here is a video from the Sun Sentinel:

"Anytime you get a chance to have any type of player come in, you want to take a look at him and see how he does with your group," Strikers coach Daryl Shore said. "Obviously it's a little extra special when you have a Cuban player who is looking for a better chance and better life than what he had at home."

Read the full article HERE
Picture by Robert Scorca
Here is a video from Univision:

Strikers tie, MagicJack loses, Gold Cup continues and more...

The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were able to steal a point from Montreal this weekend and keeper Matt Glaeser gets another clean sheet.

"Today our guys earned a hard fought point in a tough environment," said head coach Daryl Shore. "We felt like it should have been 3 but overall we are satisfied with the result."

Read more about the game HERE
Following are the game highlights:

MagicJack
South Florida's womens soccer team was not so lucky as the Strikers in their visit to Philadelphia. They felt the loss of most of their starters currently warming up for Womens World Cup. Magic Jack fell to the Independence by 6-0.

The Philadelphia Independence (4-2-3; 15 pts) tied the league record for scoring output in a game, posting six goals and recording its third straight shut out in a 6-0 victory over magicJack (5-3-0; 14 pts) Saturday night at Widener University's Quick Stadium

Read more HERE
For highlights go HERE

Gold Cup
Gold Cup continued this past weekend with the USA defeating Jamaica by 2-0. The Americans finally came out with a winning attitude versus the Jamaicans and will clash with Panama in a revenge match this coming Wednesday.
If you want to meet up with the American Outlaws head out to Mickey Byrne's in Hollywood. More info HERE

Check out the game highlights:

Miami Ultras Alive
Tonight's Miami Ultras Alive, hosted by Pieter Brown and Uncle Ed will have as a guest Reuters writer Simon Evans who will discuss Gold Cup, Strikers, NASL, WPS, MLS and much more. It's tonight at 10 PM. tell your friends and join us on the live chat or call in with your questions or comments.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/miamiultras/2011/06/21/miami-ultras-alive-11

Miami Ultras Alive with Tim Robbie. Ottawa to have a new NASL team by 2013.

The latest Miami Ultras Alive show hosted by Pieter Brown and sidekick Uncle Ed was honored to have Fort Lauderdale Strikers President Tim Robbie as a guest.
Pieter and Ed started off talking about WPS side MagicJack and then went on to an interview with midfielder Brian Shriver who scored a brace and continued with a quick interview with Strikers coach Daryl Shore.
Tim Robbie joined us shortly after at about the 18 min mark to discuss the issues that have developed with the FAA concerning the Stadium. He also let out some great information in reference to a new NASL team out of Ottawa, Canada that will join the league in 2013. (See it at 55 min) It proves that the NASL is here to stay and so are the Strikers that are thought of as the flag ship of the league. The podcast ends with talk about the Gold Cup games in Miami and how impressed I was with the ambiance and the stadium. It reinforces the fact that Miami-Dade is still a good area for soccer.
Listen to the podcast:

Listen to internet radio with Miami Ultras Alive on Blog Talk Radio

For those that didn't get a chance to see the Fort Lauderdale Strikers vs NSC Minnesota Stars highlights, check them out in the following video:

Miami Gold Cup Success. Strikers, MagicJack win and more.

Gold Cup in Miami was a success as over 18,000 people showed up to watch the beautiful game. FIU stadium was packed and the ambiance was spectacular. Every seat was a good one and it felt as if you could reach out and touch the players due to the proximity of the field to the stands. It's a great stadium to watch soccer and I dare say the only thing that I didn't like was that the ball made a few weird bounces due to the plastic turf. Hopefully, one day, they will put a proper pitch.
The games started off with a vibrant Jamaica versus Guatemala. Which saw the Reggae Boys defeat the 'Chapines' by 2-0. Followed by Honduras against Grenada which saw the Grenadines start off with an early goal only to be destroyed by Honduras with a final score of 7-1. Read more HERE
If South Florida fans wanted to send a message to Major League Soccer it was sent on Friday night and the message is: This area can and will support quality soccer. Let's hope the 'Don" gets the message and an investor steps up.

Strikers Win!
The Fort Lauderdale Strikers continue to win in the NASL as they defeated the NSC Minnesota Stars by 3-0. The Strikers form has been impressive as of late and they had a stellar game by substitute Brian Shriver who had a brace.

“We were struggling in the first half defensively, and we weren't doing well with the chances we had. Once the first goal came, we knew the confidence would be there to add more,” said head coach Daryl Shore about the first half. “After they started throwing numbers forward, the defense buckled down and took pride in the shutout. I'm proud to see the effort they put forth to hold the score to where it was.”

Read more about the game HERE
Be sure to check back for video highlights later today.
The Strikers go on the road this coming Saturday June 18 as they face the Montreal Impact at Saputo stadium. Game time is set for 2:30 pm  Watch it live on www.strikers.com

MagicJack wins
WPS side MagicJack gets a road win this weekend as they visited the Atlanta Beat. MagicJack was short on many players due to the Women's World Cup set to start soon but the reserves proved to be enough to get the job done!
MagicJack came in with an early goal by Ella Masar. Christen Press scored right before the half to give MagicJack a 2-1 lead and Johanna Rasmussen sealed the deal in the second half. Read more about the game HERE
Be sure to follow MagicJack on Facebook

Miami Ultras Alive
Be sure to check out the latest version of Miami Ultras Alive tonight Monday at 10 pm as El Presidente Pieter Brown and Uncle Ed cover everything and anything with regards to South Florida soccer. Topics that will be covered will be Gold Cup, Strikers, NASL, WPS, MagicJack, MLS and more. Call in (323) 927-1455 and join in on our live chat room as our special guest tonight will be Fort Lauderdale Strikers President Tim Robbie.
Be sure to tune in and tell your friends!
Go here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/miamiultras/2011/06/14/miami-ultras-alive-10 Brian Shriver picture by Robert Scorca. Gold Cup pictures by Julio Caballero. Tim Robbie picture taken from www.strikers.com