United's season ends on penalty kicks

When Minnesota United captain Aaron Pitchkolan saw his penalty kick batted away by the Fort Lauderdale keeper, the gut-punch ending of an emotional match and promising season dropped him to his knees.

No. 1 playoff seed Minnesota went into overtime tied 1-1, then lost 5-4 on penalty kicks in The Championship semifinal Saturday at the National Sports Center Stadium in Blaine. The match was played before an announced crowd of 6,113 fans.

The Strikers, unbeaten in their last seven regular-season matches, trailed 1-0 at halftime but rallied to tie on a Martin Nunez goal in second half stoppage time.

"Even though they were the best team in the league by far, this was one game," said Nunez, who played for Minnesota in 2012 and scored five goals. "Whoever worked harder and made their chances was going to win."

Minnesota, which stumbled to a 1-2-2 record in the last five regular-season matches, struggled to match Fort Lauderdale's energy at the start.

"I wouldn't say this was one of our better matches," Pitchkolan said. "It's tough because we still felt like we did enough to win."

Minnesota found its form as the first half wore on, culminating in midfielder Miguel Ibarra's goal.

Ibarra outmaneuvered Strikers defender Stefan Antonijevic, getting just enough of a pass from Christian Ramirez and sending the ball skyward and arcing toward the goal. The ball bounced off the goal line and tucked in under the crossbar for a 1-0 lead in the 34th minute.

Ramirez could not add to his NASL single-season record of 20 goals. Ibarra crossed a ball for Ramirez but his diving header attempt in the 69th minute was stopped. Ramirez left the game during second half stoppage time.

Moments later, United's lead followed Ramirez off. Nunez put the ball away, but the goal was initially nullified by an offside call. Players surrounded the referee to protest, the referees talked it over and the goal was allowed to stand.

Minnesota coach Manny Lagos could not stifle his disappointment.

"I wouldn't say we were outstanding tonight, but we managed well until the drama," Lagos said. "We didn't manage the drama well, and the referees didn't manage it at all."

Tied 1-1, the teams played two 15-minute overtime periods without additional scoring.

Injury put United at a disadvantage almost from the start. Jamie Watson was helped off the field in the 94th minute and the Loons, who used all of their substitutions, were forced to play a man down for the duration of the match.

Fort Lauderdale started the penalty kick round making four consecutive goals. A Strikers shot off the post, coupled with a Pablo Campos goal gave the Loons a chance. But Pitchkolan's shot hit goalkeeper Kamil Contofalsky.

"You play all year to put yourself in positions like that," Pitchkolan said. "We can look back and say we did a good job this season but right now it's tough."

David La Vaque • 612-673-7574