Fort Lauderdale Strikers Win Big With Stefano Pinho’s Hat Trick
Soccer News: While Indy Eleven forward Dane Richards scored in his third straight contest, that was the lone bright spot for Indy Eleven, which couldn’t recover from a slow start and failed to slow down the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in a 7-1 loss at Lockhart Stadium.
The goals came early and often for the Strikers, starting just 68 seconds in when reigning NASL Player of the Week Stefano Pinho kicked off his hat trick in spectacular fashion, rebounding Marlon Freitas’ shot from distance with an acrobatic, scissor-kick finish past Indy netminder Kristian Nicht.
It only took five more minutes for the Strikers’ second goal as PC converted a penalty kick that he earned after he was spun around in the box by Indy captain Brad Ring, who was making his return to the line-up after missing the previous four games due to a right heel injury.
Indy Eleven looked as if it might be able to right the ship after the shell-shocked start and pulled one back in the 16th minute thanks to the in-form Richards, who picked off a pass near the top of the Fort Lauderdale penalty area and fired past onrushing Strikers’ goalkeeper Josh Ford to bring things to 2-1.
But that was as close as Indy would come to mounting a comeback, as its momentum was quelled four minutes later when Freitas collected his first goal on the night by dribbling into a middle open area before finishing with a hard shot to the far post that froze Nicht.
Down 3-1 at the break, things got worse for Indy Eleven when defender Marco Franco was ejected for a lunging challenge against PC, marking the second straight match in which an Indy player was shown his marching orders in the 50th minute.
The Strikers did not let up as Freitas picked up his second of the night in the 67th minute, again with a shot from distance after receiving a spot-on pass from Hendry Thomas.
Stefano put his name on the scoring sheet again with his second tally in the 77th minute, drilling a left-footed shot to the far post that gave Nicht no chance.
Just four minutes later, Stefano notched his hat trick with his league-leading 12th goal of the season, taking a pass from Freitas and finishing into an empty net after the pair got in alone on a stranded Nicht.
PC capped the scoring with a header in the 85th minute on a cross from Stefano, dooming Indy Eleven to the 7-1 loss and largest margin of defeat in the team’s short history.
Indy Eleven will look to rebound quickly on September 2nd, when it closes out a season-long three-game road trip at Minnesota United FC.
Fort Lauderdale Strikers 7 : Indy Eleven 1
Scoring Summary:
FTL – Stefano Pinho (unassisted) 2’
FTL – PC (penalty kick) 7’
IND – Dane Richards (unassisted) 16’
FTL – Marlon Freitas (unassisted) 20’
FTL – Marlon Freitas (Hendry Thomas) 67’
FTL – Stefano Pinho (Shawn Chin) 77’
FTL – Stefano Pinho (Marlon Freitas) 81’
FTL – PC (Stefano Pinho) 85’
Lineup:
Indy Eleven: Kristian Nicht; Marco Franco (red card 50’), Cory Miller, Greg Janicki, Kyle Hyland; Dragan Stojkov (Duke Lacroix 58’), Zach Steinberger, Brad Ring (capt), Victor Pineda (Charlie Rugg 65’); Dane Richards (Brian Brown 72’), Marvin Ceballos
Fort Lauderdale Strikers: Josh Ford; Jonathan Borrajo, Jordan Graye, Frankie Sanfilippo, Ivan Guerrero (capt) (Walter Ramirez 65’); Hendry Thomas (Manny Gonzalez 71’), James Marcelin; Gabriel (Shawn Chin 76’), Marlon Frietas, PC; Stefano Pinho
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