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Saturday, August 4

EPPING, NEW HAMPSHIRE – The action at the second annual Super-20 League North American Semifinals began 15 minutes into the match between the Toronto Lynx and Player Development Academy from Zarephath, New Jersey. The side earned a free kick from just outside the area. Seconds later Toronto’s goalkeeper Nils Binstock was called upon to make the first save of the night. He would make more.

Setting the tone for a mouthwatering forest field semifinal, Binstock seemed to dive backward, all the while tracking the bending free kick. And at the perfect split-second he slapped straight up with his right arm and sent the ball just higher than the expert trajectory it was riding. The ball ricocheted off the crossbar and straight up. Seconds later it was cleared over the end line by a Toronto defender. The play would sum up the next two hours: nothing was going in the nets patrolled by PDA’s Bryan Meredith and Binstock.

“I saw there was a lefty standing over it so I kind of cheated that direction,” said Binstock of the save. “I knew he was trying to bend it around the wall and when I got to it I just wanted to tip it over the bar. I hit it as hard as I could. Maybe I got lucky but it didn’t go in.”

In a game some expected PDA to run off with, Toronto played to the level of their opponents, matching them chance for chance, skill for skill, through the first half.

Meanwhile, on field one, Red Bull New York and the Chicago Fire Premier played in the second MLS U20 match of the day. Both teams very deliberately played sound, organized soccer in which attacks were quickly snuffed out by numbers behind the ball.

In two very different ways, both semifinal matches came to rest at 0-0 after 40 minutes.

The second half of Red Bull/Chicago opened with New York on the offensive. They had the better of the play but Chicago rarely looked bothered by the fact. Their earlier match against D.C. United showed off the side’s ability to switch gears from offense to defense like flipping a switch.

“Switching systems of play during the match is something we have been working on since the end of the regular season,” said Head Coach Paul Cadwell. “It was a big part of our week of preparation leading up to these finals.”

It became a match of individual Red Bull talent against the computer-like efficiency of Chicago’s structured system. It played like that through the 60th minute.

On field four, PDA went from playing mistake free, creative soccer in the first, to playing beautiful soccer in the second. Toronto followed as best they could, defending efficiently and counter-attacking when possible. PDA owned the ball nearing the 63rd but it remained 0-0 on both fields.

Toronto earned a free kick in the 64th. While the Lynx placed the ball for their attempt on net, the crowd watching the Red Bull/Chicago match could be heard.

Chicago had gone on the offensive and struck first. It came on a thru ball from the corner of the area from defender Chris Sehuler. He played the ball across the box on the floor to teammate Alex Jones who beat Red Bull New York goalkeeper Brendan Dunn for the 1-0 lead.

Back in the forest, Toronto’s free kick was shot down by the PDA wall. The talented side gained back procession and twice more tested Binstock with a pair of dangerous free kicks and one point blank, sure goal. Binstock passed the tests and it remained 0-0. The balance of the first half had shifted. It was now a full on assault on Toronto’s goal.

Red Bull, now getting desperate nearing the 80th minute, also had assault on their mind. They pushed forward in hopes of gaining an equalizer and they earned a free kick from a very good spot with time escaping but the Premier’s wall was too much. A last ditch effort saw Red Bull bring Dunn up into their attack but even with numbers in the box, Chicago’s defense was too steady and New York dropped a 1-0 decision to end their season.

“We went with a totally different strategy from this morning,” said Cadwell. “I felt we were the better team tonight and we played a few different players in a 4-4-3 system.”

“It is great when you can defeat two Eastern Conference MLS opponents in one day,” added Cadwell. “Looking ahead to tomorrow, we are familiar with the Toronto Lynx organization from our affiliation with the USL Premier Development League team. If they win I am sure the team will be well organized. They are a very professional outfit.”

At that moment the Lynx were just beginning the first of two ten minute overtime periods against PDA. The level of play in the Super-20 League season was at its maximum.

Binstock read a play so well he charged off his line and intercepted a sure goal, 17 yards out. Arriving just after the PDA forward, he laid out latterly and thwarted the striker’s touch-on, milliseconds after he received it. It was a goal every other day of the year. Not today.

In the same minute, Toronto won the ball back and pushed the counter-attack. Someone who smuggled a howitzer onto the pitch then loosed a rangy blast that rang the crossbar and shot back into play. The Lynx’s Luke Stedmond collected the ball, beat a defender and knocked the ball into the upper corner. A third sure goal. Everyone go home.

But Bryan Meredith, untested all evening, came up with a highlight reel save at the timeliest moment. He flew across the goalmouth and redirected the shot out of bounds. The nicest save of this weekend by a mile.

“The long shot in overtime was a really good rip,” said Meredith, who is heading to Monmouth College in Illinois. “I got back from that just in time to make a reaction save on the second.”

“This guy saved the day,” added Toronto Head Coach Paul Deabreu. “I was sure it was in the net.”

While Meredith’s reflex save topped the charts, Binstock’s remained equally impressive.

“I think the best keepers are the ones who made it look easy,” said Binstock, heading to Iona College this fall. “It is all about positioning and reading the game for me. People think keepers don’t know the game all that well, some don’t, but the ones who do make the hard stuff look easy.”

In a game neither team deserved to lose, the two top performers would be showcased in a penalty shootout for the right to play in tomorrow’s final.

Toronto went first and Meredith made them pay. He reacted brilliantly to a shot by Toronto’s Tryillo headed toward the lower left corner. PDA followed with a calm goal to the opposite side. From there the sides rattled off four straight goals: Savario and Dan Roberts scored for Toronto, John Stamatis and Bryan Martinez for PDA.

It was good to see that the nets still worked.

Meredith ended the drama in the fourth round of kicks from the mark. He guessed the wrong direction and still managed to land a kick save falling away to deny Toronto’s Chris Mitchell. PDA’s Ryan Sherman knocked home the final goal of the day for PDA making it a 4-2 final.

“I thought all weekend we would see D.C. United in the final,” said Meredith. “They looked strong in group play. Then today I thought Red Bull was going to be the team we would see in the final. To beat those two teams Chicago must really have something.”