USL News Release

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

TAMPA, FL – United Soccer Leagues announced the USL First Division Team of the Week honors Tuesday for Week 22 of the season, honoring Minnesota’s Melvin Tarley as the USL-1 Player of the Week.

Having missed the postseason the past three years, the Minnesota Thunder are pushing hard to make the playoffs as they compete amongst the final few teams chasing the remaining playoff berths. With the already qualified Charleston Battery in town Saturday, the Thunder kept their lead in the race with a resounding 4-0 victory over the US Open Cup finalists.

With Nathan Knox providing the opening tally just before the break, star striker Melvin Tarley pushed the game out of the visitor’s reach in the second half with two strikes.

John Greenfield sent a ball to Melvin Tarley in the 49th minute to double the advantage for the Thunder. Tarley collected the ball, went one on one with goalkeeper Keith Wiggins, whom he chipped it over to make the score 2-0.

Tension was high at the National Sports Center as the Thunder battled to keep the momentum up and hold on to their lead. In the 83rd minute Luchi Gonzalez set Tarley up for his second goal of the game. Gonzalez battled through a tackle and found Tarley on the opposite side of the box. Tarley slipped another shot in, making it 3-0.

The goal was the 10th of the year for Tarley, who has quietly worked his way into the league leaders, ranking fifth in goals and sixth in points (20).

The Thunder now currently sit two points away from eliminating Carolina from contention, but due to their 0-2-1 record in the head-to-head tiebreaker against Atlanta, do not control their own destiny. With one game remaining, the Thunder leads Atlanta, which has two games remaining, by three points in the table. If Minnesota and Atlant both falter, Carolina can qualify with two wins to close out their season.

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