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| NASL Championship Series 2012 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||
| Event | Soccer Bowl | ||||||
| |||||||
| on aggregate Tampa Bay Rowdies won 3–2 onpenalties | |||||||
| First leg | |||||||
| |||||||
| Date | October 20, 2012 (2012-10-20) | ||||||
| Venue | National Sports Center,Blaine, Minnesota | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Jeff Attinella | ||||||
| Attendance | 4,642 | ||||||
| Second leg | |||||||
| |||||||
| Afterextra time | |||||||
| Date | October 27, 2012 (2012-10-27) | ||||||
| Venue | Al Lang Stadium,St. Petersburg, Florida | ||||||
| Attendance | 6,208 | ||||||
←2011 2013 → | |||||||
NASL Championship Series 2012 was theNorth American Soccer League's postseason championship final of the2012 season. Also known as the NASL Championship Series 2012, the event was contested in a two-game aggregate match between theTampa Bay Rowdies and, the defending2011 NASL champions, theMinnesota Stars. The first leg was held on October 20, 2012 atNational Sports Center, inBlaine, Minnesota, while the second on October 27, 2012 atAl Lang Stadium, inSt. Petersburg, Florida.
After a two-day competition, both sides were tied at three points apiece. Following extra time, the game went topenalty shoot-out. In the end, the Tampa Bay Rowdies were victorious and became the 2012 NASL champions.[1][2]
The defending Soccer Bowl championMinnesota Stars finished sixth in league standings with 35 points and a record of 8-11-9. They qualified for the NASL playoffs as the low seed of six teams. The Stars defeated the third seededPuerto Rico Islanders in a single-match quarterfinal game, 2–1. In the two-legged semifinals Minnesota defeated the top-seededSan Antonio Scorpions, 2–1, on aggregate. The victory allowed them to advance to their second straight Soccer Bowl.
TheTampa Bay Rowdies finished in second position on the league table with a record of 12-9-7 for 47 points, which was two points behind San Antonio's table-topping total of 49. As the number-two seed in the playoffs the Rowdies earned a quarterfinal bye. Tampa Bay faced the fourth seededCarolina RailHawks in the semifinals, winning 5–4 on aggregate, which earned them the right to play in Soccer Bowl 2012.
Minnesota won the first leg, 2–0, on goals byAmani Walker in the 67th minute andMartin Nunez in injury time. Without an away-goals rule, at a minimum Tampa Bay needed to win the return leg by any two-goal margin to keep hope alive. In the second legCarl Cort scored on a rebound for the Rowdies in the 25th minute andKeith Savage scored in the 51st minute to level the series. The Stars quickly regained their advantage on a score byLucas Rodríguez in the 52nd minute.Dan Antoniuk's dramatic 86th minute goal leveled the aggregate at four apiece, and a few minutes later teammateShane Hill was given a straight red card during injury time. With neither team able to score in extra time, the match moved to penalty kicks.Luke Mulholland,Raphael Cox, andFafà Picault all converted from the spot for Tampa Bay, while Rowdies goalieJeff Attinella saved three of Minnesota's five attempts to secure the Soccer Bowl title forTampa Bay.
| Team 1 | Aggregate | Team 2 | First leg | Second leg | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 3–3 | Minnesota Stars | 0–2 | 3–1(a.e.t.) (Penalty Shoot-out 3–2) | October 20National Sports Center 4,642 October 27Al Lang Stadium 6,208 |
| Minnesota Stars | 2–0 | Tampa Bay Rowdies |
|---|---|---|
Amani Walker 67'Kentaro Takada  84'Martin Nunez 90+4' | Report Report Report 3 | Mike Ambersley 48' |
        Minnesota Stars |     Tampa Bay |
  Tampa Bay[3] | Minnesota Stars |
2012 NASL Champions:Tampa Bay Rowdies
