Mirror-Guardian: Host Astros in
Playoffs
Host Astros in playoffs
Sam Laskaris More from
this author
Sep. 25, 2002
The North York Astros haven't had too much
to brag about this season but things are looking up for the local Canadian
Professional Soccer League franchise.
The Astros have posted a 2-9-4
record in league play so far this season.
North York is in the basement
of the league's seven-team Western Conference.
One of the main reasons
for the Astros record to date is that it has had more than its share of injuries
this year.
At one point the club had nine starters who were sidelined
with various ailments.
"Any team that loses nine starters would be in
disarray," said Bruno Ierullo, Astros' general manager.
Ierullo said his
club has yet to dress a league maximum of 18 players for any of its games this
season.
The closest the Astros came was when they had 17 healthy bodies
available for a match.
A league regulation states teams must have at
least 13 players dressed for a game. And the Astros have never had less than 15
for games this year.
Regardless of how they fare the rest of this
season, the Astros will still be competing in the league finals tournament next
month.
That's because the North York franchise is playing host to the
year-end tournament.
The Astros will be one of five clubs in the
tourney. And they are guaranteed of playing at least one game.
A victory
in that contest would propel them into the league semi-finals with the final
game taking place Oct. 20.
"That game is our whole season," Ierullo
said. "We want to create some sort of streak going into it."
Ierullo was
also excited about finally having Argentinian import midfielder Guillermo
Compton Hall in his lineup.
He had agreed to play for the Astros this
season but visa difficulties prevented him from entering Canada.
The
player, who toiled in Argentina's Division 1 last season with a team called
Huracan, finally received his papers to arrive in Canada last Tuesday.
"We're looking at him to score some goals and to give us a different
dimension in the midfield that we've lacked all year," Ierullo said.
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