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 A staple of Lynx soccer
the past two seasons has been incredible
goalkeeping. Brendan Heembrock continued that
tradition with his play in the 2008 Super-20 League
Finals, as he and Toronto allowed just two goals in
three group play matches and four total in five
matches, a team Goals Against Average of 0.8.
A save in the first half of the championship match
kept his side in the game and solidified the
goalkeeper’s place on the Super-20 All-League team
over a vast group of top-class players. The save
even inspired Fire Head Coach Paul Cadwell to
congratulate Heembrock on the stop seconds after the
final whistle of the 2-1 championship match blew. On
the play, Heembrock charged off his line, sliding
out to his right to deny a very open forward who did
all he could to beat the man with the gloves. But
the goalkeeper was too steady, deflecting the
well-struck ball upwards, into the crossbar, and out
of play.
Another Toronto
goalkeeper, Nils Binstock, filled one of two
Super-20 All-Finals slots last season following an
incredible semi-final showdown with eventual
Super-20 Champion PDA. Binstock then reported to PDL
camp and won the starting job for the Under-23 Lynx,
who qualified for playoffs for the first time in
seven years.
“A lot of times you cannot find good goalkeepers,
but we have been fortunate,” said Lynx Head Coach
Duncan Wilde. “Nils had a great year for us at the
PDL level this season. With him heading to Europe to
play, I am fully prepared to give Brandon a shot to
follow in his footsteps next year.”
Wilde and Heembrock
are scheduled to be featured in a Saturday, August
16 edition of “USL Breakaway” on Fox Soccer Channel.
The episode is set to air at 5:00 PM EDT and will be
replayed five times throughout the week
Limiting
Heembrock’s workload throughout the Super-20 Finals
was defender Matthew Smith, who started and played
every minute of the group play stage. He also broke
through on the PDL level, seeing time in seven
matches this season for a total of 300+ minutes.
The Lynx most-dangerous scoring threat throughout
the Super-20 Finals was their best kept secret,
Jordan Webb, whose great individual effort leveled
the championship final 1-1, just minutes into the
second half. An unheralded attacking star with
blazing speed and efficient finishing ability, Webb
had two goals and an assist in three group play
matches at the Super-20 Finals.
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