TORONTO LYNX MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Undefeated Lady Lynx on the road
this weekend!
Thursday, June 16, 2005 (TORONTO,
ON) - The Toronto Lady Lynx will put their undefeated record on
the line this weekend as they travel to Boston and Long Island for a
tough back-to-back road trip. Leading the W-League's Northern Division
at 6-0-0, the Lady Lynx will face their toughest test to date with
matches versus the Boston Renegades and Long Island Lady Riders on
Friday, June 17th and Saturday, June 18th respectively. The Renegades
have a 3-2-0 record this season after winning the New England Conference
in 2004 with a 10-4-0 record and advancing to the Eastern Conference
Semi-Finals. A traditional W-League powerhouse, Boston captured the
W-League Championship in 2001 and 2002 and reached the final in
1998. Fresh off an 8-1 victory over New Hampshire on home ground, the
Renegades will be looking to continue their winning ways at the
expense of the Lady Lynx.
With a 3-3-0 record this season, the Lady
Riders will also be a formidable opponent for the Lady Lynx. After
ending the 2004 season with an 11-3-0 record, Long Island were also an
Eastern Conference Semi-Finalist last year. One of the most successful
franchises in the W-League, like Boston, Long Island is a 2-time
W-League Champion, winning titles in 1995 and 1997. The Lady Riders have
also shown good form lately, winning both ends of back-to-back matches
last weekend by a combined score of 6-0.
The Lady Lynx have dominated their
opposition thus far this season, winning all six of their matches while
scoring 19 goals and conceding only 2, second best in the W-League.
Melanie Booth and Kim Warner have been the offensive stars thus far this
season, scoring 5 goals each, while 'keeper Stacey Van Boxmeer is tied
for the League lead with 3 shutouts and sits second in wins and goals
against average.
BOOTH EARNS TEAM OF THE WEEK HONOURS
Lady Lynx Midfielder, Melanie Booth,
received her first individual honour of the season earning W-League Team
of the Week honours after recording 4 goals and an assist in last week's
victories over Sudbury and Rochester. The Canadian National Team member
and Lady Lynx captain began her week thrilling the School Day crowd with
a hat trick in a 7-0 win over the Sudbury Canadians on June 8th before
picking up a goal and an assist in a 4-1 win over the Rochester Ravens
on Friday, June 10th. Booth has been a physical presence all season for
the Lady Lynx providing surging runs forward from the left flank,
powerful shots, as well as leadership for her young teammates. She also
leads the team in scoring with 5 goals and 1 assist in 6 games.
PRESIDENT OF SPORTS MEDIA CANADA
MENTORS LADY LYNX
On Tuesday, the Lady Lynx players were
treated to a workshop on media relations by George Gross, the President
of Sports Media Canada and a columnist for the Toronto Sun. The veteran
journalist, who is also a former soccer player, met with the players at
Bronte Athletic Field to deliver this important session providing tips
on dealing with media.
"For many players on the Lady Lynx roster,
this is probably the first time that they have received this kind of
information," explained Lynx Technical Consultant Dick Howard. "Having
the opportunity to receive some tips from someone as respected in the
media community as Mr. Gross is a great honour to our Club and hopefully
will be a benefit to our players as they grow in their careers,
especially at the international level."
LYNX ROSTER CHANGES CONTINUE TO SEEK
A WINNING FORMULA
Still searching for their first win of the
season, the Toronto Lynx continued to make changes to their roster with
the acquisition of striker, Said Ali, from the Vancouver Whitecaps in
exchange for defender, Josue Mayard. Ali began his professional career
last year, earning the Rookie of the Year award after scoring 15 goals
and adding 4 assists for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on the USL Pro
Soccer League (now the USL Second Division). A native of Tripoli,
Lebanon, Ali was raised in Hamilton, Ontario and became a Canadian
citizen in 1998 after competing with Jordan's U16 National Team. After a
standout career at Robert Morris University where he was named to the
All-Northeast Conference first team in 2002 and 2003, Ali has proven
that he can score at the professional level. This season, his first with
the Whitecaps, Ali has seen action in 4 games, recording 1 assist.
In exchange for Ali, the Lynx part with
veteran defender, Josue Mayard. Over the past three seasons with the
Lynx, Mayard has played in 55 games, second most for the Club over that
period. The athletic defender from Montreal has recorded 2 goals and an
assist in his Lynx career. Mayard is a member of the Haitian National
Team and a former MLS player with the Dallas Burn and Kansas City
Wizards.
In addition to Ali, the Lynx have also added
striker, Wyn Belotte and midfielder, Chris Williams to their roster.
Both players made their debuts in last Friday's match in Rochester.
Belotte who is a former U20 Canadian National Team striker is making his
North American professional debut after beginning his professional
career with IFK Norkopping in Sweden in 2002 before signing with Wisla
Krakow in Poland the following year. A big, strong target man, Belotte
was named the Most Valuable Player at the Football Confederation
Qualifying Tournament in 2001 with the U20 National Team.
Williams who is Toronto native has
represented Canada at all levels earning his only international cap with
the Men's National Team in a loss to the United States in 2003. The
midfielder spent the previous 2 seasons with the Montreal Impact where
he played in 38 games and recorded 2 assists helping the Impact to the
2004 USL First Division Championship. Williams spent the start of the
2005 season on trial in Germany before returning to Toronto last week.
With international experience at the U20, Olympic and National Team
levels as well as a USL First Division Championship under his belt,
Williams will be a valuable addition to the Lynx roster for the
remainder of the season.
–30 –
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
DAVE NUTT -- MEDIA & PUBLIC RELATIONS, TORONTO LYNX SOCCER CLUB