NASL Weekend: Last-second golazo ends Fury streak

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Aug 16, 2015

Daniel Mendes ended Ottawa's unbeaten run at 12 games when his free kick from 25 yards nicked the far post and slid into the goal in second-half stoppage time to give Minnesota United FC a 2-1 win over the Fury before a season-high crowd of 6,899 fans at TD Place.



Christian Ramirez scored in his seventh straight game to give Minnesota the lead in the 17th minute but Ottawa pulled even on Andrew Wiedeman's goal in the 74th minute.

After the game, Ottawa players, furious with the call that led to the free kick, surrounded the refereeing crew, and in an interview with the Ottawa Sun Fury coach Marc dos Santos blamed its work on a "lack of culture" in North American soccer.

NASL 2015:
Standings | Schedule

Ottawa still leads FC Edmonton by four points in the fall standings, while Minnesota is now tied with Tampa Bay, a 2-1 loser to Ft. Lauderdale for third place in the all-important combined standings.

FC Edmonton, which beat Carolina, 3-0, on Sunday, is fifth, two points behind Minnesota and Tampa Bay.

The spring champion New York Cosmos have not lost in five matches, three of them victories, including a 2-1 decision over San Antonio on Saturday night that moved them back into the lead in the combined standings. The winning goal came on an own goal scored by Scorpions defender Brad Rusin.