Nani, Nani Part Two (8/6)

HDD BOOT DEVICE NOT FOUND, CA -- The evenly matched semifinal (ORL +150, MIN +175) between Orlando City SC and Minnesota United FC did not account for the Nani factor.  I wore my MIN jersey as I needed them to win to claim 2nd in the pool (it's pride!).  Of course, it didn't work when I wore my LA Galaxy jerseys for their 3 matches.  Rain and lightning delayed the match 79 minutes, the third such major weather delay in the tourney.

While MIN had most of the control and shots, it was Nani who scored twice in the first half in superstar fashion with the first him bullying the defender off a long pass over the top to slide it past the GK in the 36' and the second just scoring a world-class bender outside the box in the 42'.

MIN struggled but finally cut the lead in half in the 83' on a 50/50 offsides that was NOT called, thus it stood (whereas last night it was called and the goal was no good).  MIN had 17 shots and 13 corners but couldn't find the finishing touch (only 3 shots on goal).  ORL added a garbage time goal in the 90'+6' (Nani had the assist) to win 3-1 and advance to their first-ever major final.  ORL only had 7 shots but 4 were on goal.

No one got ORL which means everyone missed both finalists, the first time that has happened in our 36 HWCI NCAA and Soccer pools.   As a result, TarjetaRoja gets to keep 2nd place and The Six Foot Box claims 3rd.  There are 2 tied entries if people care about 7th or 10th place as the total goals scored stands at 7 with one match left to play.