FC Edmonton's inaugural season is off to a perfect start after two games, with a 1-0 win over the Atlanta Silverbacks on Saturday. The game got off to a rocky start after striker Alex Semenets went down in the 4th minute with a leg injury. Daniel Antoniuk, who scored the game-winning goal against Fort Lauderdale last weekend, replaced him up front. Defender Alex Surprenant scored the game's only marker in the 11th minute with a rising shot from 30 yards out that lofted over Atlanta goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer. Edmonton was dominant in the first half, with several scoring chances including a bullet off of Shaun Saiko's boot that was well saved by Maurer. Atlanta had a prime chance halfway through the second half off a free kick, but the crossbar denied Mario Perez's rising shot. FC Edmonton's Conrad Smith followed that up just minutes later, sliding a shot just left of the post. The first yellow card of the match went to Atlanta midfielder Lucas Paulini in the 78th minute after he took out Antoniuk in the midst of an attack. The Silverbacks were then dealt a major blow in the 84th minute when a red card was handed to Jon Cox. The send off took the life out of any comeback attempt, as Edmonton was able to control the underpowered Silverbacks for the remaining 10 minutes. FC Edmonton almost made it 2-0 in stoppage time after substitute Sam Lam caught Maurer out of his net and rolled a long shot just narrowly wide. The missed opportunity was followed by a great shot from Silverback Shane Moroney that was stopped by FC Edmonton keeper Rein Baart to save the three points. Edmonton got a win in its first game last Saturday when they faced the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. After falling behind 1-0, the young squad rallied back and scored two unanswered goals to capture the win. Next up is the third of an early season road trip in Carolina against the RailHawks on Wednesday.
