Aug. 26, 1989 – Boston Bolts 2:0 (0:1 “mini-game”) Fort Lauderdale Strikers, ASL final at Nickerson Field (Att.: 5,370)

Steve Potter and Paul Duffy scored second-half goals as the Bolts took a 2-0 win over the Strikers, evening the series at 1-1. The Strikers then won, 1-0, on Marcelo Carrera’s eighth-minute goal in a 30-minute “mini-game.” Carrera, who began his career with Independiente in Argentina, went on to play for the Columbus Crew in MLS and Strikers coach Thomas Rongen guided the Revolution to their first playoff appearance in 1997.

“We had our opportunities, but we didn’t finish them off,” Bolts coach Sid Mazzola said after the game. “That’s been the story of our season. The team that capitalized on its opportunities is the champion. That’s it.”

The next year, Bolts added U.S. national team defenders Brian Bliss (ex-Southern Connecticut State) and Hartford’s Janusz Michallik, plus goalkeeper Jeff Duback (Yale), and Canadian national teamer Mike Sweeney led the team with eight goals, but the team folded after the 1990 season.

TODAY IN NEW ENGLAND SOCCER HISTORY