Advancing to Round Four of the Open Cup, Hammerheads Head to Salt Lake
June 13, 2016 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Wilmington Hammerheads FC News Release
Salt Lake City, UT - The Wilmington Hammerheads find themselves in the fourth round of the 2016 US Open Cup playing against a top MLS team, Real Salt Lake.
The Hammerheads, a USL team, will take on Real Salt Lake on Tuesday, June 14th at 8pm central time, 10pm eastern time. Wilmington failed to make it past round one last year, but after a season of revitalization, the team has made it to round four to challenge an MLS team.
Head coach Mark Briggs stated, "It will be a great opportunity for our players to compete against a team from the top level in America; a team doing very well in the top level. We have no pressure on us as nobody expects us to win, but make no mistake we want to be in the next round."
Players to Watch
For the Hammerheads, forward #22 Kyle Parker continues to be a powerhouse. Over the past several weeks Parker has scored three goals and been named Player to Watch, Man of the Match, and the USLs Player of the Week during week 11. Parker has made a significant stride at this point in the season with his quickly accumulating goals, and only playing 377 minutes.
During the 2016 MLS SuperDraft, Parker was selected during the second round (31st overall) by Columbus Crew, but signed with Wilmington in March.
For Real Salt Lake, midfielder #19 Luke Mulholland is a key player to watch. Mulholland played for Wilmington back in 2011 and was named Rookie of the Year, as well as USL's Best XI in that same year. Since his Hammerhead days, Mulholland played two seasons (2012 and 2013) with NASL's Tampa Bay Rowdies, until he was recruited to Real Salt Lake in 2014.
Mulholland played 2,329 minutes with 27 starts, making 29 appearances for RSL last season. He finished the season with three goals and two assists. So far this year, he has accumulated 601 minutes, 2 goals and 2 assists.
Don't miss the action tomorrow night, as the Wilmington Hammerheads take on Real Salt Lake for the fourth round of the US Open Cup in Salt Lake City. You can catch the game online or follow play by play on Twitter.
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United Soccer League Championship Stories from June 13, 2016
- Louisville City FC Partners with WKRD 790 for Soccer Radio Show - Louisville City FC
- Six USL Clubs Face MLS Contingent in Fourth Round of U.S. Open Cup - USL
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- Rhinos Announce New Partnership - Rochester Rhinos
- Advancing to Round Four of the Open Cup, Hammerheads Head to Salt Lake - Wilmington Hammerheads FC
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