Charlotte Set to Host Doubleheader
May 30, 2013 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Charlotte Eagles News Release
Charlotte, NC - The Charlotte Eagles will play host to a doubleheader this Saturday, June 1st as the Lady Eagles will host the Atlanta Silverbacks at 5:30 pm. The Men's team will host the Harrisburg City Islanders following the women's contest. The doubleheader is also the return of Princess and Mustache night at the Queens Sports Complex.
The first 25 girls under 12 years old will receive free boas, there will be a photo booth set up for fans to take their best picture, along with other vendors. The fun starts at 4:30 when the gates open so get your tickets today!
The Lady Eagles, fresh off their first victory of the season on Wednesday against the Carolina Elite Cobras, are ready for their rematch against the Atlanta Silverbacks. In the first game of the season the Lady Eagles fell to the Silverbacks 3-0 in Atlanta. Charlotte then dropped a game against the Dayton Dutch Lions, giving up a goal late in the contest.
Forward Erin "Macky" Wingo scored the game winner for the Lady Eagles in their contest against the Cobras. Jamie Achten put in the cross which was won by Leah Fortune. The ball found its way to Wingo at the top of the box where she volleyed it perfectly into the upper 90 to give the Eagles the first half lead. Goalkeeper Robyn Jones kept the Cobras off the board in the 2nd half to preserve the clean sheet and the first victory of the 2013 W-League season.
The Lady Eagles will look to ride the momentum of the road victory into Saturday's home opener as midfielder Leah Fortune added, "They were a great team and it could have gone either way but it felt good and it will be nice to go into Atlanta with a little bit of confidence." Eagles veteran Amanda Naeher echoed Fortunes comments, "Everyone on our team worked for their teammate tonight. They worked hard, Coach Horton kept repeating 'There is no division in unity' so we battled as a team."
Atlanta is coming into Saturday's game with a 2-0-1 record and sit alone atop the Southeastern Conference Standings in the W-League with 7 points. Their most recent game came against the women of VSI Tampa Bay FC last Saturday, May 25th and resulted in a 1-1 draw. The Silverbacks' leading scorer on the young season so far is Rachel Garcia who has 3 goals through 3 games. This will be the final meeting between the two clubs. Last season the Lady Eagles edged out the Silverbacks on the way to winning the Southeastern Division crown.
The Men's team will look to rebound from a tough 2-0 defeat at the hands of Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire in US Open Cup play when the Harrisburg City Islanders come to town. The Eagles are looking to keep their league home record of 3-0-2 intact, having only conceded one goal so far in USL PRO play.
Charlotte's last league game came on the backend of a two game West Coast road trip at Phoenix and Los Angeles. Only managing one point from both contests, a 2-2 draw with Phoenix and a 4-3 loss against the LA Blues, was not the best result for the Eagles but they will look to get back to their winning ways against the 5th place City Islanders.
Rookie forward Christian Ramirez currently sits alone atop the Eagles goal scoring table. The California native has three goals on 18 shots so far in the young season. First year Eagle Shaun Francis was the most dangerous player for Charlotte in the Open Cup game against the Fire. The Jamaican defender, whose two goals and two assists, have him tied with Ramirez on six points at the top of the scoring table. Christian Meza and Nate Thornton are tied with five points apiece, while Eagles veteran Jorge Herrera is tied with first year man Stefan "Tommy" Smith with four points apiece.
Harrisburg comes into Saturday's game with a 5-2-1 record which is good for 5th place in the USL PRO standings, having most recently come up short 2-0 against Richmond on May 24th. The City Islanders got off to a fast start compiling a record of 4-1-0 in the first five games. The City Islanders fell to PDL side Reading United in the 2nd round of the US Open Cup by a score of 1-0.
Sainey Touray, a Gambian forward, leads the City Islanders in scoring with five goals in seven games. Touray is ranked tied for third in the league in both goals and points. Touray is in his third season with the City Islanders, after playing previously for the Carolina Rail Hawks.
Harrisburg, in partnership with Major League Soccer's Philadelphia Union, has four players on loan this season. They are defenders Greg Jordan and Don Anding, midfielders Leo Fernandes, Christian Hernandez and Jimmy McLaughlin and forward Aaron Wheeler.
Some more City Islanders to keep an eye on this Saturday are forward Lucky Mkosana who is 2nd on the team in scoring with three goals and one assist. Mkosana played collegiately at Dartmouth College, while there he would collect various honors including Ivy League player of the year (2011), 4-time All-Ivy League First Team and would also become the leading goal scorer in school history with 34 career goals for the Big Green. Goalkeeper Nicholas Noble has started in all eight Harrisburg contests this season. Originally drafted 7th overall by the Chicago Fire in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft, the 6'4" former West Virginia Mountaineer is in his second season with the City Islanders after playing previously for Swedish club Ljungskile SK. Noble has a 1.125 goals-against average this year, only surrendering 9 goals on 65 shots faced.
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United Soccer League Championship Stories from May 30, 2013
- Rhinos Host LA Blues on Hometown Heroes Night - Rochester Rhinos
- Phoenix FC Takes to the Road for Back-to-Back Road Games - Phoenix FC
- Orlando City U23s Defeated 1-0 - Orlando City SC
- Battery Returns to USL PRO Action With Friday Night Match vs. Harrisburg - Charleston Battery
- Kickers Host Phoenix Friday - Richmond Kickers
- Charlotte Set to Host Doubleheader - Charlotte Eagles
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