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Cincinnati Starts Road Trip with Win

July 3, 2003 - A-League (A-League)
Cincinnati Riverhawks News Release


(Cincinnati, OH) – The Cincinnati Riverhawks (7-8-0, 21 points) started off their 4 game road trip with a 3-1 win over the Indiana Blast (2-14-1, 7 points). This was the sixth and last time the two teams met for the 2003 season. Cincinnati won the season series 5-1. The win moves Cincinnati into second place in the Central Division behind the Minnesota Thunder

The first half began with both teams pressuring forward and attacking hard. Both Cincinnati and Indiana had a couple of shots in the first few minutes, but the Riverhawks slowly began to control the ball, which they did for most of the half.

Cincinnati's first goal came by way of Indiana defender Mark Allen in the 9th minute of play. Cincinnati midfielder John Cipriani brought the ball down the left side, blowing past Indiana defender Justin MacMillan, and put up a cross intended for forward Craig Yacks. Allen stuck a leg up to try to block the cross and ended up putting the ball in the net for an own goal.

The Riverhawks did not let up the pressure and continued to play the ball into the box. Forward Salvatore Piraine, who had 4 shots on the night, forced keeper Armando Femia to make a couple of great saves. Piraine was rewarded for his perseverance in the 27th minute. Yacks took the ball from midfield down the middle towards the goal. Piraine made a run on the left, and after putting a couple of moves on the defender, Yacks played a ball to Piraine who blasted a shot past Femia for his fourth goal of the season.

Indiana had a couple of quality scoring opportunities in the last few minutes of the half but were unable to finish.

"We played a beautiful first half," said coach Nick Ranieri. "We could have had a few more goals, but Femia had some great saves."

Indiana came out in the second half and dominated the Riverhawks. The Cincinnati defense held up well with keeper Eric Pattison making some key saves while facing 11 shots in the second half alone. The Blast avoided the shutout in the 65th minute. Forward Rodrigo Costa placed a hard shot to Pattison, who deflected the ball away. Forward Jamar Beasley was right there for the rebound and put the ball back in the net.

Logan Wallace scored the final goal for the Riverhawks in stoppage time. Wallace, who came on in the 72nd minute, had an earlier goal called back on an offsides call. Wallace put a shot into the upper 90 of the net from the right side which Femia had no chance to save.

"We lost the momentum in the second half," said Ranieri. "Indiana attacked hard. We came back in the last 10 minutes of the game. It was a very good game considering we had little rest after playing Sunday."

The Riverhawks continue their road trip with 2 games in El Paso over the weekend and a game next weekend in Minnesota.



A-League Stories from July 3, 2003


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