Dedication Leads to Hammerheads Advancement to Fourth Round of Open Cup
June 2, 2016 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Wilmington Hammerheads FC News Release
Wilmington, NC - On Wednesday, June 1st, the Wilmington Hammerheads kicked off against Miami FC for the third of the 2016 Open Cup at 8pm.
After an eventful week, the Hammerheads challenged Miami FC for an exciting, yet late, match.
Miami FC is a team whom is part of North American Soccer League (NASL). NASL is a professional men's soccer league with 12 teams: 9 in the United States, 2 in Canada and 1 in Puerto Rico. It is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as the Division II league in the American league system, under Major League Soccer (MLS) and above the United Soccer League (formerly, USL Pro). It is headquartered in New York City.
The league is named for, but has no connection to, the original NASL. The modern NASL was founded in 2009, and began play in 2011 with eight teams, following a 2010 season that saw NASL and USL teams play in a combined temporary Division II league.
As the Hammerheads advanced to the third round of the Open Cup after a 6-0 win against Miami Fusion FC during the second round, they advanced to challenge Miami FC in Miami. Coming from a week where they took on Toronto on May 29th, winning 3-1, the new Wilmington team was hungry to continue their offensive gains.
Wilmington built up a two-goal lead in the opening five minutes and defeated Miami FC 2-1 on Wednesday in the third round of the 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at FIU Stadium.
Wilmington followed up its 6-0 win against Miami Fusion FC in the tournament's second round with another burst of offense as #19 Jeff Michaud and #10 Justin Moose scored in the second and fifth minutes, respectively, to jump out to a quick 2-0 lead.
With the victory, Wilmington now travels to Sandy, Utah to face MLS' Real Salt Lake in the Fourth Round on Wednesday, June 15th.
Michaud's right-footed strike from about 25 yards out snuck inside the left post and Moose broke free down the right side to push the Hammerheads lead to 2-0. Wilmington would need every bit of that early burst to sustain a victory.
Miami second-half sub Jaime Chavez cut Wilmington's lead to 2-1 in the 52nd minute as he took advantage of a one-on-one opportunity.
The host team also had a chance for the equalizer in the 82nd minute with a penalty kick chance, and Eric Ati stepped up big with a diving stop to his right to turn away Dario Cvitanich. Head coach Mark Briggs, stated, "We had a fantastic team performance and they deserve the result. and We were best of the teams and the best against a team above us. Now we can take the momentum into this weekends performance against Harrisburg."
After a successful win in Miami, Wilmington will take on Harrisburg City Islanders on Friday, June 3rd at 7pm in Wilmington. Call 910.777.2111 to purchase your tickets to our White Out match today!
• Discuss this story on the United Soccer League Championship message board...
United Soccer League Championship Stories from June 2, 2016
- USL Discipline Report: Week 10 - USL
- Hammerheads Return Home to Take on Harrisburg - Wilmington Hammerheads FC
- USL at Forefront in FIFA Video Assistant Referee Project - USL
- Hammerheads Announce Change in Kick-Off for July 17th Match - Wilmington Hammerheads FC
- Toronto FC Loan Simonin to Toronto FC II - Toronto FC II
- Islanders Stage Late Comeback, Advance to Fourth Round of USOC against Philadelphia Union - Penn FC
- Switchbacks FC Partner with Coldwell Bankers Residential Brokerage - Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
- Sacramento Republic FC Falls to Kitsap Pumas 1-0 in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup - Sacramento Republic FC
- Switchbacks Earn US Open Cup Date with Colorado Rapids - Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
- Arizona United Eliminated from U.S. Open Cup Following 3-0 Loss - Phoenix Rising FC
- Dedication Leads to Hammerheads Advancement to Fourth Round of Open Cup - Wilmington Hammerheads FC
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
