Eagles Finish Regular Season with 4-1 Win Over Hogges
August 10, 2007 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Charlotte Eagles News Release
(Charlotte, NC) - The Charlotte Eagles hosted the Bermuda Hogges tonight in the Eagles' 2007 regular season finale at Waddell Stadium. Joseph Kabwe led the Eagles to victory tonight with two goals and one assist in the Eagles' 4-1 victory over the Hogges.
Charlotte took an early lead in the match with a goal by Taurai Daka in the 8th minute. Daka won a header on the right side of the field, and headed it wide to Gregg Schroeder. Schroeder controlled the ball and passed it back onto Daka's run to goal. Daka collected it and picked his corner, scoring with a shot into the lower left corner from 12 yards out.
Three minutes later Jamal Sutton put the Eagles up 2-0, with an assist by Joseph Kabwe. Kabwe possessed the ball in the midfield and passed to Jamal Sutton, checking back to the ball. Sutton, on the left side, made a quick turn and fired a shot just inside the right post to beat Bermuda goalkeeper Timmy Figureido.
The Charlotte Eagles' lead was extended to three in the 30th minute. Joseph Kabwe won the ball at midfield and dribbled up the middle into Bermuda territory. Kabwe passed it out wide to Daka on the right side, and Daka passed it right back for Kabwe. Kabwe touched the ball into the net with the outside of his foot to put it past Figureido in goal. Kabwe's goal was the last goal of the first half with the Eagles up 3-0.
Joseph Kabwe scored his second goal of the match in the 71st minute to put the Eagles up 4-0. Alex Woods won the ball at midfield and played it quickly up the left side to Taurai Daka. Daka touched the ball left into the middle for Coggins advancing with him. Coggins passed the ball further left for Kabwe who was all alone on the left side. Kabwe scored with a low shot into the lower left corner from just inside the 18 yard box.
The Bermuda Hogges scored the last goal of the match, denying the Eagles a shutout. Bermuda midfielder Lashun Dill recovered a ball cleared out by the Eagles defense. Dill took a touch forward and then fired off a quick shot from almost 30 yards out, beating Charlotte goalkeeper Terry Boss inside the left post.
With tonight's win the Charlotte Eagles finish off the regular season with a final record of 11-7-2, for 35 points. The victory puts the Eagles on a high note heading into the playoffs.
"We needed it so bad, ya know. We needed to get some goals, and we needed to outplay a team and get some goals at the same time to feel like we have some momentum going into playoffs. I think this is a big lift for us," said Eagles head coach Mark Steffens.
Bermuda comes out of tonight's match with a 3-13-3 record for 12 points. The Hogges finish up their inaugural season on Sunday in Wilmington.
Playoff Outlook
The Charlotte Eagles have clinched the fourth of four qualifying spots in the 2007 USL-2 playoffs. Richmond, Cleveland, and Harrisburg are the other three playoff qualifying teams. The final seeding of the top three teams will be decided by their remaining games this weekend. Semi Finals of the playoffs will be the weekend of August 18th. Team seeding will dictate the opponents - #1 vs. #4; #2 vs. #3. The higher seeded team will host the match and have the ability to decide whether the match will be played on Friday, August 17th, or Saturday, August 18th. The two winners of the semi final round will meet in the USL Second Division Championship on August 25th. The host of the Championship match will be determined by a bid process.
• Discuss this story on the United Soccer League Championship message board...
United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 10, 2007
- Eagles Finish Regular Season with 4-1 Win Over Hogges - Charlotte Eagles
- Kings Start Final Road Trip of Season with 6-1 Loss - Cincinnati Kings
- Tonight's Eagles Game Time Change - Charlotte Eagles
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.
