Eagles Travel North for Huge Two Game Weekend
August 8, 2012 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Charlotte Eagles News Release
The Charlotte Eagles (9-9-2), winners of six of their last seven games, travel to Pittsburgh and Dayton for two big USL Pro League games. The Eagles take on the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on Friday, August 10th at 7 pm at Chartiers Valley High School. Pittsburgh (4-13-5, 17 points) has had a much better season at home (3-5-3) than on the road (1-8-2) and is always a formidable opponent. The Riverhounds are led in attack by former New York Red Bull Matt Kassal (6 goals, 2 assists, 14 points). The Eagles won their only previous meeting of the season by the score of 2-0. The game was played in Charlotte on Saturday, July 14th on which night the Eagles celebrated their 20th Anniversary Season.
The Eagles then travel to Ohio to play the Dayton Dutch Lions (4-10-7, 19 points) on Saturday, August 11th at 7:30 pm at Bellbrook High School. Dayton, like Charlotte, had a banner run through the 2012 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup making it all the way to the QuarterFinal Round before losing to Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer. The Dutch Lions defeated in state neighbor Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer 2-1 during the run. The Dutch Lions have been tough to beat at home posting a 4-3-4 home record. Former Eagle Gibson Bardsley is tied for the team league in scoring with nine points (4 goals, 1 assist). Former Eagle Joel DeLass is among a handful of players in the league to have played every minute of every game (21 games, 1890 minutes). Charlotte and Dayton tied (0-0) their only previous meeting this year back on April 13th in Charlotte.
Goalkeeper Eric Reed enters the weekend with four consecutive USL Pro League shutouts for the Eagles. Darryl Roberts (6 goals, 1 assist, 13 points) and Jorge Herrera (5 goals, 2 assists, 12 points) pace the Charlotte attack. The Eagles are among seven teams fighting for the final five playoff spots. Only league leader Orlando City has clinched a playoff berth. Eagles General Manager Tom Engstrom commented, "I never recall the league being this tight at the end of the season. Any number of teams could be in or could be out of the playoffs and any number of teams could end up hosting a first round playoff game. We expect two very difficult games at Pittsburgh and Dayton."
NOTE: The Eagles final home game of the season is Friday, August 17th at 7 pm at Wingate University vs. the Wilmington Hammerheads. This is a rescheduled game following the postponement of the July 21st game.
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