Eagles Travel to Charleston in USL PRO Action
June 3, 2013 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Charlotte Eagles News Release
Charlotte, NC -- The Charlotte Eagles,3-2-4 13 points, are looking to snap a three-game winless streak on the road against the Charleston Battery, 6-3-1, 19 points on Wednesday, June 5th at 7:30 pm. The Battery, however, have only lost once at home all season so it won't be an easy task for the Eagles.
In the previous meeting, Charlotte's Shaun Francis converted a free kick from the top of the penalty area to give the Eagles a 1-0 win. Eric Reed stopped the only shot he faced in keeping the clean sheet.
Charlotte lost last Saturday against the Harrisburg City Islanders by a score of 4-0. The City Islanders received a free kick in only the 5th minute and Philadelphia Union loanee Chris Hernandez converted the kick to give them an early 1-0 lead. Aaron Wheeler, another Union loanee, scored two goals and Jimmy McLaughlin scored on a late counter attack to seal the victory for the visitors.
Rookie forward Christian Ramirez is leading the team in goals scored so far in the 2013 season. His three goals in seven games is good for six points. Defender Shaun Francis is tied with Ramirez for the points lead, with two goals and two assists. There are five Eagles players tied for 2nd on the team in goal-scoring behind Ramirez, as Shaun Francis, Jorge Herrera, Christian Meza, Tommy Smith and Nate Thornton have all scored two goals this season.
The loss against Harrisburg, combined with the Dayton Dutch Lions tie on Sunday against the LA Blues leaves the Eagles in an 8th place tie with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds for the final playoff spot.
Charleston comes into Wednesday's matchup looking to rebound from a 2-1 home loss to Harrisburg on Friday, May 31st. Ben Fisk opened the scoring for the Battery in the 36th minute off an assist from Michael Azira. Harrisburg didn't take long to respond as Sainey Touray scored two minutes later. Stephen Basso converted a penalty in the 53rd minute to give the City Islanders the go-ahead goal. The loss and Harrisburg's win against Charlotte moved the Battery into a 4th place tie with the Los Angeles Blues, with the Battery having four games in-hand on the Blues.
The Battery have also advanced to the 4th round of the 2013 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup and will travel to Rio Tinto Stadium in Utah on Wednesday, June 12th to take on Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer. Charleston has defeated the Portland Timbers U-23's (PDL) and the San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) to move into the 4th round.
There is a three-way tie atop the goal scoring chart as midfielders Nicki Paterson, Michael Azira and forward Dane Kelly all have three goals on the year. Paterson leads the way in total points with eight, followed by Azira with seven and Kelly with six. Goalkeeper Odisnel Cooper has made all but one start for Charleston and has compiled a 5-3-1 record on the year with a 1.11 goals-against average and four shutouts.
Keep that Orange Flag Flying High and tune in on USL Nation Wednesday night to watch the Eagles take on the Battery.
• Discuss this story on the United Soccer League Championship message board...
United Soccer League Championship Stories from June 3, 2013
- Lions Play Friday, Sunday at Home In Regular Season Action - Orlando City SC
- USL PRO Recap - USL
- Islanders Set to Take On Hammerheads - Penn FC
- Eagles Travel to Charleston in USL PRO Action - 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.
