Lady Eagles Battle for First Place Ends in Loss
Published on July 18, 2010 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Charlotte Eagles News Release
The Charlotte Lady Eagles end the 2010 regular season with a tough fought 2-1 loss to the Atlanta Silverbacks.
Coming into the game, the Lady Eagles were on a four game winning streak; two of which were 2-0 and 1-0 wins against Atlanta. Atlanta came into the match 2 points ahead of Charlotte, looking for a win or a tie to clinch the division title. Despite the league-leading defense of Charlotte, Atlanta came out looking to avenge the losses from their previous two meetings with the Lady Eagles.
The Lady Eagles only had 2 shots in the first half but were able to stifle all of Atlanta's 5 shots in the opening 45. With 9 fouls in the first 45 minutes, both teams were making sure they were not the first to make a mistake. The rivalry between the two heated up in the second half, with Atlanta breaking the deadlock in the 47th minute with a goal by Katy Frierson.
Atlanta was able to strike again in the 70th minute after a goal-saving play by Charlotte's goaltender Alyssa Whitehead ended with the ball falling to Atlanta's Nkese Udoh for an easy tap-in.
Despite being down 2-0 and knowing that they already had clinched a spot in the playoffs the following weekend, the Lady Eagles never gave up. With substitutes Ashley Swinehart and Rachel Yepez coming in on the attack, the Lady Eagles looked to put constant pressure on the backline of Atlanta.
After numerous long attempts to break through the defense, Charlotte was able to find the feet of veteran Christy Rife. She was able to turn in the midfield and play a diagonal ball to Rachel Yepez streaking along the left-hand side. After beating her defender to the endline, Yepez set a ball across the six yard box to a waiting Jessica Rostedt who sent the ball past Atlanta's goalie Michelle Betos.
Despite having the momentum and the majority of the possession in the final 15 minutes, the Lady Eagles were unable to get an equalizing goal, ending the game with a 2-1 result in favor of Atlanta. With this win, Atlanta is the winner of the Atlantic Division and will have a higher seed when the Eastern Conference playoffs are announced.
The Lady Eagles will look to rebound quickly as they will start post-season play next weekend at a date and time TBA.
United Soccer League Championship Stories from July 18, 2010
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- Early Score Ends in Draw for Eagles - Charlotte Eagles
- Lady Eagles Battle for First Place Ends in Loss - Charlotte Eagles
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