Match Preview: the Nation's Capital Is Ready for Two Great Ottawa
May 12, 2017 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Ottawa Fury FC News Release
OTTAWA, ON - What a day to be alive. As the Ottawa Senators kick off their much-anticipated Eastern Conference Final series against the Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday evening at 7 p.m. Ottawa Fury FC will also face Pittsburgh - the Riverhounds - in USL action, at 2 p.m. at TD Place.
On the ice, it will be Erik Karlsson against Sidney Crosby. On the pitch, we should also have a great battle between Ramon Martin Del Campo - who featured on the USL Team of the Week - and the Riverhounds' top scorer Corey Hertzog - who is tied for sixth place in the USL scoring race with four tallies.
After making history Wednesday by punching their second straight ticket to the semifinal stage of the Canadian Championship and earning themselves a date with Toronto FC, Fury FC will now quickly shift focus and try to extend their unbeaten streak to seven games against a hot Pittsburgh side.
After a slow start in the 2017 USL campaign, Fury FC were able to turns things around in the past few weeks with their sound defensive play which saw them collect four clean sheets during their six-game unbeaten run.
Martin Del Campo - who appeared in every minute of every game for Fury FC this season, leads the club in blocked shots (7) and is third in passing accuracy (80%) - is a big part of Ottawa's recent defensive prowess as is Canadian goalkeeper, Callum Irving, who is tied for the USL lead with three shutouts - four overall this season.
After kicking off the 2017 campaign with a record of 1W-2D-3L, the Rirverhounds were able to turn things around in their last two games, picking up a pair of 1-0 wins against Harrisburg City FC and most recently versus Toronto FC II.
The battle between Martin Del Campo and Hertzog promises to be interesting and there should be an interesting match-up in goal between Irving and Pittsburgh's Trey Mitchell - who hasn't conceded a goal in the last 223 minutes.
Saturday promises to be a great day for sports in the nation's capital and two great matchups between Ottawa and Pittsburgh.
Following Saturday's game, Fury FC will travel to the Big Apple next weekend to face New York Red Bulls II, before returning to TD Place to host Toronto FC in the first leg of the Canadian Championship Semifinals on May 23rd.
Tickets for that game and all Fury FC matches are available at OttawaFuryFC.com, by calling 613.232.6767 X1 or in person at The Box Office at TD Place.
What are they saying?
Fury FC GM and Head Coach, Paul Dalglish:
"We trust this squad 100%. With a lot of games in a short period of time we'll have to evaluate our options and see what players are ready to go on Saturday morning to put together a strong team. Pittsburgh play a modern 4-4-2 and play very compact vertical football. They will be a similar challenge to St. Louis tactically, so I expect another tough challenge, but we'll be ready."
Fury FC Defender, Onua Obasi:
"We've got momentum going at the moment and if we're going to be challenging for the championship like we set out to do, then these home games are the ones we'll be looking to pick up three points. We expect a tough challenge be we will be ready."
Fury FC Forward, Sito Seoane:
"Even though this will be a quick turnaround for us, as a team, we have to keep the same work ethic and the togetherness that we have shown in the last few games. I expect a hard-fought game like any other game in the USL. It won't be easy, but we have to come up with a strong start and make sure we set the tempo from the first whistle."
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