Ordain Leads Charlotte Over Long Island 3-0
July 30, 2005 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Charlotte Eagles News Release
UNIONDALE, NY -- After a valiant effort, the Rough Riders came up short against the Charlotte Eagles, ending their playoff hopes with a 3-0 loss to the Eagles, who move onto the postseason.
The Long Island Rough Riders came into Saturday night's match against the first place Charlotte Eagles well aware that anything less than a win would erase all playoff chances and, for the first time in franchise history, mean missing the playoffs for two consecutive years.
The first half would be one the Riders would look back on with a handful of what-ifs. Neither team had a particularly strong offensive half, characterized by a few breaks but no scoring.
The first real scoring chance for the Rough Riders came in the 6th minute, when Carlyle Myrie crossed a ball from the left side to team leading scorer Moussa Sy, but Sy couldn't get a solid foot on the ball and sent it wide.
In the 8th minute, James Hunt attempted to capitalize with a volley off a loose ball just outside the box, but sent it sailing high over the crossbar.
Derrick Etienne, who passed Giovanni Savarese on the Rough Riders all-time points list with 104 after this past weekend's goal against Pittsburgh, made the best effort of the half, taking the ball with his right foot, faking around his defender, and sending a shot over the bar.
Anthony Barberio, entering the game in the 37th minute for Shaun Higgins, seemed to bring a spark to a seemingly lifeless match in which neither team capitalized on their chances. Barberio decided to try the long ball instead of forcing a pass into the crowded Charlotte box, taking a shot from 25 yards out that went slightly over the crossbar.
The second half seemed to hold promise for the Rough Riders. Holding not only the first place team, but a squad that defeated Long Island 2-1 on May 13th, scoreless at halftime meant that there was still a possibility of a victory. But that feeling would be short lived.
The Eagles broke the scoring drought with a goal by Ricardo Ordain in the 53rd minute. Jonah Long switched the ball to Ordain, who made a run up the middle and headed the ball past Rough Riders keeper Paul Grafer to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
Charlotte didn't settle for their meager lead for long. In the 55th minute, Ishmael Mintah trickled a ball past Grafer that was almost saved on the goal line by the Rough Riders defense, but crossed over the white line, increasing the Eagles lead to 2-0.
Grafer did his best to stop the barrage of shots that came his way during the half. In the 57th minute, Grafer knocked down a ball shot dead-on by Andy Guastaferro to keep the Eagles lead at 2-0.
The Rough Riders did well to stop seven Eagles shots during the half, but Charlotte took advantage of a slip in the Riders defense and capitalized. Jacob Coggins faked out a Rough Riders defender down the end line and passed it towards Ordain waiting in the middle of the box, easily slipping it past Grafer to seal Charlotte's 3-0 victory.
Long Island has three games left in their schedule, with their last home game and the following away game against the Western Mass Pioneers and their season finale against the New Hampshire Phantoms, the team will try to regroup from what would seem to be a devastating loss and give their last home crowd of the season something to look forward to next year.
The next and last home game for the Long Island Rough Riders will be on Friday, August 5th at 7:30 PM against the Western Mass Pioneers.
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United Soccer League Championship Stories from July 30, 2005
- Ordain Leads Charlotte Over Long Island 3-0 - Charlotte Eagles
- Lady Eagles Advance to Central Conference Final with 6-2 Win - Charlotte Eagles
- Rough Riders Miss Playoffs with Loss to Eagles - Long Island Rough Riders
- City Islanders Clinch Playoff Berth With 7-0 Rout - Penn FC
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