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Riverhawks Split Weekend Games

May 5, 2003 - A-League (A-League)
Cincinnati Riverhawks News Release


(Cincinnati, OH) – The Cincinnati Riverhawks split a pair of games this past weekend, winning against the Indiana Blast but losing against the Minnesota Thunder. Even with the loss to Minnesota, the 3-0 win against Indiana puts Cincinnati atop the Central Division based on goal differential as well as in the lead for the Border Battle Cup with the Blast.

The Riverhawks opened their home schedule on Friday May 2 against the Indiana Blast before an official crowd of 522 diehard fans braving the weather. On a cool and windy evening which threatened to rain all night, the Riverhawks shutout the Blast 3-0. Forward Byron Carmichael began the scoring frenzy with a goal in the 16th minute. Defender Jeremie Piette fed a through ball to Carmichael who proceeded to take the ball to the keeper and put the ball past Indiana keeper Mark Spears when Spears came out to challenge him.

Carmichael scored his second goal of the match eight minutes later when he got the jump on two Indiana defenders and took a long ball down from 30 yards out and put the ball in the net again.

Midfielder Allen Eller got into the scoring act in the 84th minute. Eller took the ball down the middle of the field, through 3 defenders and was able to put the ball past Spears into the lower left corner of the net.

Apparently frustrated with the goals, Spears received a red card and was ejected from the game in the 87th minute. Forward Salvatore Piraine was bringing the ball down to score and with no defenders around, Spears came out of the box and was called for an intentional hand ball causing his ejection. Since a team must play with a keeper, backup goalie Josh Lynk was brought in while another Indiana player was sent off.

The final whistle blew a few minutes later securing the win for the Riverhawks.

"We are happy with the result," said Coach Nick Ranieri. "We felt like we had strong authority and dictated the way the game was played. The end result is due to the patience, hard work, and belief in the system we have created here. People should not be surprised that we won."

Besides the three pointes garnered from the win, the Riverhawks were happy that some of the youth teams that are part of the Riverhawks youth program, the Hawks FC, got to see a win.

"We are glad the kids got to see a good game. These players represent the future of soccer. They saw a team that played as a team. We hope the professional players can be a good model for the youth players."

The Riverhawks played again on Sunday May 4 against the Minnesota Thunder in Minneapolis. This was the Thunder's home opener and was played before a crowd of almost 6,000 in the Metrodome.

Both teams were held scoreless in the first half, though the Thunder was able to produce more scoring opportunities. The Thunder continued to out shoot the Riverhawks in the second half and produced the games only, albeit controversial, goal. Forward Johnny Torres received a long ball from defender Steve Shak in the Riverhawks midfield and took a shot which Riverhawks keeper Eric Pattison deflected. Unfortunately Thunder Forward Johnny Menyongar was in the right place and was able to put the deflected ball into the goal. The play is controversial because Torres appeared to be offside when the ball was played by Shak. The officials did not call it so the goal stood.

"The team played well despite the loss," commented Ranieri. "It looked like Minnesota was intimidated early in the game because of how well we have been playing and we had the first clear opportunities to score. The first half ended well."

"I do no know if it was from fatigue due to playing Friday then traveling all day Saturday on the team's bus, but some players did not perform well in the 2nd half. Another factor was the field. It was very fast and it negated our strongest characteristic, our technique and agility with the ball. After Minnesota scored, we put more pressure on with some substitutions but were unable to score. Now we have to look forward to the next game against El Paso."

The Riverhawks next game is Saturday May 10 against the El Paso Patriots. This game also happens to be College Night. All college students with a valid school ID can get into the game for $6. They can also use their ticket stub on any Thursday night at Jillian's for their College Night and receive a card good for unlimited games.

As an A-League premier team and part of the United Soccer Leagues, the Cincinnati Riverhawks enter its sixth season in 2003. For tickets and general team information call (513) 326-GOAL or visit www.riverhawks.com.



A-League Stories from May 5, 2003


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.

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