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Rough Riders Ground Falcons 4-1

July 7, 2004 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Long Island Rough Riders News Release


( Plainview, N.Y, July 7, 2004) – The Long Island Rough Riders put together another strong performance, beating the Jersey Falcons in front of a "Camp Day" crowd of 3,019 at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale. Forwards Giovanni Savarese and Derrick Etienne scored two goals each to secure Long Island's third win in their last four games.

The Rough Riders started pressuring the Falcons from the opening whistle, forcing a save from Falcons goalkeeper Chris Konopka within the first two minutes. After the initial rush, Jersey tried to break out but could not get out of their own zone. Against the run of play, Jersey had their first good scoring chance in the 10th minute when Scott Cahagan got in on the Long Island goal on a breakaway. Rough Riders goalkeeper Dan Sirota was able to make a sliding save to knock his shot away.

The Rough Riders opened the scoring in the 12th minute of play. Stephen Franzke sent a cross from the left wing towards Giovanni Savarese on the right side of the penalty area. Savarese had enough time and space to chest the ball down and slot home a shot from twelve yards out. It was Savarese's first goal since returning to the franchise and the 40th of his Rough Rider career.

The Falcons had new hope when they were able to put together a series of passes for a counter-attack goal in the 35th minute. Jersey forward Scott Cohagan came in on goal from the left side of the 18 yard box. He sent a pass across the goal mouth for midfielder Phil Swenda to knock a shot past Sirota from only five yards out.

New Jersey was forced to make a change in goal in the 39th minute as Marcin Czerwinski came in to replace an injured Chris Knopka. Czerwinski was immediately put under pressure as the Rough Riders looked to regain the lead before the half.

With the Rough Riders looking to go forward at every opportunity, Falcon defender Robert Szczur took down Savarese just inside the box in the 42nd minute. He then stepped up to put the penalty kick in to the lower right corner for the Rough Riders' second goal, making the score 2-1 for Long Island going in to halftime.

The second half started much as the first half had ended. Long Island continued to attack, but Sirota was forced to make a few good saves on Jersey counter-attacks. Long Island finally got rewarded for their efforts in the 59th minute when midfielder Jim Rooney sent a pass through the Falcons defense to give Derrick Etienne a break-away. Etienne was able to beat keeper Czerwinski with a shot to the lower right corner to give the Rough Riders a 3-1 lead and control of the game.

The Rough Riders scored their final goal in the 71st minute when Assistant Coach/Defender Paul Caffrey crossed the ball from the left side for Etienne to score his second goal of the game and his eight of the season.

With a comfortable lead, Long Island continued to push forward. Mike Giacobbone put a strong shot just over the bar from 25 yards out. Two minutes later, midfielder Colin Marshall had his shot from ten yards out slam off the crossbar. Caffrey had another long distance try sail just over the top of the goal.

Long Island Head Coach Ronan Wiseman was happy with the result, but noted room for improvement. "The first half was a poor performance as we let them back in to the game. The second half was better & I think that the result was fair."

The Rough Riders face the same Jersey Falcons at their home field in Roselle, NJ at 5:00pm on Sunday, July 11th. The Rough Riders then return home for a special exhibition match against the MLS MetroStars on Tuesday, July 13th. The match at Mitchel Athletic Complex will kick off at 7:30pm. A half-time ceremony will be conducted to honor US National Team Player Chris Armas as the initial member of the Long Island Rough Riders "Hall Of Fame". Armas was a member of the Rough Riders during their initial two seasons, winning a National Championship with the franchise in 1995.

For further team and ticket information, please contact our office at 516-671-1585 or check out our website at www.liroughriders.com.

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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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