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Rough Riders overcome Islanders 3-2 in OT

July 17, 2004 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Long Island Rough Riders News Release


( Plainview, N.Y, July 17, 2004 ) - The Long Island Rough Riders defeated the Harrisburg City Islanders 3-2 in overtime this evening to keep their playoff hopes alive. In a very physical match that saw 47 fouls between the two clubs, defender Wilmer Cabrera scored one goal and forward Giovanni Savarese scored twice including the winning penalty kick in overtime.

Long Island had entered the match five points behind Harrisburg for the second playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. The Rough Riders knew the importance of the match and came out strong, controlling the possession. Early fouls on forward Derrick Etienne and midfielder Carlo Espinosa gave a sign of things to come. Espinosa took advantage of the opportunity by curling the subsequent free kick from the left side of the field to an on-rushing Cabrera to head in for the first score of the game in only the eight minute. The Rough Riders nearly doubled their lead a few minutes later when Derrick Etienne was able to break in on goal from the left side but his shot flew across the goal mouth to just miss the far post.

Harrisburg reacted well to the goal, stepping up their pressure and pinning Long Island back in their defensive zone. In the 17 th minute, Long Island goalkeeper Dan Sirota was forced to make a leaping save to tip a Harrisburg shot over the crossbar. Harrisburg continued to push forward, with one shot saved by Sirota and another sailing over the crossbar. Long Island looked to have turned things around when a shot deflected off a Harrisburg defender in the box but no hand ball was given. Harrisburg began an immediate counter-attack which led to a breakaway for forward Matt Tanzini. Sirota made the initial save but Tanzini was able to gather the rebound and slide his shot past the goalkeeper and another defender to tie the score.

Harrisburg started the second half with most of the possession while the physical confrontations on the field continued. Just before the half, defender Moffat Odour had been shown a yellow card for a foul from behind and in the 53 rd minute midfielder Derrick Potteiger received his yellow for a push from behind. Harrisburg took the lead in the 55th minute when newly signed Aleksey Korol taped in a rebound from the initial shot of Matt Tanzini to make the score 2-1.

Long Island felt the urgency for a result and looked to push the ball forward. Goalkeeper Mike Behonik deflected a shot off the post and was able to quickly gather up the rebound. In the 62nd minute, another violent foul by John LaPore gave the Rough Riders a free kick just outside the Harrisburg box but Carlo Espinosa’s shot sailed over the top of the crossbar. Sirota came up with another diving save in the 69 th minute to set up Giovanni Savarese’s heroics. A cross from the right side bounced around in the Harrisburg box for him to tuck into the goal in the 78 th minute to tie the score at 2-2. Espinosa almost scored the game-winner a few minutes later, but Behonik made a diving save going to his right. The Rough Riders continued to put the ball into the Harrisburg box but couldn’t get the final combination to score in regulation.

In the first overtime period, the Rough Riders continued to push forward while Harrisburg looked to counter-attack. The game almost ended in the 95th minute when Long Island sent the ball back-and-forth across the box but couldn’t get the final angle to shoot on goal. Then, in the 99th minute, Long Island substitute Colin Marshall got around his defender to sweep towards goal from the right end-line. He got taken down from behind and the referee whistled as he pointed toward the penalty kick spot. Giovanni Savarese stepped up to take the kick, driving his shot into the right corner to complete the come-from-behind 3-2 victory for the Long Island Rough Riders.

Defender Wilmer Cabrera, having come back from a recent injury said “I thought the result was fair. All that counts is that we won”. Head Coach Ronan Wiseman felt likewise about the result. “It wasn’t the most attractive game, but we battled our way through”.

The Rough Riders next home game will take place against the New Hampshire Phantoms on Saturday, July 24 th at 7:30pm. All home games are played at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale, NY . For further team and ticket information, please contact the team office at 516-671-1585 or check out the team website at www.liroughriders.com.

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