Sports stats



Rough Riders Week Ahead

July 28, 2004 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Long Island Rough Riders News Release


(Plainview , N.Y. , July 28, 2004) The Long Island Rough Riders (7-8-1) will host their division rival and league leaders the Pittsburgh Riverhounds (14-2-1) on Saturday, July 31st at 7:30pm. The game will take place at the Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale, NY.

This will be the Rough Riders last home game of the regular season. The Rough Riders currently sit second in the Atlantic Division after their thrilling 3-2 victory over Northern Division leaders New Hampshire Phantoms this past weekend, standing one point ahead of Harrisburg for the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division.

The previous meeting between these teams was won by Pittsburgh 2-0, but only after a red card was given to Rough Riders midfielder Ricky Blanchard in the sixty-fifth minute, dropping the Long Islanders to only ten men. Pittsburgh finally broke through to score in the eighty-third and eighty-sixth minutes.

This is now a much different Rough Riders team than their first meeting in mid-June. The Rough Riders have turned things around, having won six out of their seven PSL games, while also leaping over the Harrisburg City Islanders for the final playoff position in the Atlantic Division. Pittsburgh has been a team of consistency dropping only two games all season and reeling off eleven consecutive victories dating back to May 23rd.

The Rough Riders come into the game behind an "en fuego" Sean Higgins. Higgins gives the team another scoring threat in addition to the always dangerous combo of Derrick Etienne and Giovanni Savarese. Higgins showed he is one-hundred percent after his early season ankle injury, scoring a goal against the MetroStars, and two against New Hampshire, earning him a spot of the PSL team of the week along side teammates Carlo Espinosa and Jim Rooney.

Pittsburgh is led by the dangerous tandem of Ali Said and David Flavius. Both players rank amongst the league leaders in all offensive categories. Said and Flavius both had a large impact in Pittsburgh's last victory, a 3-2 win over Westchester. Flavius found the back of the net twice, while Said was able to find his forward counterpart to assist on one of the goals.

Head Coach Ronan Wiseman commented on the upcoming match. "This is another important game for us. We cannot afford to make any mistakes and slip up at this stage of the season, especially with Harrisburg having a game ahead."

For team and ticket information, please contact the Long Island Rough Riders front office at (516)671-1585 or visit our website at www.liroughriders.com .

News and Notes:

Congratulations to the Etienne brothers on their recent award from the major of Patterson to acknowledge them for three years of ministry and all of their community service work... Midfielder Mike Giacobbone will be unavailable for the game due to the unfortunate passing of his grandmother.

• Discuss this story on the United Soccer League Championship message board...

United Soccer League Championship Stories from July 28, 2004


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.

Other Recent Long Island Rough Riders Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central