USL Week 10: Wild West Tightens Up

May 25, 2015 - United Soccer League Championship (USL) News Release

TAMPA, Fla. - The USL's Western Conference has seen numerous surprises already this season, and the 10th week of the season continued that trend as the weekend concluded with two points separating seven teams in the middle of the standings. Unpredictable weather also played a role, as three of the week's 10 games saw delays, including a thrilling contest in the battle for the King's Cup.

FEATURED GAMES

Seattle Sounders FC 2 2, Portland Timbers 2 0

S2 claimed its first road win of the season as goals by Damion Lowe and Andy Craven handed T2 its first defeat at Merlo Field. Portland appeared to have taken the lead, but Kharlon Belmar was ruled offside in the 34th minute after a good finish. Four minutes later, S2 took the lead as Lowe tapped home from close range after a corner. Craven added a second 10 minutes into the second half with a deft chip after a well-timed run put him in one-on-one with T2 goalkeeper Jake Gleeson. S2 goalkeeper Charlie Lyon and his defense closed out the game with a strong performance, as Seattle regained first place in the Western Conference.

Pittsburgh Riverhounds 2, Richmond Kickers 1

A pair of early goals earned the Riverhounds an impressive victory at City Stadium, as Richmond fell at home for the first time this season. The Riverhounds took the lead in the 12th minute when Lebo Moloto picked up possession in the Kickers' penalty area, and fired a low, turning shot home. Six minutes later, Miro Cabrilo doubled his side's advantage after a fine cross by Kevin Kerr with a powerful header. Matt Delicâte pulled a goal back early in the second half for the Kickers, but despite carrying much of the play after the break, Richmond wasn't able to find an equalizer as Ryan Thompson finished with five saves.

OKC Energy FC 2, Sacramento Republic FC 1

Energy FC claimed victory against Sacramento as both clubs battled heavy rain and lightning at Taft Stadium. After kickoff was delayed more than an hour by the weather, Sacramento was reduced to 10 men in the 11th minute when Rodrigo Lopez was sent off for an off-the-ball incident. OKC took the lead soon after when Sebastian Dalgaard put away a feed from Casey Townsend, and quickly after the teams were forced from the field again after another lightning strike. Townsend added a second assist in the 35th minute when he set up Danni König for his fifth goal of the season, and while Sacramento hit back in the second half through Adnan Gabeljic, the defending champions weren't able to find much in the way of other threats, as OKC goalkeeper Evans Newton was forced into just one second-half save.

Saint Louis FC 3, Louisville City FC 3

A raucous crowd saw a six-goal thriller in the second clash for the King's Cup on Sunday night at World Wide Technology Soccer Park, as Saint Louis thrice took the lead, only for Louisville to equalize each time. STL FC's Jermie Lynch and City's Matt Fondy exchanged goals 10 minutes apart in the first half, but Saint Louis gained the upper hand just past the hour mark when Mike Ambersley put home a finish from 20 yards. Lightning caused a one-hour delay a few minutes later, but when the teams returned, Fondy got his second in the 75th minute. Saint Louis regained the lead almost immediately when Brian Gaul converted from the penalty spot after Ambersley was fouled, but with seven minutes to go, Nate Polak earned Louisville a point with a goal from a free kick.

QUOTABLE

"It's huge, it's a bit of a relief to be honest. It's a bit of a monkey off the back. I think I probably could have had one last week, and this week I just wanted to come back with the same mentality, and when I got my opportunity, I wanted to take it, and I did. Credit to Victor [Blasco], it was a great ball across." - Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2's Ben McKendry on his first professional goal, which helped WFC2 to a 2-1 win against RSL Monarchs SLC

"It's probably our most complete performance. As far as pressing, getting after the ball, high tempo, for a good portion of the game we were able to accomplish that." - New York Red Bulls II coach John Wolyniec after his side's 3-2 victory against FC Montreal

"[The Independence] did a good job. You've got to commend them. And physically in the back, they got some new players back there, and they were able to be a lot better defensively than they were in the first game. I thought we did a very good job tonight. I'm just disappointed they got the penalty." - Charleston Battery coach Mike Anhaeuser after his side played to a 1-1 draw with the Charlotte Independence

"The team shape was well organized. We limited them to some long range strikes that Quillan Roberts dealt with quite easily. That team is top of the league and still undefeated. We've played them twice now over 180 minutes and if not for a late goal in the first match we would've taken a couple of good points from them so I'm pleased with the overall performance today." - Toronto FC II coach Jason Bent after his side earned a 0-0 draw with the still-undefeated Rochester Rhinos

BY THE NUMBERS

40 - Matt Delicâte's fifth goal of the season for Richmond on Saturday was his 40th all-time in the USL regular season, as he continued to add to his league record

10 - The Rochester Rhinos' 10-game undefeated streak to start the season is the third-best in club history, after a 17-game run in 1998 and an 11-game run in 2006.

5 - Luke Vercollone's five goals for Colorado Springs have matched his best season in the USL. Vercollone also had five goals for Richmond in 2013.

16 - The third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup kicks off on Wednesday, with 16 USL clubs set to compete. Four all-USL contests feature in the round, with the winners set to face MLS opposition in the fourth round.

STANDINGS

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Team GP W L T GF GA Pts

Rochester Rhinos 10 6 0 4 13 4 22

Charleston Battery 10 5 1 4 18 12 19

Louisville City FC 9 4 1 4 17 7 16

Richmond Kickers 10 4 2 4 15 11 16

Harrisburg City Islanders 7 4 2 1 13 10 13

New York Red Bulls II 10 3 4 3 19 15 12

Pittsburgh Riverhounds 9 3 3 3 13 15 12

Saint Louis FC 8 3 3 2 10 10 11

Charlotte Independence 8 2 3 3 9 11 9

Toronto FC II 9 2 5 2 9 19 8

Wilmington Hammerheads FC 9 1 5 3 8 17 6

FC Montreal 6 1 6 0 5 13 3

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Team GP W L T GF GA Pts

Seattle Sounders FC 2 10 6 3 1 22 15 19

Sacramento Republic FC 11 6 5 0 20 14 18

Orange County Blues FC 8 5 3 0 14 7 15

LA Galaxy II 9 4 4 1 11 11 13

Austin Aztex 10 4 5 1 13 14 13

Arizona United SC 9 4 4 1 11 18 13

OKC Energy FC 8 3 2 3 13 13 12

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 8 4 4 0 16 12 12

Portland Timbers 2 9 3 4 2 10 13 11

Tulsa Roughnecks FC 9 3 4 2 8 13 11

Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 9 2 4 3 10 15 9

Real Monarchs SLC 10 1 6 3 9 17 6

RESULTS

Friday, May 23

Seattle Sounders FC 2 2, Portland Timbers 2 0

Saturday, May 24

Pittsburgh Riverhounds 2, Richmond Kickers 1

Charleston Battery 1, Charlotte Independence 1

Toronto FC II 0, Rochester Rhinos 0

OKC Energy FC 2, Sacramento Republic FC 0

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 5, Arizona United SC 0

Sunday, May 25

Tulsa Roughnecks FC 1, Austin Aztex 0

Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 2, Real Monarchs SLC 1

New York Red Bulls II 3, FC Montreal 2

Saint Louis FC 3, Louisville City FC 3

SCHEDULE

Saturday, May 30

Richmond Kickers vs. New York Red Bulls II, 7 p.m. ET

Pittsburgh Riverhounds vs. Harrisburg City Islanders, 7 p.m. ET

Rochester Rhinos vs. FC Montreal, 7:05 p.m. ET

Louisville City FC vs. Saint Louis FC, 7:30 p.m. ET

Charleston Battery vs. Wilmington Hammerheads FC, 7:30 p.m. ET

Tulsa Roughnecks FC vs. Portland Timbers 2, 8:30 p.m. ET

Orange County Blues FC vs. Seattle Sounders FC 2, 10 p.m. ET

Sacramento Republic FC vs. Real Monarchs SLC, 10:30 p.m. ET

LA Galaxy II vs. Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, 10:30 p.m. ET

Sunday, May 31

Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 vs. Arizona United SC, 5 p.m. ET

OKC Energy FC vs. Austin Aztex, 8 p.m. ET

HOW TO FOLLOW

Every game of the 2015 USL season can be seen live, free and in HD on YouTube (www.Youtube.com/USL), with updates from across the league also available via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Seattle Sounders FC 2 vs. Portland Timbers 2

United Soccer League Championship Stories from May 25, 2015

• USL Week 10: Wild West Tightens Up - USL
• Kickers Host Jacksonville Wednesday - Richmond Kickers
• Real Monarchs Fall to Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 - Real Monarchs

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