USL Week 17: S2, Los Dos Surge to Top in Western Conference

July 13, 2015 - United Soccer League Championship (USL) News Release

TAMPA, Fla. - The USL's Western Conference ended Week 17 of the season with a familiar name at the top, as Seattle Sounders FC 2 recorded a resounding win to reclaim first place in the standings. While S2 was taking care of business at home, the LA Galaxy II were as impressive on the road, as Los Dos continued their impressive second season in the USL.

FEATURED GAMES

LA Galaxy II 4, Sacramento Republic FC 0

The LA Galaxy II spoiled Preki's farewell in Sacramento as Jack McBean and Ariel Lassiter each had a goal and an assist in front of a sellout crowd of 11,442 at Bonney Field on Saturday night. The visitors opened the scoring in the 17th minute as Alejandro Covarubbias set up Jaime Villarreal for his first professional goal. Despite Sacramento's pressure late in the first half, Los Dos were able to hold onto their lead until the break, and then added to it with two goals in the opening five minutes of the second half. Lassiter bagged the first, rising high to put home McBean's cross, and Andre Auras added a spectacular free kick in the 50th minute. McBean - who scored both goals in LA's only other win against Sacramento last season - capped the victory with 15 minutes to go as Lassiter's cross found him on the left side of the penalty area.

Rochester Rhinos 2, Toronto FC II 0

The Rochester Rhinos extended their undefeated start to the season to 17 games, and stretched their lead at the top of the USL's Eastern Conference to eight points, with a victory at the Ontario Soccer Centre on Saturday night. After a scoreless first half, the Rhinos scored twice in three minutes to take control of the contest. Steevan Dos Santos scored 10 minutes after the break, before Johnny Mendoza added a second - which proved enough for the Rhinos' defense - which helped goalkeeper Brandon Miller earn his league-leading eighth shutout of the season.

Tulsa Roughnecks FC 3, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 1

The Roughnecks brought the Switchbacks' six-game winning streak to an end as they took victory at ONEOK Field on Saturday night. Tulsa, which had defeated Orange County earlier in the week, took the lead just past the half-hour mark as Brady Ballew's shot from the right side took a slight deflection and snuck in at the near post. Kyle Venter added a second before the halftime break with a good header off Chad Bond's corner kick, but the Switchbacks hit back from the penalty spot through Luke Vercollone early in the second half. Colorado Springs pushed hard for an equalizer, but was unable to find a way through a resolute Roughnecks defense, and Tulsa sealed victory in stoppage time as Kidd Nwabueze scored a fine individual goal to push the Roughnecks back into the playoff picture.

Seattle Sounders FC 2 4, Arizona United SC 0

S2 recorded its eighth win in nine games at Starfire Stadium as it got a pair of early goals from Oalax Anderson on its way to victory against Arizona on Sunday night. Anderson opened the scoring just 76 seconds into the contest, and added a second in the 14th minute as S2 controlled the game, holding Arizona without a shot in the first half. Aaron Long added a third eight minutes before the halftime break before Pablo Rossi capped the scoring before the hour mark as S2 earned revenge for a 2-1 loss in Arizona in the first meeting between the clubs.

QUOTABLE

"Coming into this week, we knew it would be big if we could win both games, and we did. We scored seven goals in the last two. I don't know if we took the lid off of it; hopefully it continues. But we prevailed. We played to our system, we made it difficult for them and then we pulled away and got the third one, and that was it." - Tulsa Roughnecks FC Coach David Irving, whose side moved within two points of sixth place in the Western Conference with two wins in the past week.

"There at the end you're always going to have moments like that where there's a little bit of a barrage of shots coming at you, but the guys did a really good job keeping their composure and staying calm and just dealing with the situation." - Louisville City FC goalkeeper Scott Goodwin, whose side held on for a 1-0 win against Charlotte on Saturday for its third consecutive victory.

"I don't score often, but today everything worked. I saw Marco Donadel's goal last night and yes, I wanted to do the same thing. At the position we play in, opportunities always come from far. This week's work paid off and we scored many goals." - FC Montreal's Marco Dominguez, who helped his side claim a 4-2 win against Pittsburgh on Sunday for its second victory of the season.

"Saying it feels good is an understatement. It feels unbelievable, one of the best wins. Relief finally came. Everything was clicking today. As soon as we got the ball we attacked. It wasn't our sharpest first half but we managed to get a 2-1 lead at half and we knew if we could get one more it we be done. That's what we did." - Real Monarchs SLC midfielder Ricardo Velazco, who scored his first professional goal and added an assist in a 3-1 win against Austin on Saturday.

BY THE NUMBERS

200 - Wednesday night's game between FC Montreal and Saint Louis FC will be the 200th in the USL this season.

30 - George Davis IV's goal for the Richmond Kickers in their 3-1 win against Saint Louis FC was his 30th all-time in the USL regular season

7 - With its loss to the LA Galaxy II on Saturday, Sacramento Republic FC has matched its loss total from the 2014 USL regular season

3 - OKC Energy FC's Danni Kî=B6 nig recorded his third multiple-goal game of the season on Saturday, and now leads the USL with 13 goals

STANDINGS

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Team GP W L T GF GA Pts

Rochester Rhinos 17 11 0 6 22 6 39

Charleston Battery 17 8 2 7 30 17 31

Louisville City FC 16 8 3 5 30 14 29

Richmond Kickers 18 7 3 8 25 19 29

Pittsburgh Riverhounds 17 7 6 4 35 28 25

Harrisburg City Islanders 15 6 5 4 24 26 22

New York Red Bulls II 17 6 7 4 24 27 22

Saint Louis FC 16 4 6 6 17 22 18

Charlotte Independence 14 4 6 4 15 18 16

Toronto FC II 13 3 7 3 10 23 12

Wilmington Hammerheads FC 17 2 9 6 11 23 12

FC Montreal 15 2 11 2 13 25 8

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Team GP W L T GF GA Pts

Seattle Sounders FC 2 18 10 6 2 34 26 32

LA Galaxy II 17 10 5 2 29 17 32

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 16 10 6 0 34 19 30

Sacramento Republic FC 19 9 7 3 29 24 30

OKC Energy FC 17 7 5 5 26 25 26

Orange County Blues FC 17 7 8 2 23 28 23

Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 18 6 8 4 24 31 22

Arizona United SC 16 7 8 1 19 31 22

Tulsa Roughnecks FC 17 6 8 3 25 29 21

Portland Timbers 2 17 6 9 2 23 28 20

Austin Aztex 17 5 9 3 17 24 18

Real Monarchs SLC 17 2 9 6 18 27 12

RESULTS

Wednesday, July 8

Charleston Battery 4, Harrisburg City Islanders 0

Rochester Rhinos 2, FC Montreal 1

Pittsburgh Riverhounds 2, Toronto FC II 0

Thursday, July 9

Tulsa Roughnecks FC 4, Orange County Blues FC 1

Friday, July 10

Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 2, Portland Timbers 2 1

Saturday, July 11

Rochester Rhinos 2, Toronto FC II 0

Louisville City FC 1, Charlotte Independence 0

OKC Energy FC 2, Orange County Blues FC 2

Tulsa Roughnecks FC 3, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 1

Richmond Kickers 3, Saint Louis FC 1

Real Monarchs SLC 3, Austin Aztex 1

LA Galaxy II 4, Sacramento Republic FC 0

Sunday, July 12

FC Montreal 4, Pittsburgh Riverhounds 2

Harrisburg City Islanders 2, New York Red Bulls II 0

Seattle Sounders FC 2 4, Arizona United SC 0

SCHEDULE

Wednesday, July 15

FC Montreal vs. Saint Louis FC, 6:30 p.m. ET

Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 vs. Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, 10 p.m. ET

Thursday, July 16

LA Galaxy II vs. Orange County Blues FC, 10:30 p.m. ET

Friday, July 17

Austin Aztex vs. Arizona United SC, 8:30 p.m. ET

Saturday, July 18

Harrisburg City Islanders vs. New York Red Bulls II, 7 p.m. ET

Pittsburgh Riverhounds vs. Louisville City FC, 7 p.m. ET

Rochester Rhinos vs. Charlotte Independence, 7:05 p.m. ET

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

OKC Energy FC vs. Tulsa Roughnecks FC, 8 p.m. ET

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC vs. Seattle Sounders FC 2, 9 p.m. ET

Sunday, July 19

Portland Timbers 2 vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2, 10 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.

LA Galaxy II in Action

United Soccer League Championship Stories from July 13, 2015

• Arizona United Signs Eduar Zea; Release Midfielder - Phoenix Rising FC
• Arizona United SC Splits Season Series With Sounders 2 - Phoenix Rising FC
• West Brom Preview: Even the Name Says 'English' - Charleston Battery
• Match Preview: Sacramento Republic FC vs Sunderland AFC - Sacramento Republic FC
• Switchbacks Look to Rebound Wednesday - Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
• USL Week 17: S2, Los Dos Surge to Top in Western Conference - USL
• STL FC to Honor Vince Drake on July 25 - Saint Louis FC
• Legends Announced as Project Manager for New Sacramento MLS Stadium - Sacramento Republic FC
• Toronto FC II Announce Friendly Match against as Roma Primavera - Toronto FC II

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