USL Week 2: Big Crowds Welcome Louisville, Tulsa

Published on March 30, 2015 under United Soccer League Championship (USL) News Release

Big Crowds Welcome New USL Teams
()

FEATURED GAMES

Louisville City FC 2, Saint Louis FC 0

Louisville welcomed 6,067 fans to Slugger Field, including a good contingent that made the trip from Saint Louis, and James O'Connor's side put on a strong showing to start the season with three points. Magnus Rasmussen scored the first goal in City history in the first half, and Charlie Adams added a second late to draw first blood in the battle for the King's Cup.

Tulsa Roughnecks FC 1, OKC Energy FC 1

A sellout crowd of 8,335 at ONEOK Field saw the Roughnecks rally to earn a point against their instate rival. Tulsa fell behind late in the first half as OKC captain Michael Thomas powered home a header in stoppage time, but Brady Ballew scored in his professional debut with 18 minutes to go to earn Tulsa a point, and send the Roustabouts home happy with the side's first performance.

Austin Aztex 2, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 0

Professional soccer returned to Austin in front of more than 4,000 fans at House Park, and the Aztex rewarded their loyal support with a victory against fellow expansion side Colorado Springs. Sainey Touray scored the first goal in the Aztex's new era, and Trinidad & Tobago international Trevin Caeser added another in the second half to put away the points.

Portland Timbers 2 3, Real Monarchs SLC 1

Former Timbers U-23s standout Kharlton Belmar scored twice in his professional debut as T2 earned victory against the Monarchs in front of a near-capacity crowd at Merlo Field. Belmar scored the first goal in club history in the 31st minute, and added a second before Rundell Winchester's diving header made it three. Coco Navarro scored the first goal in Real's history shortly after, but Portland was able to hold firm late.

QUOTABLE

"I thought the fans were unreal today. The atmosphere was amazing, and if you keep getting wins I'm sure more people from the city will come down to watch us and it will be even better than that." - Charlie Adams, Louisville City FC

"We didn't quite get the winner, but the atmosphere, the whole event, was unbelievable. I thought we played very well the first half, and was disappointed to give a goal away just before halftime, but we started to get it going and we equalized and it could have gone either way then. For first home game, it was a lot more positives than negatives, that's for sure." - David Irving, Tulsa Roughnecks FC

"I feel great. We knew there was going to be a decent crowd out, there was a lot of anticipation coming into the day, we knew it was going to be a big day for the club and for the supporters around here, so I was really excited." Kharlton Belmar, Portland Timbers 2

BY THE NUMBERS

100 - Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC's Luke Vercollone became the first player to reach 100 appearances in the USL era as he captained the expansion side in its clash with the Austin Aztex.

49 - The USL has seen 49 goals scored in its first 15 games this season, an average of more than three per game.

2 - Both Darwin Jones (Seattle Sounders FC 2) and Kevin Kerr (Pittsburgh Riverhounds) recorded hat tricks this weekend. Jones' included his first professional goal, as the offseason Homegrown signing by Sounders FC led his side to a 4-0 win against Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2

8 - Eight players scored their first professional goals this past week, with Jalen Robinson (Richmond Kickers), Coco Navarro (Real Monarchs SLC), Ricky Garbanzo (Charleston Battery), Marcos Nunes (Toronto FC II) and Jack Thompson (Charlotte Independence) joining Jones, Belmar and Ballew.

RESULTS

Friday, March 27

Charleston Battery 3, Charlotte Independence 2

Saturday, March 28

Toronto FC II 2, FC Montreal 0

New York Red Bulls II 0, Rochester Rhinos 0

Louisville City FC 2, Saint Louis FC 0

Wilmington Hammerheads FC 2, Richmond Kickers 2

Pittsburgh Riverhounds 5, Harrisburg City Islanders 2

Tulsa Roughnecks FC 1, OKC Energy FC 1

Austin Aztex 2, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 0

Arizona United 2, Orange County Blues 1

Sacramento Republic FC 3, LA Galaxy II 2

Sunday, March 22

Seattle Sounders FC 2 4, Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 0

Portland Timbers 2 3, Real Monarchs SLC 1

SCHEDULE

Wednesday, April 1

Austin Aztex vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2, 9 p.m. ET

Thursday, April 2

Tulsa Roughnecks FC vs. Saint Louis FC, 8 p.m. ET

Portland Timbers 2 vs. Sacramento Republic FC, 10 p.m. ET

LA Galaxy II vs. Arizona United SC, 10:30 p.m. ET

Friday, April 3

Wilmington Hammerheads FC vs. Charlotte Independence, 7 p.m. ET

Saturday, April 4

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC vs. OKC Energy FC, 3 p.m. ET

New York Red Bulls II vs. Toronto FC II, 3:30 p.m. ET

Richmond Kickers vs. Louisville City FC, 5 p.m. ET

Pittsburgh Riverhounds vs. Rochester Rhinos, 7 p.m. ET

Charleston Battery vs. Harrisburg City Islanders, 7:30 p.m. ET

Tulsa Roughnecks 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.

Big Crowds Welcome New USL Teams

United Soccer League Championship Stories from March 30, 2015

• Salvadoran Ramirez on Loan with Orange County for 2015 USL Season - Orange County SC
• USL Week 2: Big Crowds Welcome Louisville, Tulsa - USL
• LA Galaxy II Face Arizona United SC Thursday at StubHub Center - LA Galaxy II
• New York Red Bulls II Finalize Deal to Play Games at Columbia University - New York Red Bulls II
• OKC Energy FC, Buffalo Wild Wings on NW Expressway Extend Partnership - OKC Energy FC

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.