USL Week 7: All Change at the Top

May 4, 2015 - United Soccer League Championship (USL) News Release

TAMPA, Fla. - The first quarter of the 2015 USL season concluded this past week, as two new teams moved to the top of their respective conference standings. The Rochester Rhinos extended their undefeated streak north of the border, while Seattle Sounders FC 2 maintained its perfect home record with a comeback victory, as the race for the postseason saw some interesting twists and turns during the weekend's 10 games.

FEATURED GAMES

Seattle Sounders FC 2 2, Orange County Blues FC 1

S2 entered Friday night's contest after a winless three-game road trip, and fell behind to the Blues after Christofer Ramirez headed home a deflected cross midway through the first half. The side showed its resilience, as halftime substitute Matt Garza struck an excellent finish in the 66th minute to level the score. S2 controlled much of the second half, and were rewarded with seven minutes to go when Oalex Anderson was brought down in the penalty area, and Pablo Rossi converted from the spot. S2 has taken four wins from four at Starfire Stadium, and with the win jumped past Sacramento into first place in the Western Conference

Rochester Rhinos 2, FC Montreal 1

For a second consecutive meeting, Christian Volesky scored a pair of goals as the Rhinos defeated Montreal at the Stade Saputo Turf Field. The game went to the break scoreless, but Volesky broke the deadlock in the 57th minute when he headed home a cross by Sean Totsch. Seven minutes later he had his second, as he ran in behind the Montreal defense onto Tyler Rudy's chipped pass, dribbled around goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau, and finished. Montreal pulled a goal back late as Alessandro Riggi struck from the right side of the penalty area to cap a nice move, but the Rhinos withstood the host's late pressure to claim all three points.

Charlotte Independence 1, Louisville City FC 0

The Charlotte Independence claimed their first victory in club history as Patrick Slogic had the only goal at Transamerica Field on Saturday night. John Berner put in a strong performance in goal, particularly in the first half when he made four of his six saves to keep the game scoreless. The Independence took the lead in the 65th minute when Enzo Martinez picked up possession after a corner kick on the left, and sent a curling ball back into the penalty area that Slogic headed home powerfully for what proved to be the game-winner.

LA Galaxy II 2, Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 1

Los Dos took a third consecutive victory, and moved into the top six in the Western Conference for the first time this season, as a late goal by Ariel Lassiter edged them past WFC2 at the StubHub Center Track and Field Stadium. Travis Bowen put the Galaxy II on top just past the half-hour mark, but Vancouver hit back quickly as Billy Schuler scored his first goal for the club. LA claimed the winner with three minutes to go as Raul Mendiola found Lassiter for a back-post finish with a low cross from the right for his league-leading sixth assist of the season.

QUOTABLE

"I don't look at this one as winning one point, I look at it as losing two. There's no excuse for giving up two goals like that in the first 3-4 minutes. Yes, we came back. But we never should have been in that situation to begin with." - Richmond Kickers forward Matthew Delicâte, whose fourth goal of the season salvaged a 2-2 draw with the Charleston Battery on Saturday

"It's huge not just for John and the back group, but for the whole team. You see guys at the end of the game like Alex Martinez running 60 yards to close a play down, you see how much guys want to do it. It's a real credit to us as a team to get a clean sheet." - Charlotte Independence coach Mike Jeffries following his side's 1-0 win against Louisville, the first in club history

"It's my first goal of the season, so it was an important one for me to kind of get my confidence up and really see the ball go in the back of the net. That's an important thing as a striker, to see the ball go in the back of the net, so hopefully that gets my confidence going and more goals in the future." - OKC Energy FC forward Kyle Greig after scoring a late equalizer for his side in a 2-2 draw on the road against the Austin Aztex on Friday night.

"I mean, we all were putting it in. We had a few chances, and luckily on one of the rebounds that came out we were able to serve it right back in, and I was in the right place at the right time. Manolo got up, challenged it, it came right to me and I put my head down and hit it." - New York Red Bulls II's Anthony Wallace on his stoppage-time winner against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds that earned a 3-2 victory on Sunday.

"The guys responded from last week with a good intense start. To pull out a win, even being down two men, shows the grit and determination they have." - Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC coach Steve Trittschuh, whose side held on for a 3-2 victory against Arizona United SC on Saturday despite having a pair of players sent off in the second half.

BY THE NUMBERS

200 - Mike Seth's goal late in the first half for Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC against Arizona United on Saturday night was the 200th scored in the USL this season.

10 - Brian Ownby's goal on Saturday was his 10th for the Richmond Kickers in the USL regular season.

3 - New USL leading scorer, Rob Vincent of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, has recorded three two-goal games so far this season. The latest occurred on Sunday in a loss to the New York Red Bulls II.

2 - Kenny Tribbett's first two professional goals for the Harrisburg City Islanders - which came in a 4-0 win against Wilmington Hammerheads FC on Saturday - saw him surpass his regular-season total from 2014, when he helped the Michigan Bucks claim the PDL Championship.

STANDINGS

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Team GP W L T GF GA Pts

Rochester Rhinos 7 5 0 2 11 3 17

Richmond Kickers 7 4 0 3 13 5 15

Charleston Battery 6 4 0 2 13 8 14

Louisville City FC 6 2 1 3 7 4 9

New York Red Bulls II 7 2 3 2 8 10 8

Pittsburgh Riverhounds 6 2 2 2 15 10 8

Harrisburg City Islanders 5 2 2 1 9 9 7

Saint Louis FC 5 2 2 1 5 5 7

Charlotte Independence 5 1 2 2 5 8 5

Wilmington Hammerheads FC 6 1 3 2 7 12 5

Toronto FC II 5 1 3 1 7 13 4

FC Montreal 5 0 5 0 2 10 0

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Team GP W L T GF GA Pts

Seattle Sounders FC 2 7 4 2 1 17 11 13

Orange County Blues FC 6 4 2 0 11 5 12

Sacramento Republic FC 8 4 4 0 15 12 12

Austin Aztex 7 3 3 1 8 8 10

LA Galaxy II 7 3 3 1 9 10 10

Portland Timbers 2 7 3 3 1 9 10 10

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 6 3 3 0 10 9 9

Arizona United SC 6 3 3 0 7 10 9

OKC Energy FC 5 2 1 2 8 7 8

Real Monarchs SLC 7 1 4 2 5 11 5

Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 7 1 4 2 6 12 5

Tulsa Roughnecks FC 5 1 3 1 5 10 4

RESULTS

Wednesday, April 29

Real Monarchs SLC 1, Sacramento Republic FC 0

Friday, May 1

Austin Aztex 2, OKC Energy FC 2

Seattle Sounders FC 2 2, Orange County Blues FC 1

Saturday, May 2

Rochester Rhinos 2, FC Montreal 1

Richmond Kickers 2, Charleston Battery 2

Harrisburg City Islanders 4, Wilmington Hammerheads FC 0

Charlotte Independence 1, Louisville City FC 0

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 3, Arizona United SC 2

Sunday, May 3

New York Red Bulls II 3, Pittsburgh Riverhounds 2

LA Galaxy II 2, Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 1

Orange County Blues FC 2, Portland Timbers 2 0

SCHEDULE

Friday, May 8

Charlotte Independence vs. Richmond Kickers, 7:30 p.m. ET

Saturday, May 9

New York Red Bulls II vs. Harrisburg City Islanders, 2 p.m. ET

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

Charleston Battery vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds, 7:30 p.m. ET

OKC Energy FC vs. LA Galaxy II, 8 p.m. ET

Saint Louis FC vs. Wilmington Hammerheads FC, 8:30 p.m. ET

Austin Aztex vs. Real Monarchs SLC, 9 p.m. ET

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC vs. Portland Timbers 2, 9 p.m. ET

Sacramento Republic FC vs. Seattle Sounders FC 2, 10:30 p.m. ET

Arizona United SC vs. Tulsa Roughnecks FC, 10:30 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 Celebrates a Goal

United Soccer League Championship Stories from May 4, 2015

• Orange County Blues FC Gain Road Win Against Timbers 2 - Orange County SC
• USL Week 7: All Change at the Top - USL
• WFC2 Fall Short to Galaxy II, 2-1 - Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2

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