Wilmington One Step Closer to Playoffs

Published on August 14, 2013 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Wilmington Hammerheads FC News Release


Wilmington, NC - With the final spot in USL PRO playoffs on the line, the Wilmington Hammerheads were anything but short of goals Wednesday night as they took a 4-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Riverhounds at Legion Stadium. After equalizing the score prior to halftime, the Hammerheads tallied three more goals in the final 15 minutes of the match to ensure the victory against the Riverhounds and keeping their playoff hopes alive.

Pittsburgh put pressure on Wilmington in the 13th minute after forward Jose Angulo scored the first goal of the night of an assist by Richard Costanzo. The Hammerheads equalized the score in the 32nd minute off a high cross from Shawn Nicklaw into the penalty area for Kyle Greig to put a header into the top corner of the net.

A breakaway by Pittsburgh's Stefan Lundberg in stoppage time was an attempt to increase the score by one, but Wilmington's Tom Parratt blocked him off in the box allowing for Hammerheads goalkeeper Philip Tuttle to gain control of the ball.

Wilmington's Mickael Oliveira carried over the intensity from the first half into the first five minutes following halftime with a long shot over the crossbar. It was the 76th minute that the Hammerheads took their first lead of the night when Cody Arnoux passed to Steven Perry open in the middle of penalty area for the shot, giving him his first goal of the year.

Shortly thereafter, Wilmington's Bryce Taylor also recorded his first goal of the regular season off an assist by Gareth Evans in the 82nd minute. Three minutes later, Steven Perry returned the favor to teammate Cody Arnoux after playing a small cross into the front of the net for Arnoux to bypass Pittsburgh goalkeeper Gregory Blum.

The Hammerheads will host Antigua Barracuda FC for their final match of the USL PRO regular season on Saturday, August 17th at 7:30 p.m.. Legion Stadium will also be the venue of a double-header on Saturday as the University of North Carolina Wilmington Men's Soccer team will play Longwood University at 5:00 p.m. prior to the Hammerheads taking the field.

Now the Hammerheads must take a victory against Antigua to qualify for the final spot in the playoffs. On the other hand, the Harrisburg City Islanders must also defeat or take a draw over the Dayton Dutch Lions on Saturday to initially secure the Hammerheads' wishes. If both the Hammerheads and Dutch Lions claim victories on Saturday, the Dutch Lions will move into the eighth position as well as final playoff spot by a difference of one point in the league standings over the Hammerheads.



United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 14, 2013


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.

OurSports Central