USL News Release
Sunday, May 29, 2011
TAMPA, Fla. – United Soccer Leagues announced tonight that a lottery to determine the U.S. Open Cup participant from the USL Premier Development League’s Northwest Division will take place on Tuesday morning at the USL Offices in Tampa, Fla.
The lottery became necessary when the Kitsap Pumas and Portland Timbers U-23s finished tied at the top of the Northwest Division qualifying standings with identical 3-0-1 records, including a 0-0 draw between the two teams on May 21, identical goal differentials and identical goals scored. Kitsap defeated the North South SeaWolves 1-0 on Sunday afternoon while the Timbers U-23s defeated the Tacoma Tide 2-0 on Sunday evening in their final qualifying games.
The lottery will be held on Tuesday to allow for the final day of PDL Open Cup qualifying to conclude, which could see a similar scenario take place in the Southeast Division with the Mississippi Brilla FC and Central Florida Kraze. The Brilla would secure the division’s berth with a two-goal victory against the Nashville Metros on Monday evening at 6 p.m. to jump past the Kraze on goal differential, or at least a 2-1 victory to advance on goals scored. Should the Brilla win 1-0, a similar lottery would be required.
The draw will be officiated by USL Premier Development League Director Jeff McRaney and USL President and U.S. Open Cup committee member Tim Holt, and be recorded for official records.
Taking to the field with confidence, organization and playing a possession game, Hannah Beard posted an early goal, her second in three games. Edite Fernandes then used her experience and technique to put away her first goal for the Blue Heat. The first half ended, but not after a driving third score by forward Ann Marie Tangorra made it 3-0 for the home squad.
New York started the game strongly, creating several chances using the aerial presence of forward Graciano Brito. Despite multiple opportunities for both sides, it took a New York corner kick in the 29th minute to break the deadlock. Tadeu Terra whipped in a corner from the right side which found Holder, whose bullet header from six yards out shot past Rochester goalkeeper Neal Kitson into the left side of the net.
The Brilla and the Metros squared off last Thursday night in Nashville with Brilla taking a 5-0 win that was aided by an early red card. Nashville made sure to exact a measure of revenge and keep Brilla from qualifying for the Open Cup. Any Brilla victory other than a 1-0 win would have been enough to earn them the Open Cup bid.
Harrisburg City Islanders (1-3-2)
Brito answered each time after the Kickers had taken the lead, scoring his second goal of the night with 11 minutes remaining to earn his side a point. The former Quinnipiac standout now has four goals this season, half of his team’s total.
The winner-take-all match is set to kick off at 11 a.m. PT, with the outcome determining who advances to the first round of the 2011 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. In the event of a tie, the teams will decide the qualifying spot via penalty kicks. At the request of USL and the two teams involved, U.S. Soccer has granted an extension on its qualification deadline to allow the Northwest Division qualifier to be determined on the field.
Harrisburg struck first in the fourth minute when former Philadelphia Union midfielder J.T. Noone showcased his fancy footwork and laid off a pass to Angulo, who shot, hitting Pittsburgh Riverhound defender Louie Rolko’s hand. The referee immediately awarded a penalty, giving Rolko a straight red card, and Angulo burried the penalty shot past Riverhound goalkeeper Hunter Gilstrap. Now a man down, the Riverhounds were very quiet in the first half, not having one shot.
The game could’ve been broken open on numerous occasions, if not for a few spectacular saves on both sides. Holt made the majority of his in the first half, when the Union’s six-goal effort against Toronto over the weekend was still fresh in both teams’ minds. The Creighton keeper started his night early, making saves in the 11th minute against Sebastien Le Toux from in close, then eight minutes later on a shot from just outside the box by Farfan.
The Lions are no stranger to multiple games in a short span of time. Last Wednesday, City closed out a stretch of three games in six days, two of which were on the road, with a 2-0 win over Richmond. Overall, Orlando was 2-0-1 on the swing. The test this time around will be playing the home leg of the two game set first.
Tangorra spurred the Blue Heat to a seven-goal haul, assisting on two and netting one herself. Tangorra is a big part of why the undefeated Blue Heat are making waves in the W-League Western Conference this season, after debuting in the league last season.
The first and second rounds will be made up exclusively of lower division and amateur teams and will be played on June 14 and June 21, respectively, with eight teams advancing to play eight MLS teams on June 28 in the third round.
"Habitat For Humanity is such a great organization that serves people all over the world," said Head Coach Dave Dixon. "It just made sense for us to involve our players in their ministry this summer."
“It was a bit discouraging because the decision was made over a penalty kick,” said head coach Jacob Tudela on the match. “With that being said, I thought our girls played well for 70 minutes, and then we kind of let loose and got into some bad habits. But I’m very proud of the girls. I thought they showed that they can compete with anybody and at times showed that they are the best team in probably the league.”
Deshorn Brown’s fifth and sixth goals paved the way for the Menace. The speedy Jamaican started the scoring in the 15th minute and gave the Menace a four-goal lead in the 32nd. Diego Marroquin and Bryan Perez also found the back of the net as part of the early rampage.
“Komen Central Virginia is excited to be a beneficiary of this event with one of Richmond’s favorite community partners,” said Linda Tiller, Executive Director. “It is an opportunity to further engage families in the area in our mission.”
With two defeats on the road to Rochester and Charlotte, the majority of the players were been engaged in an international friendly in the southern Caribbean island of Grenada where goals from Stefan Smith and Randolph Burton were enough to share the spoils with Gold Cup-bound Grenada.
Uzoigwe notched career goals No. 77 and 78 against the Invaders as the Bucks took a 4-0 victory. The forward, who has twice been named to the PDL All-League team, overtook former Des Moines Menace standout Tomas Boltnar at the top of the scoring charts.
The club comes off of its first home win of the season after it defeated the Rochester Rhinos 2-1 on Memorial Day in interim coach Paul Shaw’s debut. Qwame Holder scored via a header for New York in the 27th minute while Jhonny Arteaga notched a penalty kick for the team’s second in first-half stoppage time. The result lifted New York (2-4-3) to fourth place in the National Division with nine points.
The teams battled to gain the upper hand in the first half. Both played aggressively, sending long balls downfield that saw numerous changes in possession. But as the half wore on, Orlando began to settle and managed to produce a spell of pressure in the Charlotte half. While the Eagles' defense was up to the challenge for most of the half, goalkeeper Eric Reed needed to make an excellent save to deny Kevin Molino midway through the half.