Thursday, May 17, 2012
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The River City Rovers took victory in their opening game of the PDL season on Thursday night, defeating regional rival the Cincinnati Kings 2-1 at Centurion Field on the campus of Louisville Christian Academy despite being reduced to 10 men during the second half.
The temperature hovered in the low 70’s for the opening game of the Rovers’ season, with the game being played under clear skies for a local crowd of 400, all revved up to see their Rovers win the newly christened “Ohio River PDL Soccer Cup”. As the two cities have always enjoyed friendly rivalry, the “Ohio River Cup” was initiated to commemorate the rivalry between the two teams.
Thanks to his side’s victory, the enormous, three-foot gold trophy was awarded to Rovers’ captain Ryan Smith as Peter May’s goal in the 87th minute secured his side victory.
After a scoreless first half that saw both sides playing a tight, defensive game, the second half opened quickly as River City’s Tyler White scored shortly after the break from a well-executed assist by Smith. The Rovers were then reduced to 10 men in the 53rd minute as Tyler White was shown a straight red card, giving the Kings a man-advantage.
Cincinnati used that advantage to get back on even terms with 13 minutes to go as Branden Stelmak scored his side’s first goal of the season, appearing to earn his side a share of the points, but the Rovers took victory through May’s late finish, earning their first win of the season.
“We had a great night,” said Rovers coach Muhamed Fazlagic. “We had a huge crowd that came out to see the Rovers, the weather was perfect, and the team really performed. Cincinnati has always been a tough opponent, but tonight—our opening night, we made it happen.”
The next Rovers’ home game is scheduled for June 4th at Christian Academy in Middletown as the club hosts defending division champion the Michigan Bucks. River City hits the road for its next three contests, with a match against the Chicago Fire PDL next Wednesday at Toyota Park next on the schedule.