Saturday, June 30, 2012
WILMINGTON, N.C. – The Wilmington Hammerheads got a pair of goals from Corey Hertzog, and a goal and two assists from Bryce Taylor, as they took a 4-2 victory against the Los Angeles Blues on Saturday night at Legion Stadium. A pair of early goals keyed the Hammerheads’ victory, sending a crowd of 5,146 home happy as their side rebounded from a pair of defeats last weekend.
Returning to the starting lineup, Taylor didn’t waste time in proving it was where he deserved to be. The Hammerheads scored twice in the opening six minutes, with Taylor being part of both, opening the scoring in the third minute as he streaked down the right side of the field in a 3-on-2 breakaway against the Blues’ defense. Taylor juked, throwing off his defender before placing the ball nicely into the back of the net to give the Hammerheads an early lead.
Three minutes later, Taylor showed his skill again as he sent a through-ball to the center of the penalty area where Cory Hertzog converted, upping the pressure on the Blues offense to come back from an early deficit. The Blues were able to find the back of the net in the 25th minute as Bright Dike scored his sixth goal of the season, finishing off a chance created by Matt Fondy, but the Hammerheads restored their two-goal advantage in the 32nd minute as Andriy Budnyy scored his team-leading seventh goal of the season, allowing Wilmington to carry a 3-1 lead to the break.
The Blues carried a lot of intensity to begin the second half, and their pressure paid off on the hour-mark as Bryan Burke cut the lead to one as he sent the ball soaring past Hammerheads goalkeeper Alex Horwath. At this point, tension began to escalate between the teams, almost erupting into a fight, and the Blues were reduced to 10 men as Maykel Galindo was sent off after the fracas.
With emotions high, the duo of Taylor and Hertzog secured the victory for the Hammerheads, combining in the 73rd minute as Hertzog received a cross by Taylor to the far post and used his agility to send a diving header into the back of the net. The goal allowed the Hammerheads to regain control of the game, and claim three important points as they pulled within three points of the Rochester Rhinos for third place in the USL PRO standings.
Wilmington will be back in action next Saturday night at 7:30 p.m at Legion Stadium. They will face off against the Richmond Kickers for the third time this season. For more information, visit www.wilmingtonhammerheads.com.