Wednesday, August 14, 2013
WILMINGTON, N.C. -- 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 prior to halftime after going behind early, the Hammerheads tallied three more goals in the final 15 minutes to ensure the victory against the Riverhounds and keep their playoff hopes alive.
Pittsburgh put pressure on Wilmington in the 13th minute after forward Jose Angulo scored the first goal of the night off an assist by Richard Costanzo. The Hammerheads equalized in the 32nd minute off a high cross from Shawn Nicklaw into the penalty area that Kyle Greig headed into the top corner of the net.
A breakaway by Pittsburgh's Stefan Lundberg in stoppage time gave the Riverhounds a chance to regain the lead just before the halftime break, 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, however, 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, Perry returned the favor to Arnoux after playing a small cross into the front of the net for Arnoux to put his finish past 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 remain in the eighth and final playoff spot by a difference of one point in the league standings over the Hammerheads.
For further information regarding the Wilmington Hammerheads, please contact (910) 777-2111 or visit online at www.wilmingtonhammerheads.com.