Wilmington Hammerheads News Release -- www.wilmingtonhammerheads.com
Tuesday, July 9, 2011
WILMINGTON, N.C. -- The Wilmington Hammerheads return to Legion Stadium on Wednesday night for their final regular season home game of the season. The Richmond Kickers will be making their first 2011 visit to Legion Stadium to take on the Hammerheads at 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday’s game comes less than a week after the Hammerheads defeated the Los Angeles Blues on national television in the USL PRO Fox Soccer Game of the Week at Legion Stadium. The win gave the Hammerheads three more points and cushioned their second-place position, leaving them with 42 points.
Just a few weeks ago the Hammerheads were trailing the Kickers in points, and were sitting behind them in the standings. After the Hammerheads’ recent winning streak and Richmond losing back-to-back matches to Los Angeles and Pittsburgh, the Hammerheadsnow lead the Kickers by six points.
Wilmington and Richmond met early in the season on May 7 at City Stadium when the Kickers defeated the Hammerheads 2-1, giving the Kickers an advantage when the two teams became tied in points mid-season.
With playoffs right around the corner and Wilmington and Richmond being the second and third place team, Wednesday night’s final score carries a lot of weight for playoff positions. Wilmington head coach David Irving understands the importance of a win.
“Having a home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs would be crucial," Ivring said. "The first step in that direction is to maintain our second-place position and beat Richmond.”
Richmond took off early in the season, winning its first six games. The Kickers did not suffer a loss until their May 24th match up with the Charleston Battery.
The game also sees a match-up between Wilmington’s Luke Mulholland and Richmond’s Matthew Delicate, who currently sit first and second in the league in points. Mulholland is currently the league leader with 23 points, while Delicate is sitting in second with 21 points. Wilmington’s Chris Banks and Andryi Budnyy are also ranked in the top 20.
The Hammerheads have dubbed Wednesday night as “Fan Appreciation Night” and will be selling all tickets for $5. Fans will also have a chance to enter a free drawing for two round trip American Airline flight tickets.
At halftime on Wednesday, player awards will be given out for Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year. The winners of the awards are based on fan votes.
$5 tickets can be purchased on www.wilmingtontickets.com, by calling (910) 777-2111 ext. 10 before game day, or at the ticket booth on game day. Gates and ticket booth will open at 6 p.m. No coupons or discounts will be accepted.