Long Island Rough Riders Soccer Ends Season on High Note

LongIsland.com

The Long Island Rough Riders, members of the United Soccer League (USL) 2nd division, were undefeated in their last two games of the season against the second-place Charlotte Eagles (Friday August 11th) and the Wilmington ...

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The Long Island Rough Riders, members of the United Soccer League (USL) 2nd division, were undefeated in their last two games of the season against the second-place Charlotte Eagles (Friday August 11th) and the Wilmington Hammerheads (Saturday, August 12th). The Rough Riders end the season with a record of 3-12-5.

At Charlotte, the Eagles controlled possession in the first half, getting the first quality scoring chance just two minutes in. Soon after, they were awarded an indirect kick when Rough Riders keeper, Rob Fucci, picked up a pass from his defender. The shot went over the crossbar, but Charlotte kept the pressure on.

The Rough Riders stood determined to hold the Eagles at bay, even after Midfielder Richard Bradley received a red card at the 55th minute. Long Island played a man down for the remainder of the game and fought to leave Charlotte with a 0-0 tie.

It was a different story at Wilmington as Long Island came out strong, scoring at the 25th minute of play. Gary Sullivan found the back of the net off an assist by Federico Bianchi. Eighteen minutes later, Wilmington's Offensive MVP, Chris Bagley, tied it up with an assist from Boyzzz Khumalo. The Rough Riders retaliated at the 50th minute when Kyle Jack scored his first goal of the season, putting Long Island back in the lead 2-1. Later, Bagley evened the game for a second time, but the Rough Riders Rob Fucci sent a powerful shot past Hammerheads keeper, Nicholas Bochette (79th minute), to send Long Island home with a 3-2 win.

Long Island played their last two games of the season without veteran forward Derrick Etienne. Etienne sustained a clean break of his lower left fibula against the Western Mass Pioneers on August 5th, 2006.

For more information on the Long Island Rough Riders, please contact our front office at (516) 622-3900 or check out our website at

www.liroughriders.com