Last weekend action in the United Soccer League (USL) was “headlined” by a few lopsided results. Out of the ten games that went down last week, six were won by two goals or more. The other four games resulted in a pair of 1-0 victories and two draws. Three clubs were able to triumph by three or more goals as the league's playoffs contenders apparently began to establish themselves last week. The most thrilling encounter came from the USL Western Conference. Seattle Sounders II and Portland Timbers II squared-off in the Cascadia clash, while orange county SC took on Los Angeles Galaxy II.
Here's a brief summary of the four major games that were played last weekend.
Richmond Kickers 1-1 FC Cincinnati
The Kickers got the opener in the seventh minute thanks to a Fred Owusu Sekyere fine finish that gave the hosts the early lead. It appeared like the Richmond early lead would last through the evening as Cincinnati could not even get anything moving well in the midfield without their star midfielder Kenny Walker. But after a solid interplay, Jimmy McLaughlin netted in the equalizer for FC Cincinnati in the 71st minute. The draw keeps FC Cincinnati in a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference standings while the Richmond are outside of the playoffs spot.
Seattle Sounders II 2-0 Portland Timbers II
An inconsistent Seattle Sounders II side was able to put together a thorough performance to defeat the Portland II. Following the trend of some of their opening games, Seattle Sounders II was able to get off to a quick start behind a penalty kick in the 6th minute, which was sent home by playmaker Irvin Parra.
In the Fifty third minute, Irvin Parra caught the Portland II goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh one on one to clinically double the scoreline for Sounders II.
Reno 1868 4-0 Phoenix Rising
Lindo Mfeka and Dan Kelly were the stars for Reno in their emphatic 4-0 home victory over Phoenix Rising. Dan Kelly netted thrice, headlined by two goals in the first six minutes of the encounter, while Lindo Mfeka provided two assists.
Dan Kelly completed his hat trick on Lindo Mfeka's first assist in the sixty-sixth minute. Later in the 77th minute, Mfeka then found Whelan to bring the Reno 1868 tally to four goals to nil. The victory was the first win for Reno this season.
Orange County 4-0 LA Galaxy II
A resilient Orange County side opened their 2017 season home slate in grand style last weekend. All it took were just six minutes for Orange County SC to put the encounter out of reach for the visiting Galaxy II. A handball inside the penalty box was called on Galaxy II defender Ryo Fujii in the twenty-sixth minute and jerry Van Ewijk stepped out to slot home the lead for Orange County. Three minutes later, Van Ewijk doubled the tally, pouncing on a clearance blunder from Galaxy II goalkeeper Eric Lopez and tapped it into an empty post.
Alex Juarez worsened matters for the visitors after he deflected a lofty cross into his own post to put the hosts up 3-0 in the first half. 57 minutes into the second half, Wuilito Fernandez netted the fourth goal for the hosts to hand the Los Angeles Galaxy II its worst defeat of the season.
