Matchday nine of the United Soccer League action saw San Antonio and Real Monarchs continue to set the pace in the Western Conference. The Tampa Bay Rowdies and Charleston Battery also kept their “dog-fight” atop the Eastern Conference going strong. Reno 1868 earned themselves another massive victory, and a wild finish at New York gave the Fury an emphatic road victory over a Major League Soccer reserve team. Here are some USL fixtures that went down last weekend.
New York Red Bulls II 3, Ottawa Fury FC 4
A wild encounter at the MSC Soccer Park saw the other North America Soccer League (NASL) import walk over the Red Bulls 2 with two late goals in the stoppage minutes of the match.
RBNY II got the opener after the both teams exchanged quick goals during the first hour mark. RBNY II head coach John Wolyniec thought he had his team ahead for good in the sixty-ninth minute, but the visiting team had other ideas of coming back.
Later in the eighty-seventh minute, Playmaker Michael Salazar was able to tap home a rebound from an acute angle to level up the scoreline and forward Ryan Williams found the winning goal from the penalty spot-kick in the eighty-ninth minute. This vital road win is Ottawa Fury second victory in the league, and third consecutive defeat for the struggling New York Red Bulls 2.
San Antonio 1, Phoenix Rising 0
San Antonio FC continue to rule the roost in the West with less challenge after their 1-0 victory over a resilient Phoenix team.
The only goal of the game came early-on from a rapid play in the thirteenth minute. A midfield “turnover” apparently led to a driving run through the center midfield by Billy Forbes, who outran Phoenix defender Kris Typak for a first-time cross to goalscorer Afwafei Ajeakwa. Afterward, Antonio defense held onto the lead for the rest of the encounter to keep them on the summit of the Western Conference standings with twenty-six points through ten matches.
Pittsburgh Riverhounds 0, Louisville City 1
Louisville City forward Luke Spencer scored the lone goal of the match in the eighth minute. Overall, it was clearly an “even” encounter, but the host's team apparently failed to take absolute advantage in the last minutes after Paolo DelPiccolo was shown the matching order by the referee in the eighty-seventh minute.
The Pittsburgh Riverhounds only managed one shot on target against 10 man Louisville City.
Reno 1868 6, Seattle Sounders II 0
Reno forward Dane Kelly scored an eight-minute hat-trick between the twenty-eighth and thirty-fifth minutes respectively to outclass Sounders II, thanks to a “pair” of penalty kicks. Further goals came from Seth Caspie, Jimmy Ockford, and Lindo Mfeka throughout the rest of the game. The expansion club had been winless in their opening five games, but have won their last two matches by a combined scoreline of 10-0.
