Well, another week has passed us by and the U.S. of A. has turned 225 years young. Apparently so did the Thunder as the only real bright spot in Blaine last week were the 15,000 plus that turned out to support the U.S. women as they played Canada to a 1-0 victory. That's more than we can say about the Thunder, though, as their marked lack of success vies for the biggest story as we come upon the halfway mark for this season.
There have been several other remarkable stories that we've seen develop throughout the first half of this season but that's a story for another day. This week we're looking ahead to the next round of Open Cup matches which are highlighted in this part of the soccer world with Charleston traveling north to face the New England Revolution of MLS. The A-League is also assured of having at least two clubs in the next round as Richmond host Connecticut and Pittsburgh pays a visit next door to Area 51 with a trip to El Paso. Milwaukee will also host the San Jose Earthquakes and coming off of Hershey's win over arch-rival Rochester they now will travel to Richmond as D.C. United and the Wildcats serve as part of an Open Cup doubleheader with the Wolves and Kickers.
The Battery should be glad, though, that the Blast were knocked out of the Open Cup earlier because for some reason the boys from the heartland give Charleston fits- at home no less. The Battery was forced to overtime by the Blast but were able to pull out a victory this time by a 2-1 score. They also had a 2-1 decision go the right way as they traveled to Cincinnati, as things appear to be going entirely the wrong way for the Riverhawks lately. They're off this weekend as they look forward to their meeting with the Revs.
The other A-League teams in the Open Cup weren't quite as lucky as El Paso has two games over the weekend before Pittsburgh comes calling. The Patriots travel to Indiana and Cincinnati this week after losing 1-0 at home to surprising San Diego. The irony in all of this is, of course, the fact that the Patriots spent July 4th at home winning 2-0… against the Riverhounds.
Incidentally, the Atlanta Silverbacks will also do a Midwestern swing in the opposite direction as they first face Cincinnati followed up with a meeting against Indiana. The 'Backs need these points to get back into serious contention after coming back down to Earth real hard after briefly looking impressive.
Pittsburgh began last week with a 1-0 home win over the Rough Riders and were hoping to have a slightly better 4th but it wasn't to be. This weekend they'll travel to meet San Diego and acclimate to the time difference as they prepare for El Paso. Pittsburgh will be looking to tune up a bit as they go into the next round of the Open Cup.
Hershey has a relatively short week to prepare as they wait until Sunday for a Toronto squad that is still trying to get on its feet after stumbling out of the starting blocks. Not many people would think the Wildcats were in a good position after dropping a 2-1 OT decision at home to the Eagles but they did rebound with a win against Rochester which splashes just a tad bit more fuel onto the fire in this building rivalry. They'll be hoping to use some of the same inspiration they had against the Rhinos against D.C. United.
Speaking of the Rhinos they were able to soundly defeat the suddenly slumping Long Island squad 3-1 last week. This week Rochester pays visits to the Southeast as they meet Charlotte and Richmond who will both be hoping to use home field to sneak some points against the defending champs.
Richmond survived a scare against Atlanta by winning 3-2 in overtime at home. This week they'll get to tune up for the Cup by facing Nashville at Ezell Park. The Metros are hoping to rebound after being drilled by the Galaxy in the Open Cup and following that up with an embarrassing 2-0 loss to the Blast. Richmond will want to strike early and as often as possible to have as much confidence as possible going into their clash with the Wolves.
Speaking of Connecticut, they've been appearing lately to be slumping as we enter the middle portion of the season schedule. Last week they were only able to gain a 1-1 draw with the missing Lynx and went on to struggle offensively in a 2-1 loss to Montreal on Wednesday. They'll face the Rough Riders in a double dip this week after beginning a slide all their own of late.
The Sounders also came off a disappointing Open Cup experience and then had to go on the road to Milwaukee to get thoroughly beaten 5-2. Luckily they were able to follow that up with a trip to Minnesota where they won 2-1 over the hapless Thunder. The Rampage will be paying a visit to the Sounders bouncy turf this week and the Timbers space age green stuff before they meet the Earthquakes.
Speaking of the Timbers they've continued their run with a 3-2 home win on Tuesday over San Diego after dropping a 1-0 decision to the visiting Whitecaps. The Whitecaps then completed a short turnaround with a 3-2 victory over San Diego after being nothing shy of miserable in their previous action. It appears they passed that bug off to Seattle.
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