Location: Providence High School, Charlotte, NC
Game Conditions: Cloudy, Fog and Mist, Very Wet Field, 55 degrees
Attendance: 804
Previous Match-ups:
June 15, 2001 Cincinnati 1 @ Charlotte 2 OT
Aug. 3, 2001 Cincinnati 1 @ Charlotte 5
Aug. 12, 2001 Charlotte 4 @ Cincinnati 1
Starting Lineups:
Charlotte Cincinnati
1 GK Matt Napoleon 0 GK Eric Pattison
4 M Nate Watkins 2 D Nick Glaser
5 D Kevin O'Brien 3 D Jeremie Piette
7 M Leo Gajardo 5 M Bobby Meyer
11 D Josh Rife 7 M Allen Elder
12 D Jonah Long 8 D Rasool Alizadeh
14 D Jason Acres 11 F Salvatore Piriane
16 F Jose Gomez 12 M Edward Child
18 F Dustin Swinehart 13 M Chris Dore
20 F Jacob Coggins 18 D Nelson Akwari
23 M Andy McDermott 24 F Byron Carmichael
Game Summary
The Charlotte Eagles kicked off the 2003 season by hosting the Cincinnati Riverhawks at Providence High School. The Riverhawks opened their season Friday night, losing to the Virginia Beach Mariners on a stoppage time free kick by a score of 2 - 3. Game time conditions in Charlotte were difficult for both teams. The field was extremely wet - literally standing puddles in places along each sideline. It was cool to cold and just miserable for fans and players alike. The attendance was disappointing, but understandable.
The Eagles played the first twenty minutes of the game like a team on a mission. They were quick to the ball, created multiple scoring opportunities and played swarming defense. It was an indication of what this team is capable of this season. To their credit, the Riverhawks absorbed the opening night enthusiasm of the Eagles and played the Eagles tough the rest of the game. Weather conditions definitely favored the Riverhawks who want to play a more physical game compared to the Eagles who are a much faster, quicker team.
The game was very physical from the start, which is definitely not the Eagles style of play. As mentioned earlier, Cincinnati is a more physical team, but this was well beyond expectations. I don't know if this style of play was by plan or if it was due to the small high school field, but the game was exceptionally rough. There were 41 fouls called on the night. The referee didn't help in that his calls were inconsistent and at times he seemed to be on the verge of losing control of the game. Near the end of the game there was an ugly incident that nearly turned into a fight. The Eagles were pressing hard for a goal to tie the game. A ball was played into the box toward Dustin Swinehart. As Dustin raced toward the ball, Eric Pattison (the Cincinnati goal keeper) came off his line to catch the pass. Neither player could stop in time, maybe due to field conditions or maybe just part of the game and there was a minor collision. Dustin clearly apologized and Eric patted him on the back. No harm, no fouls and the play was over and done. However, two Cincinnati players came rushing in and attacked Dustin. Several Charlotte players came to Dustin's defense and there was much pushing and shoving by both teams. After calm was restored, there were no fouls called, no cautions given, nothing. Thankfully, no one was injured and the game resumed without further problems.
After the opening twenty minutes, the remainder of the first half was pretty evenly played. Cincinnati created several scoring opportunities and maintained about equal possession. The Riverhawks' best scoring opportunity of the first half came in the 28th minute as a Riverhawk forward got behind the Eagles defense and played in an excellent cross that caught the Eagles defense flat-footed. Fortunately for the Eagles, the play caught the Riverhawks offense by surprise as the ball rolled through the box and all the way across the field for a Charlotte throw-in. The first half ended scoreless with Charlotte having a slight advantage in possession and scoring opportunities.
For the first 30 minutes of the 2nd half, the Eagles were out of sync. The offense was hesitant to challenge the Riverhawks defense one-on-one and the long ball wasn't working. Very little of interest happened until the 74th minute when Cincinnati's Edward Child placed a perfect shot from twenty five yards out just over the hand of Charlotte keeper Napoleon and into the corner of the net. That seemed to wake the Eagles up and they pressed hard the rest of the game. However, Cincinnati had what they were after and put ten men behind the ball on defense. The Eagles found very few openings, but did create some opportunities to score. Twice the Eagles missed an open net in the final ten minutes. The first came on an Eagles corner kick that was misplayed by the Cincinnati keeper and defense, falling directly in front of the goal with several Eagles scrambling to make a play. The Eagles did manage a shot that was a mishit and sailed wide left. The second opportunity was the result of another Riverhawk defensive mistake. The Cincinnati defense could not clear the ball out of their end of the field and the goal keeper was way off his line when the ball found Andy Guastaferro directly in front of the goal about 20 yards out. Gus's shot sailed about ten feet above the goal and that was the last opportunity of the night for the Eagles. It was a heartbreaker for the Eagles and their fans, but Cincinnati seemed to want it more tonight and they came away with the win and the points.
There was some criticism of the officials throughout the game and on the USL Discussion board today. Other than the inconsistency and a few mystery calls, I didn't think the officials were biased one way or another. While they were bad, they were bad for both teams, so I don't think that was a factor in the outcome of the game.
A few comments regarding the game:
Eagles Coach Steffens was quoted in an Eagles press release - "Finishing the ball continues to be our Achilles heel. We create scoring chances, but don't put them in the back of the net. If you don't finish the quality chances it comes back to bite you. We couldn't do any better at getting ourselves in position to score."
Eagles forward Dustin Swinehart made this comment in today's Charlotte Observer - "It's encouraging on the one side, because we played pretty well. But, you have to score goals to win. We couldn't quite connect on the last ball, the last cross."
The Eagles will be back in action on Friday, April 25th at Providence High School when they host the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Hopefully the monsoons we have endured in Charlotte all winter and into the spring will end and the field will have a chance to dry out before Friday night. The current forecast for Friday - rain with thunder and a high near 70.
Game Stats
Scoring 1 2 1OT 2OT Final
Charlotte 0 0 0
Cincinnati 0 1 1
Shots 1 2 1OT 2OT Final
Charlotte 7 11 18
Cincinnati 2 3 5
Saves 1 2 1OT 2OT Final
Charlotte 1 3 4
Cincinnati 1 2 3
Fouls 1 2 1OT 2OT Final
Charlotte 10 9 19
Cincinnati 13 9 22
Offsides 1 2 1OT 2OT Final
Charlotte 2 4 6
Cincinnati 0 0 0
Corners 1 2 1OT 2OT Final
Charlotte 3 0 3
Cincinnati 4 1 5
Cautions
4th Min. 8 Alizadeh Cincinnati
24th Min. 5 O'Brien Charlotte
52nd Min. 14 Acres Charlotte
87th Min. 16 Finklea Cincinnati
Ejections
None
Substitutions
Team Minute Player In Player Out
Cincinnati 42nd 16 Tim Finklea 5 Bobby Meyer
Cincinnati 45th 9 Juan Sastoque 11 Salvatore Piriane
Charlotte 67th 9 Andy Guastaferro 20 Jacob Coggins
Cincinnati 78th 20 Joe Morelli 12 Edward Child
Charlotte 79th 2 Ben Johnson 12 Jonah Long
Charlotte 83rd 10 Lee Paul 7 Leo Gajardo
