Game Summary

The Eagles entered Friday night’s game with the Richmond Kickers hoping their season long scoring slump was over.  The Eagles were coming off a 3 – 2 overtime win over a much-improved Virginia Beach team – winning in spectacular style off a Lee Paul bicycle kick golden goal.  The Kickers were coming off a 4 – 1 win over the Cincinnati Riverhawks, a team that had defeated the Eagles early in the season.  So the Kickers were also hopeful of picking up a win.

            The weather, which has plagued the Eagles all season, was again a major factor in this game.  It started to rain just minutes before the game began and rained steadily throughout the game.  Conditions deteriorated rapidly and it was difficult for either team to play at their best.  The crowd was small due to the weather forecast and many people left at halftime as the rain increased in intensity and made the evening extremely unpleasant.

            The game started abruptly.            Immediately after the conclusion of the Lady Eagles game, the referee lined up the starters and got the game underway.  This was done because of the officials concern about field conditions once the rain began.  This quick start was difficult for both teams, as they expected to have 20 – 30 minutes to warm up between games.  The Kickers had spent some time on one end of the field running and stretching, but the Eagles didn’t come out of the locker room until the first game was over.  They were not ready to play and unfortunately they gave up a goal in the 5^th minute.  The Richmond attack was a simple feed in by Simmons and the Eagles defense just misplayed the ball.  It ultimately fell at David Testo’s feet and he calmly put it in the back of the net past a startled Jeff Casser.  It was to be the only ball that would get past Casser all night as he played an outstanding game in goal. 

            After the terrible start, the Eagles controlled play the rest of the game.  They dominated the game in terms of possession, shots, corners, and most every other statistical category.  There were long stretches of the game where Richmond barely cleared the ball past midfield.  The Eagles generated a lot of opportunities resulting in corners or shots, but didn’t break through until the 69^th minute when Nate Watkins served up a pretty ball to the left post.  Both Jacob Coggins (who had just entered the game) and Andy McDermott were in position to take the shot, but Andy actually got his head on the ball and it sailed past a diving Ronnie Pascale for the score.  The Eagles had several other great chances to score.  Leo Gajardo, who played an overall great game, served up a long cross to Dustin Swinehart who just missed (literally by inches) on a full lay-out header (just like Brian McBride in the World Cup).  Carlos Calderson ripped a knuckleball from about 25 yards out that completely fooled Pascale who got a hand on the ball at the last second to redirect the shot just wide of the net. 

            The most spectacular plays in the game came in the 71^st minute and were made by Eagles goalkeeper Jeff Casser.  Richmond was putting on some rare, offensive pressure and the ball made it into scoring position.  A shot was taken from about eight yards out and Casser made a brilliant diving, one-handed save.  Another Richmond player controlled the deflection and took a shot from about ten yards out.  Casser was back on his feet and made another incredible diving, one-handed save.  A third shot was taken and this time Casser, who was again back on his feet, was able to kick the ball clear.  It was, without question, the most impressive series of plays I have ever seen by a goalkeeper at the A-League level.  The terrible field conditions that existed at this point of the game made it an even more remarkable series of plays.

            Overall, the Eagles had to be disappointed to settle for a tie.  Despite the terrible conditions, they played well enough to win but the offense just didn’t finish the multiple opportunities that were created.  The Kickers were probably disappointed with the tie after getting the early lead, but they were fortunate to get a point out of this game.  They did not play well and were dominated for most of the game.  I look forward to a rematch later on in the season, hopefully on a dry field.

Eagles’ Injury/Visa Report

• Roger Groome is still working to obtain a green card.
• Hugo Galeano is in Colombia, still unable to obtain a visa.
• Jeff Casser is on loan to the Eagles from the MLS Dallas Burn for the remainder of the season, but he may not be able to play in all matches.

Game Stats

Scoring Summary

Cautions/Ejections

*There were no cards issued during this match.

Substitutions

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