Game Summary

            The Eagles entered the game vs. the Indiana Blast on a two-game winning streak, with both wins coming on the road.  The first was in Ottawa against the A-League hopeful Wizards and the second was a tough match-up with Pittsburgh.  The Eagles were very optimistic about extending the win streak against an Indiana team that has struggled this year.  The Eagles have won four of their five games against the Blast since joining the A-League, so the fans were optimistic also.

            As has been the case for the Eagles throughout this season, the weather was a factor in the game.  The afternoon was very hot and humid, with temperatures in the mid-90s and very high humidity.  About an hour before game time, a tremendous thunderstorm came through Charlotte, dropping an incredible amount of rain in a very short period of time.  The rain had stopped by game time, although the field was in dreadful condition.  The poor field conditions impacted play for both teams throughout the game.

            The Eagles’ offense started out aggressively earning three corner kicks in the first five minutes of the game.  Lee Paul was beating the Blast defense right up the middle for some decent scoring chances.  In minute 11, the Eagles nearly scored on a free kick taken by Mark Pinch and back-headed by Dustin Swinehart to Lee Paul.  Lee’s shot went just wide to the left.  Indiana, who didn’t create a lot of offensive opportunities in the game, did have a very good chance to score in the 17^th minute.  A pretty run up the right side resulted in a beautiful cross, but the header went just over the cross bar for an Eagles goal kick.  In the 20^th minute, the Eagles very nearly got on the board after a pass from Mark Pinch found Lee Paul open in the middle.  Lee took the ball left and ripped a shot that the Blast keeper deflected straight to Dustin.  Dustin tried to one-touch the rebound but it went just wide right.  In the 39^th minute, Indiana had a free kick from twenty-five yards out directly in front of the goal.  The kick was easily stopped by Eagles keeper Upton, but during the play Eagles defender Kevin O’Brien was run over and stepped on (in the head) by a Blast player.  O’B had to leave the game and the Eagles played a man down until O’B came back on the field in the 44^th minute.  In minute 41, Indiana had its best scoring opportunity of the game.  The Blast was applying offensive pressure and the Eagles couldn’t quite clear the ball out of danger.  After several passes, a shot was taken on the right side about twelve yards out that had Eagles keeper Upton beat, but it hit the right post and bounced out of bounds.  At the half, the Eagles had to be disappointed in that they had controlled play but could not score.  The Blast had far fewer opportunities to score, but they were better chances and could easily have been up at halftime.

            The Eagles’ offense picked back up at the start of the 2^nd half.  They very nearly scored in the 50^th minute and again in the 51^st minute.  The first ten minutes of the 2^nd half were all Eagles, but they could not find a way to score.  Indiana got off its first shot of the second half in the 56^th minute.  The Eagles mounted a quick counter-attack off this shot and again very nearly scored.  Dustin took the ball quickly up the right side and placed a perfect cross into the box.  Lee Paul took the pass and put a beautiful header by the Blast goalkeeper, but an Indiana defender was in perfect position to head the ball out of danger.  It was a very pretty play by both teams.  After twenty minutes of the 2^nd half, it seemed like the Blast was playing for the tie.  They were stalling excessively at every opportunity.  It seemed an odd strategy for a team with two wins all year.  Finally, in the 75^th minute, the Eagles had a free kick off an Indiana handball.  Jason Acres took the kick from about 25 yards out.  It was well hit and probably would have been easily handled by the Blast keeper, but it deflected off an Indiana defender and bounced away from the keeper and into the net.  It was especially satisfying for the Eagles fans as the Blast “wall” inexplicably refused to move back the required ten yards for the free kick.  They stalled for a long time, receiving a lecture from the referee and then just as he blew the whistle to put the ball in play, Jason took the kick.  It all happened so quickly after all the stalling, the Blast defense seemed unsure of itself and out of position.  It was a very strange sequence of actions by the Blast, resulting in the game-winning goal for the Eagles.  The Eagles committed the common mistake of losing focus after scoring a goal.  In the 76^th minute, the Blast had their final scoring opportunity of the night as a quick attack up the right side caught the Eagles defense flat-footed.  A pretty crossing pass found Blast forward (#3) wide open with Eagles keeper Upton out of position.  The shot was poor and went wide left.  The game ended with the Eagles picking up their third win in a row.

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.
• Andy McDermott is temporarily injured with a sprained ankle.
• Leo Gajardo is unavailable with a knee injury.

Game Stats

Scoring Summary

Cautions/Ejections

Substitutions

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