Season Preview

The Charlotte Eagles enter the 2006 season as the defending USL-2 National Champions.  Last year’s championship team is largely intact and there have been some key additions to the roster during the off-season.  The only question mark for this team is at midfield where both Nate Watkins and Ishmael Mintah are missing.  Both were consistent starters last season and leave large holes at key positions.

The defense is once again strong for the Eagles.  2005 USL-2 Goalkeeper of the Year Chris McClellan is back as is 2005 USL-2 Defender of the Year Josh Rife.  2005 USL-2 MVP Jacob Coggins is back at forward as is the teams leader Dustin Swinehart.  Overall, the Eagles appear to have another very solid roster and are ready to mount a strong defense of their 2005 title.

Game Summary

The opening night challenge for the Eagles comes from the Cincinnati Kings – a team the Eagles struggled with in 2005.  The Kings play a very physical style while the Eagles prefer to use their speed and quickness to beat opponents.  The rougher physical play generally proves to be difficult for the Eagles to break down so they will have to play an excellent game to have a chance to defeat the Kings.

The Eagles came out excited by the Championship Ceremony that preceded kickoff.  The players from the 2005 team were awarded Championship rings and were recognized for their impressive achievements in 2005.  From the opening kick, the Eagles were a step quicker to the ball and appeared to be much better organized than the Kings.  The Eagles controlled the ball for long stretches during the first half with the Kings offense mainly consisting of quick counter attacks – trying to catch a strong Eagles defense before it could regroup.

The Eagles first scoring opportunity came in the 6^th minute off the foot of Patrick Daka.  The shot sailed just to the left of goal.  The next opportunity came in the 11^th minute off a long throw in to Daka.  Patrick controlled the throw in and executed a pretty bicycle kick that beat the Kings keeper but went just above the cross bar.  Four minutes later, Dustin Swinehart almost scored the first goal of the season.  Swinehart maneuvered behind the Kings defense and took a shot toward the top right corner of the goal.  The ball beat keeper James but hit the side bar and rebounded back into play.  Adam Rudd was alert for the rebound and quickly headed the ball back on goal but the ball again failed to hit the mark.  The Eagles offense had created multiple scoring chances in the first fifteen minutes of the match but had so far failed to find the back of the net.

The first goal of the 2006 season came in the 24^th minute and was scored by last season’s MVP, Jacob Coggins.  The Kings defense, who kept at least one defender near Coggins most of the night, lost sight of Jacob long enough for him to break free right up the middle.  Sam Casey saw the opening and fed Jacob with a perfect leading pass and Jacob was one-on-one with Kings keeper James.  Despite his best effort, James was no match for Coggins who easily scored the goal.

The Kings only real scoring chance of the first half came in the 40^th minute.  After some pretty passes and ball control, the Kings worked the ball deep into the offensive end.  An opening came and the ball was centered directly in front of the goal just outside the six yard box.  Jack Cummings rushed his shot and the ball went well above the goal.  The half ended with the Eagles up by a goal.  One interesting note as the teams walked off the field for half time, Kings forward Cummings walked to the referee and said one word – “pathetic”.  It doesn’t seem to be a good way to gain favor with the officials but Cummings obviously felt the comment justified.

The Kings came out of halftime the quicker, more focused team.  The Eagles were sluggish to start the 2^nd half while the Kings were determined.  The ball stayed on the Kings offensive end for long periods early in the 2^nd half and the Eagles struggled to create any offense.  In the 49^th minute the Kings created a scoring chance with a quick attack up the left side.  The shot was saved by Eagles keeper McClellan.  The best scoring chance of the game thus far for the Kings came in the 57^th minute off a free kick on the right side.  The kick found its way through the Eagles defense and resulted in a point-blank shot from inside the 18 yard box.  The shot was blocked by McClellan but the rebound bounced dangerously free for too long.  Several players from both teams were trying to get a solid foot on the ball and finally Ben Johnson cleared the ball from danger for the Eagles.

In the 59^th minute the Eagles mounted their first good offensive push of the 2^nd half.  Swinehart pushed the ball quickly up the right side, deep into the Eagles offensive side of the field.  Dustin crossed the ball all the way across the goal to a waiting Patrick Daka who headed the ball into the box.  A waiting Eagles player then one touched a point-blank shot that was stopped impressively by Kings keeper James.  In the 63^rd minute, the Eagles almost scored after a very similar play.  Ben Johnson again pushed the ball deep on the right side and crossed the ball to a waiting Daka.  Patrick had the angle this time and took a quick shot that beat James but hit the left post and rebounded out.  Another quick shot by the Eagles was stopped by James.

The Kings mounted a quick counter-attack off this play and pushed the ball into their offensive end catching the Eagles defense forward.  A pass across the goal was attempted and McClellan was just able to stretch far enough to get his fingertips on the ball to push it out of danger.  Had Chris missed this ball it would have been a very dangerous play for the Kings.  The rest of the 2^nd half was pretty even in terms of ball control and scoring opportunities.  The Kings had one final chance to tie the game in the 90^th minute.  Off a corner kick, the ball bounced dangerously in the box.  Eagles keeper McClellan attempted to scoop the ball up but misjudged the ball and it was free and he was away from the goal.  Josh Rife again demonstrated why he was Defender of the Year last year by going flat on the ground to stop a shot by the Kings that would certainly have gone in otherwise.  The ball lodged against Josh and Chris was then able to gather in the ball and the threat was stopped.  The game ended with the score 1 – 0 in favor of the Eagles.

Final Thoughts

This was a good opening night win for the Eagles against a tough Kings team.  The Kings can play and will win a lot of games this season.  The 2006 Eagles defeated a team they did not defeat in 2005 so this has to build some confidence in a team already feeling pretty positive about the season.  The questions in the midfield were answered tonight with strong games from Chris Lemons, Sam Casey, Adam Rudd and Joseph Kabwe as well as returning starter Patrick Daka.  Overall, a very good performance for the Eagles.  They lost their focus briefly at the start of the 2^nd half but played well enough to shut out a good offensive team while creating a lot of offense for themselves.

The Eagles came through this game without significant injury.  Patrick Daka suffered a sprained ankle but should be fine to play next week.  Jacob Coggins suffered leg cramps late in the 2^nd half but is also fine.

Game Statistics

Scoring Summary

Cautions/Ejections

Substitutions

Referee: Charles Mitchell

Assistant Referee: Taci Canel

Assistant Referee: Brandon Marion

4^th Official: Rob Ellyson