Game Preview

The Charlotte Eagles enter the third game of the 2006 season against a familiar opponent.  The Eagles and the Wilmington Hammerheads play at least four times each season.  Last year, the teams split the four games with each winning both games at home.  The Eagles are looking to get on track offensively in 2006 as the offense has been weak early in the 2006 campaign.

Game Summary

The real winner in this game was the weather.  It started to rain about an hour prior to kickoff and continued throughout the game.  The field was in decent condition early despite the rain, but conditions were difficult to say the least.  The weather definitely impacted the game and the play of both teams.  It is a tribute to the defenses of both teams that the score stayed low.

The Hammerheads started the game the quicker team and they dominated possession for most of the first half.  The Eagles passes were missing the mark and there were far too many turnovers in the offensive end.  The Eagles only generated two shots in the entire half and that kind of offensive output is not going to win in this division this season.  In the 25^th minute, Wilmington found a breaking Chris Bagley and a perfect leading pass was played through by Chad Crandall.  Bagley got behind the Eagles defense and was one on one with the Eagles keeper.  Keeper McClellan sprinted out to try to cut off the angle but Bagley easily got the shot past him for the goal.

In the 31^st minute, the Eagles were given a gift in the form of an own goal by the Hammerheads defense.  The Eagles were applying pressure up front and Montae Seabrook attempted to back head the ball to Wilmington keeper Bart Creasman.  Seabrook’s header was high and hard and went well over the head of Creasman who had started out to catch the long ball played in by the Eagles.  The ball just went under the top crossbar and the game was even.

In the 37^th minute the Eagles created an opportunity off a long throw-in by Ben Johnson.  Ben threw the ball to Chris Lemons who was standing just inside the top of the 18 year box.  Chris made a pretty play by one-touching the ball up and over the head of a defender, then moving quickly to catch his own pass and take a quick shot.  The shot was on target but Creasman made a good stop of a wet, skipping ball to prevent the goal.

In the 40^th minute, Wilmington had a dangerous play in the Eagles six yard box.  The ball was served in from the right side and stayed in the area way too long.  The Eagles could not clear it but fortunately Wilmington could not get a good foot on it either.  Finally the Eagles defense got to the ball and as it was cleared a Wilmington player went down.  The Hammerheads screamed for a penalty kick but the referee was definitive on the call and no penalty was awarded.  At half time, I heard the explanation to the Wilmington coaching staff regarding the play.  The referee indicated the Wilmington player initiated the contact and then as he turned to attempt to play the ball, he simply stumbled and fell.  The Wilmington coaching staff accepted the explanation well although they made it clear they saw the play differently.

The Eagles picked up their pace of play in the 2^nd half.  Possession was much more even than in the first half and the Eagles generated were much more active on the offensive end of the field.  The rain was very heavy at times and field conditions started to impact play.  Both teams generated some decent chances to score, but neither could get past the defense and the game ended in a tie.

Final Thoughts

The Eagles were fortunate to escape this game with the tie and a point.  Although they picked up the pace significantly in the 2^nd half, the offense was weak and ineffective for long stretches.  The defense played another solid game except for the one breakdown that led to the Wilmington goal.  The midfield was strong again for the Eagles with Chris Lemons playing his best game of the season.

Injury Update

The Eagles came out of this game without significant injury.  Clay Roberts came out of the game in the 68^th minute due to an injury but indicated after the game that he was sore but otherwise felt fine.

Game Statistics

Scoring Summary

Cautions/Ejections

Substitutions

Referee: Guy Goodrich

Assistant Referee: Robert Ellyson

Assistant Referee: Jude Carr

4^th Official: Eric Procter