The Charlotte Eagles Professional Soccer team hosted the Wilmington Hammerheads tonight at Waddell Stadium in USL-2 action. The game ended in a 1-1 tie as the game was called in the 79th minute due to severe thunderstorms in the area all night.
The first half began with the inter-state rivals trading possession evenly as the teams tried to penetrate their opponents' defense. 20 minutes into the game, Charlotte began to have the better play as the Eagles started to break down the Wilmington defense. Their attacking paid off in the 21st minute as Joseph Kabwe took advantage of a loose ball outside of the penalty box, and sent it over the defense to Dustin Swinehart. Swinehart controlled the ball in mid-air and flicked the ball past the Hammerheads' keeper into the top corner of the net.
Down by a goal, Wilmington put pressure on the Eagles defense and almost got the equalizer in the 39th minute as a Charlotte defensive miscue left Chris Bagley with an open shot on goal, but Eagles keeper Dan Benton denied the shot to send Charlotte up 1-0 at halftime.
In the second half, the weather turned ugly as the rain began to pour at the second half whistle. Play became sloppy as the field was drenched with water, and both teams found difficulty in possessing the ball. Wilmington kept the pressure on Charlotte, however, and their attacks finally penetrated the Eagles defense in the 72nd minute. Jeff Hughes sent a cross into the box where George Corrie took advantage of a loose ball, and took a sliding shot that trickled into the back of the net.
Minutes later, thunderstorms took over the area and the game as the match was sent into a rain delay in the 79th minute. After 2 hours of lightning and rain, the game was finally called at 11:48pm resulting in a 1-1 tie.
With the tie, Wilmington moves to 3-6-6 for the year and will play the Richmond Kickers Wednesday night. Charlotte maintains control of second place behind Richmond with a 7-3-7 record (28 points). The Eagles will host the Harrisburg City Islanders at Waddell Stadium on July 29th at 7:30pm. The game will follow the W-League Central Conference Championship match to be played at 5:00pm. Tickets can be purchased at www.CharlotteEagles.com or at 704-841-8644x32.
CHARLOTTE EAGLES SOCCER It's much more than a Game!
