Charlotte
Advances to National Championship Final for Third
Consecutive Year
Eagles Defeat
Pittsburgh 2-1 Tonight to Cap Off
6-1 Aggregate
Series Win
(Charlotte, NC) - The Charlotte Eagles have advanced to the
USL-2 National Championship Final for the third consecutive
year and have earned the right to defend their 2005
Championship Title. Charlotte defeated the Pittsburgh
Riverhounds tonight 2-1 and won the series with a 6-1
aggregate goal advantage. Charlotte will face the
winner of the Richmond / Cincinnati series on August 26th.
David Flavius got the first goal of tongiht's
match in the 14th minute giving Pittsburgh the 1-0 lead. Jason Kutney set
up the goal working down the right side and serving the ball into the middle for
Flavius. Flavius volleyed it in from eight yards out with a one-timer.
The Charlotte Eagles answered in the 42nd minute
with a goal by Joseph Kabwe. Kabwe collected the ball in the midfield and
pushed it through some congestion before touching it to Jacob Coggins.
Coggins put a pass right back to Kabwe on the run, breaking through the defense.
Kabwe touched the ball right and then beat McNellis to the right side of the net
to tie up the match 1-1. The first half ended even at one goal a piece.
Andriy Budnyy scored the game winning goal for
Charlotte in the 76th minute of play. Dustin Swinehart served the ball
from midfield, connecting with the run of Budnyy with a breakaway. Budnyy
placed the shot in the lower right corner to beat McNellis. The match
finished with a 2-1 win for Charlotte. Dan Benton had 5 saves for
Charlotte including a great diving save in the 58th minute to prevent Pittsburgh
from taking back the lead. Terry McNellis had three saves for Pittsburgh
including a diving save in the 71st minute to rob Jacob Coggins of a goal.
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Eagles head coach
Mark Steffens commented on the Eagles strategy
tonight: "Our plan for tonight was to
possess the ball in the attacking half to
prevent Pittsburgh from getting many
opportunities. We didn't do a great job of
that in the first half but we really cleaned it
up a bit in the second." |
With tonight's 2-1 victory the Eagles extended
their series aggregate goal lead to 6-1 and have advanced to the USL-2 National
Championship match. The National final will be played on August 26th and
broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel at 8:00 pm eastern time. Charlotte
will face the winner of the Richmond / Cincinnati series which will wrap up
tomorrow night. If Richmond wins the series then the final will be in
Richmond. If Cincinnati wins then Charlotte will
host the National final, details will be posted on the Charlotte Eagles website
on Monday morning.
Charlotte Eagles Player Stats
USL-2 League Standings
