Cary, NC- In their first meeting since the 2008 USL-2 Championship Final, the Charlotte Eagles got a little revenge and defeated the Cleveland City Stars 3-1 at Wake-Med Park this afternoon. Jacob Coggins, Ben Page and Gustavo Bentos all recorded goals for Charlotte as the team took a positive step on the road to defending its 2008 USL-2 Regular Season Title. Ryan Stewart scored Cleveland’s lone goal.
In what was supposed to be a warm, sunny transition from chilly Cleveland, the City Stars were met with extremely wet conditions as a strong storm system continues to move through the southeastern part of the country. The team has been spending a good part of its pre-season down in the Carolinas as the Railhawks have generously hosted Coach Rennie’s former team while Cleveland prepares for USL-1 play.
In their first season in the USL First Division since upsetting the Eagles in last year’s USL-2 final, Cleveland found themselves down early as Charlotte’s Jacob Coggins found the net just 5 minutes into play. In their first major test of the pre-season, Charlotte looked impressive and maintained heavy pressure on the City Stars for the majority of the match. The result was two more goals by Ben Page and Gustavo Bentos as Coach Mark Steffens was able to see his 2009 squad perform for the first time since training camp began two weeks ago.
The Eagles continue their pre-season campaign next Tuesday in Charleston as they face the Charleston Battery. Although the match is only a friendly exhibition between the storied franchises, the Eagles’ heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Charleston in the US Open Cup last year is still fresh in the minds of the players. Kickoff is slated for 2pm.
In related news, the Eagles have announced the addition of a pre-season game against Clemson University on April 13th in Clemson, SC. Kickoff is scheduled for 6pm.
Charlotte opens up regular season play against the Wilmington Hammerheads on April 25th at Charlotte Christian Stadium at a special 2pm kickoff time. Season Tickets are on sale now at www.CharlotteEagles.com and Individual Tickets for the game are expected to go on sale next week.
