Plainview, NY (June 28, 2006) – The Long Island Rough Riders, members of professional soccer’s United Soccer Leagues (USL) 2nd Division, will host the Charlotte Eagles this Saturday – July 1st. Kick-off at the Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale, NY is set for 7:30pm.
The Rough Riders, coming off a disappointing 0-1 loss to the Harrisburg City Islanders at home last weekend, have not yet faced Charlotte this season. Long Island had recently earned two points against Western Mass. They hosted the Pioneers at Stony Brook University on June 14th, playing to a 0-0 tie before going up to Lusitano Stadium in Ludlow, MA on July 17th. Goals by Derrick Etienne and Anthony Barberio put the Rough Riders ahead in the first half, but Western Mass was able to tie the game at 2-2 after Long Island saw two red cards in the second half. The Rough Riders then went up to New Hampshire on June 21st, where they took an early lead on a goal by Barberio, before falling to the Phantoms 3-1.
Charlotte comes into the weekend in 2nd place in the USL 2nd Division with a regular season record of 5W-3L-4T. They have earned four points in their last three games. They went on the road June 17th to tie Cincinnati 3-3. Their next road game (June 21st) at Harrisburg saw the Eagles lose to the City Islanders 3-1. Charlotte returned home to beat the Pittsburgh Riverhounds 1-0 on June 24th. The Eagles are lead by forward Dustin Swinehart (3 goals, 3 assists), who scored his 100th career goal last weekend.
After Saturday, the Rough Riders will go back on the road to continue their season series with the Western Mass Pioneers on July 8th. Long Island will then return home on Wednesday-July12th, when they will host the Pittsburgh Riverhounds at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium on the campus of Stony Brook University. For additional team and ticket information, please contact the Rough Riders office at 516-622-3900 or check out the team website at www.liroughriders.com.
