United Soccer Leagues (USL)

Friday's opening day of play at the USL Super Y-League North American Finals brought few surprises as teams staked out their positions amidst the three-match group stage schedule.

Bolstered by U17 National Team starter Amaechi Igwe's inclusion in the back four, Tim Martin's Ruckus started on the attack. Igwe drew a free kick after a surging run from the left, and Anthony Avalos lofted a difficult ball to deal with into the area. Evan Sassano got on the end of it and fired home from close range to put the Northern Californians up 1-0.

Charlotte began to get going as the half went on. Kristopher Byrd was showing a good ability to run with the ball, and one such foray into the Ruckus end led to a nice pass for Christopher Zuerner, whose shot was saved.

Charlotte went on the attack in the second half and again it was Byrd leading the way with a mazy run. He dished to Nathan Mathis and the finish didn't miss the target by much. On the other end, Imaan Kerchgani went on a solid run for Santa Clara before passing to Matt Sawyer, but the finish was just wide.

At times the game threatened to degenerate into a kickfest as a number of challenges were either clumsy or just way too late. That all players escaped without a booking was surprising, and perhaps somewhat dangerous for everyone on the field.

Charlotte's hard work finally paid off in the form of a goal. Daniel Street earned an indirect free kick for obstruction after some good work on the ball. Rome Perlman sent in a clever chip and both a defender and the goalkeeper failed to clear the ball, leaving it for AJ Wullschleger to volley home from close range and a 3-1 scoreline.

Any hopes of a Charlotte comeback were quickly dashed however as midfielder Jose Garcia, excellent all day for Ruckus, made a good run and rolled a nice ball to Sawyer, who finished well to provide the final 4-1 scoreline.

"This is our fourth year. The first day is always tough because of our travel across the country. We got in late last night but fortunately we have an 11 am start. The last couple of years we started at eight which is like a 5 am game for us," Martin said. "Amaechi hasn't played with us for the first time in a year which was nice. It was a good start today."

Coach Matt Pinkerton cursed his side's luck as they hit the woodwork on no fewer than three occasions but acknowledged that Odyssey defended well and made life difficult for his side.

Schulz Academy, more popularly known as Boca Juniors, emerged victorious from their opening match of the tournament 2-0 courtesy of a brace of goals from striker Edvin Worley.

It was a deserved win for Marcello Serrato's Miami-based team who created numerous chances in the first half, then defended stoutly in the second to negate the threat from their Washington state opponents.

Boca were quicker out of the blocks and Worley signalled his intent on three minutes when he turned sharply outside the area before unleashing a powerful left-footed shot which Crossfire goalkeeper Brooks Hopp tipped spectacularly over the bar.

Worley's strike-partner, the US U17 international Josmer Altidore, was next to threaten on seven minutes, but his header following Karol Chorak's corner was cleared off the line by a Crossfire defender.

Crossfire's first opportunity of the game was twelve minutes in coming. Striker Estaban Reyes, who proved himself to be a willing worker, found
himself in the right channel from where he delivered a cross which the Boca defense struggled to deal with. The ball eventually dropped to Lachlan Huck who struck a sweet, swerving half-volley just past the right hand post.

Boca dominated thereafter and opened the scoring on the quarter hour mark. A right wing cross from Chorak caused confusion in the Crossfire six yard box and the ball broke to Worley who drilled a low right-footed shot through Hopp's legs.

Boca midfielder Vincent DiBullo saw two long-range efforts sailed harmlessly over the bar on 24 and 29 minutes, but Worley doubled his and his team's tally in the 33rd minute when he headed home a deep free-kick from Chorak, whose right-footed delivery of such set-pieces was immaculate throughout.

Crossfire could have given themselves a way back into the game on the stroke of halftime, but after combining well with Fernando Monge, Grant Richards could only toe-poke the ball wide of the target.

Bernie James must have given his side a stern halftime team talk because Crossfire came out purposefully after the break, putting greater pressure on the Boca backline and getting forward with more purpose.

That said, it was the team from Florida who had the first meaningful effort on goal of the second period with Jonathan Hohn firing in a fine right-footed shot from distance on 49 minutes which Hopp did well to push onto the crossbar. Fortunately for Hopp and Crossfire, the ball rebounded to safety.

Richards, who was making some good runs from his attacking midfield position, headed an Aaron Becerril free-kick towards goal, but Boca goalkeeper Manuel Bace Perdomo gathered the ball safely.

Crossfire did get the ball in the net two minutes later, only to have the strike ruled out by the referee. Richards was again involved, launching a long throw into the Boca six yard box. The ball was missed by Bace Perdomo and was swept home by Reyes, but the referee had blown the whistle, presumably for a foul on the goalkeeper, and Crossfire were thwarted once again.

Crossfire almost pushed the self-destruct button with fifteen minutes to go. Defender Tyler Klein sloppily presented possession to Worley on the halfway line and the Boca striker powered purposefully forward in search of his hat-trick. And while he did well to hold off a defender and burst into the penalty area, his finish was not up to standard and the shot went wide.

Both coaches were effusive in praise of their opponents at the final whistle. "We played a lot better in the second half," said Crossfire's Bernie James before adding, "but they were the better team. They played well. We could have won if we had played harder. We came out a little flat. We created more chances than they did in the second half, but by that stage they were already 2-0 up. But they were a very good team and deserved to win."

Marcelo Serrato lauded his side's performance given their less than perfect preparation for the tournament. "We know that Crossfire are one of the top teams in the country, and they had a very successful participation in a tournament in Hong Kong recently. We knew that if they left them space, they would make use of it. We made the field very tight in the first half, and that was the base for the victory."

He continued, "We have a very talented team and have been together for a long time. The coaches have been able to assess our strengths and weaknesses and work from there. We became a little bit tired towards the end, but we did not train for a month due to the hurricane. All fields were closed and the last time I saw the players was one month ago! So, under the circumstances, and especially in the first half, it was a very, very good performance."

James pinpointed Boca striker Josmer Altidore as a thorn in his defense's side. Certainly the forward proved his worth by combining speed, strength, high technical levels and the ability to play with both feet. Karol Chorak delivered some excellent set-pieces for Boca, whilst on the other side, Crossfire's defensive midfielder Brandon Zimmermann proved himself a hard but fair tackler, whilst Estaban Reyes battled hard without reward.

Elise Farrelly scored the winner as Chicago Magic defeated Spokane Shadow on a windy morning in Tampa. Farrelly's first half drive off a short corner took a pair of deflections on the way in, but Magic coach Scott Fonfara said the lead was deserved.

"It was a defelction, but we played pretty well in the first half. We could have been up in the first 20 seconds," Fonfara said. "In the second half we knew we would have to defend because of the wind but I didn't think we would defend that much. I give them credit for being a good, solid team and never giving up. I would not be surprised if they still come out to the semifinals."

Alison Fenter came perhaps closest to scoring for Spokane with a well-taken drive that just missed, and Tiara Pittman was repeatedly dangerous for the Washington team with her work on the ball.

Richmond began the brighter of the two sides and Joseph Haboush and Will Bates linked up well on ten minutes, the move ending with the latter firing in a powerful right-footed shot from the angle of the penalty area which was acrobatically turned behind by Larry Jackson in the De Anza goal.

De Anza were offering little in the attacking third during the opening exchanges and Kevin Barrera's shot from 20 yards on 15 minutes drifted past the post with Jack van Arsdale in the Strikers' goal watching on confidently.

Jackson was much busier at the other end. As well as having to claim a number of crossed balls, the De Anza 'keeper had to be alert to parry a back post header from Bryan Henley after fine build up play by Bates and Henry van Storch on the left hand side. Jackson then had to scramble back as a dipping shot from distance by Haboush threatened to creep in under the crossbar.

He firstly completed a fine crossfield run with a cross from the right wing which Barrera met with a flying header. Although the effort was powerful, it lacked direction and went behind for a goal-kick.

The two strikers combined again shortly thereafter, Kameya turning his marker well before slipping a lovely pass into Barrera's path, but with just the goalkeeper to beat, he fired his shot straight at the legs of van Arsdale.

Dallas Moore, who had come on as a substitute during the first half and who was to play an instrumental role in the De Anza engine room as the game wore on, had the final effort of the half, but the big midfielder's shot from distance went wide with van Arsdale scrambling across his goal.

Julian Hart burst between a couple of De Anza defenders before shooting wide seven minutes into the second period, but it would be a further twelve minutes before either side would create such a decent opportunity.

Ferguson was beaten on 58 minutes, however, as De Anza took the lead. The ball broke to Moore in the penalty area after a decent move down the right wing, and he in turn laid it into the path of Atkins whose left-footed shot rocketed into the top corner of the goal. In truth, Ferguson had no chance of saving such a well-placed and powerful effort.

De Anza looked set to weather the storm with Jackson claiming more crosses and long free-kicks confidently as the game wore on. However, the goalkeeper was slightly at fault when the Strikers' equaliser arrived. Misjudging a straight, long set-piece from Haboush, Jackson ventured off his line, only for Velazquez to reach the ball before him and loop a header into the gaping goal.

There was a chance for De Anza to regain the lead, but Ferguson gathered Chris Chung's right wing cross just before Tonkel could get his head to the ball. The final whistle was blown soon thereafter.

"I think they [Richmond] are probably feeling very fortunate to take a point from the game," said De Anza coach Jeff Baicher, "especially thanks to a ball which for us, normally, was a nothing ball to deal with."

Strikers' coach Carlos Pava, however, thought that a draw was a fair reflection on the game as a whole. "We should have finished ahead by the end of the first half, but we slowed down in the middle of the half and they took advantage and got on top. We tried to play a lot more
offensively, to play faster and move faster in the second half, and although we weren't doing that in the first half, we did at least keep possession for long spells. We applied more pressure in the second half and got our reward with a free-kick at the end."

Overall, however, Baicher seemed satisfied with a point on the opening day of the tournament. "At the end of the day, I think I had the better side though we didn't play the kind of football we're capable of," he said. "I think a few of the kids had jetlag, a few of them stayed in school yesterday then flew out here so they didn't get in until about midnight, which isn't the greatest preparation. I had to sub six or seven players in the first half."

Standouts on the day for De Anza were forward Takahide Kameya who showed some ability to dribble with the ball and seems to have an eye for defense-splitting passes, and midfielder Dallas Moore, an imposing physical presence with a deft touch and a good engine. Will Bates played well as a striker for Richmond in the first half, holding the ball up well and linking play with his midfield, but he was less effective when dropped into the middle of the park in the second period.

The MetroStars came from behind to record a 2-1 victory over the City Islanders Academy. Substitute Yannick Smith was the architect for the eventual triumph, capitalizing on a goalkeeping mistake to force an own goal from the unfortunate Michael Brown, before heading home a winner from Evans Asiamah's corner.

Coach Stan Lembryk was understandably delighted with an opening day victory. "Due to travelling, it was something of a sleepy performance in the first half," the MetroStars head coach admitted. "We arrived yesterday, but sometimes the effects don't set in until the second day, but it is hopefully a good sign that even when we weren't at our best, we still managed to get a positive result, and hopefully that will push us forward for better performances in the coming days. We weren't the better team in the first half, but I do think we played better in the second half. Our focus was better, the thinking off the ball was better, and that's where our two goals came from."

Tommy Cui was the hero for the Whitecaps, who defeated Del Ray 4-1. Cui scored all four of the Canadian side's goals, though he admitted that he could not have done it without the help of his teammates, citing specifically Colin Soo and Sahil Sandhu for their assists in his second and third goals.

Coach Mal McLeod was also taking some credit. "I originally selected him as a right-midfielder as he's very quick and very skillful," he claimed. "But today I pushed him up onto their sweeper, and he can get past players because in the last six months he's gotten even quicker and he just finds space and he finishes. He's deadly."

Kristin Dorr scored the opener for the Washington state team, and Ashley Correa, after seeing a free kick sail just wide, doubled the lead with a laser strike from the edge of the area.

Seacoast was benefiting from a terrific performance in midfield by Kaleigh Roberge. The dynamo demonstrated a rare combination of ball-winning grit and technical precision, gaining and holding possession and playing any number of dangerous balls through the Crossfire defense. This helped the New Hampshire team put sustained pressure on Crossfire as the half wore on and it ultimately paid off in the form of a goal from Megan Crowell from a goalmouth scramble.

Roberge and Seacoast kept attacking in the second half, with Crossfire's Erica DeJong and Lucretia Lee doing well in defense. Correa set up Crosfire's third goal with a well-rolled ball across the front of the area that Molly Lavin met with a left-footed drive into the back of the net.

Another through ball from Roberge set up a confused sequence in front of the Crossfire goal, with Crowell ultimately scoring on a savvy header, looped over the keeper into the net to make it 3-2.

Crossfire answered immediately, however, when Correa's cross was deflected into the path of Nicole Stanton, who made no mistake with her finish to provide the final scoreline of 4-2.

"There was a lot of end to end action and chances both ways," Lombard said. "We're experienced at going to Surf Cup and events like that. We know only the winner gets out so we wanted to make sure we came out and got this first game."