USOpenCup.com Recap - Friday, May 12th, 2006
The Richmond Kickers earned a second straight win after a convincing 4-2 road win over the Charlotte Eagles. 
After an opening loss to Cincinnati, the Kickers have bounced back with back-to-back wins and have placed themselves in a nice position to qualify for the Open Cup. Robert Ssejjemba scored two goals and Chris Carrieri and Michael Burke had two assists each for the visitors who will host Harrisburg on Sunday at the University of Richmond Stadium.
In other USL-2 action, Western Mass was supposed to host Wilmington on Friday night but heavy rain in the Ludlow, MA area flooded Lusitano Stadium’s field making it unfit to play. The loss of the game might end up hurting Western Mass, as they only have two matches remaining (at Harrisburg, home vs. Charlotte) giving them very little room for error as they sit on the edge of qualification.
There were six PDL qualifiers on the schedule including the expansion Los Angeles Storm eliminating the Fresno Fuego from Open Cup contention with a 4-0 win. Fresno was looking to return to the Cup for the first time since their inaugural entry in 2003 where they advanced to the Fourth Round and lost to the Los Angeles Galaxy of MLS.
Other PDL results include:
New Orleans Shell Shockers 2:0 El Paso Patriots
Last year’s PDL runner-up got their season off on the right foot with a 2-0 win over New Orleans. It was the second loss of the year for the Shell Shockers, which takes them out of the running for an Open Cup spot. Enrique Cervantes converted a penalty kick just before halftime and Victor Mora-Gomez added a second in the 74th minute for the Patriots. The two teams will meet again on Saturday.
Williamsburg Legacy 2:0 Reading Rage
Legacy defender Taylor Rowe scored his first two goals of his PDL career in the second half, both assisted by attacking midfielder Ross MacKenzie, in a 2-0 road win against the Reading Rage. The Legacy will play game two of their season opening road trip in Ocean City on Saturday as they take on the Barons.
DFW Tornados 2:3 Austin Lightning
Diego Cuero scored two goals and Giovanni Barletta assisted twice as the Lightning defeated their northern in-state rivals. Austin lost their opening match against Laredo so they need to win their remaining two games and get some help in order to qualify. The Tornados need to win out and get some help if they want to qualify for the second straight year.
Abbotsford Rangers 0:0 Tacoma FC
Tacoma FC earn a point in their first game in franchise history at home.
Virginia Beach Submariners 3:1 Albany Admirals
The Submariners played their first game in team history on the road against Albany and brought home a 3-1 victory.
