Hammerheads Dominate First Preseason Match

The Wilmington Hammerheads wasted little time getting their first win of the 2011 preseason. Richard scored on a beautiful free kick in route to a 4-0 victory over Elon. Chris Murray, Jyler Noviello and Alex Grendi also added goals, giving the Hammerheads some confidence going forward. Tanner Wolfe has been invited back for a second look, with hopes of locking down a spot on the final roster. As of March 10th, I believe the unofficial roster count was at 16. It's quite possible we'll hear a couple more signings this week, but as far as I know all tryouts are over with and only players cut from MLS teams this week will be invited to camp from now on.

Preseason Schedule

March 12th - @ Elon - Win (4-0)
March 16th - @ Campbell
March 20th - @ Coastal Carolina
March 22nd - @ UNC-Pembroke
March 30th - @ UNC-Wilmington
April 2nd - @ Carolina Railhawks
April 10th - Open House @ Legion Stadium from (1 - 5pm) - Players meet and greet and an exhibition match vs. Hurricane FC

Campbell University, Jata's old stomping ground, is the next stop on the road to opening day(4/16). The game is scheduled to take place this Wednesday, in Buies Creek, with kickoff set for 7pm. Here's a brief video of Hammerheads Head Coach David Irving discussing the signing of Richard Jata and Tom Taylor last month.



Back at Legion Stadium sections of the new turf have been laid down. Hopefully things are coming along fast and error free. Either way, the stadium should boast a vastly improved appearance by opening day. This is what the field looked like as of March 1st. From what I understand, as of today, turf installation is running smoothly and sections have been laid down from one endline to the other. Now the main focus is on getting the sidelines done, perfecting the installation, working out all the kinks, painting, etc.



For more updates on the Wilmington Hammerheads please visit their official blog, written by Tom Grady of the Star News, at hammers.blogs.starnewsonline.com.