Hammerheads Inch Closer and Closer to First Place in the American Division with a Dominating Show on the Road

Shortly after arriving at St. Johns University(Belson Stadium) for the FCNY vs. Wilmington Hammerheads game, the rain started coming down.  Roughly an hour before kickoff it was nothing but a cloudy haze, then lightning struck and the teams were sent to the locker room until further notice.

After the 30-40 minute delay and puddle sweeping in one specific corner of the field on the teams' sideline, play was resumed.  The rain had stopped and the field had dried, but during the National Anthem things got a little out of hand.  A torrential downpour followed for the next 10-15 minutes until the referee blew his whistle at the 10:09 mark and asked Brock Duckworth for the ball.

Both teams were once again sent to their locker rooms and play was postponed. Shortly after the rain had stopped the teams made their way back onto the field.  The game was almost called off due to extreme flooding on certain parts of the fields, but out of nowhere the field dried up and FCNY personnel took care of the excessively flooded areas.

I was extremely impressed with the FCNY staff and they really helped this game get done. Both teams are set to travel to away matches this weekend and a rematch was something everyone wanted to avoid.  After starring at puddles on the field get bigger and bigger, once the rain stopped, I was amazed to see that this turf dried faster than any field I've ever seen before.  One spot on the pitch was flooded, but at one point the whole field was flooded and sure enough it dried up and the game was back on.

The game was resumed finally at the 10:09 mark and Wilmington wasted little time getting on the board. Andriy Budnyy chipped the keeper ever so eloquently in the 29th minute giving the Hammerheads a 1-0 lead.  The game would remain that way going into halftime.

With the rain gone and the field in better condition, other than a few moments, the second half was utter domination.  The Hammerheads put consistent waves of pressure on FC New York, and in the 52nd minute Luke Mulholland got his goal, putting his team up 2-0.

In the 55th minute Gareth Evans blocked a shot attempt on goal with his hand and the referee wasted little time awarding a penalty kick for FCNY.  Evans was issued a yellow card and Jhonny Arteaga had Brock Duckworth guessing the wrong way when he tucked it away to the right corner.

A few minutes later the New York had a chance to equalize when the ball was bouncing around near the Hammerheads 6-yard box, but no one could finish it off.  The ball was eventually cleared away and led to a fastbreak opportunity for the league leader in goals. Mullholland netted his second goal of the game and put Wilmington in a great position with less than 30 minutes to go.

The team had two goals called back, one for offsides and one for a handball by Andres Cuero(shown below), which could've easily made the final score 5-1.  Coach Irving used five subs in the second half, trying to rest some of the guys for their upcoming game vs. Harrisburg City Islanders.

Wilmington now sits on 36 points (11-6-3), moving into second place in the American Division. They play tonight at 7pm at Skyline Sports Complex in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Tanner Wolfe Nets His First Professional Goal as the Hammerheads get some Revenge on Charlotte (Video)

Just days after Richard Jata scored his first professional goal on a through ball from best friend Tanner Wolfe, the first year pro got a taste of glory for himself. The Hammerheads struggled to get on the board Friday night in Charlotte, suffering a 1-0 defeat to their interstate/division rivals.  After getting back to Wilmington early Saturday morning, the Hammerheads bounced back by putting in 3 goals and giving up none, even after being out-shot 11-10.

Tanner Wolfe was inserted into the starting lineup on Saturday night and made Coach Irving look like a genius.  Already with a 2-0 lead going into halftime, the Hammerheads showed no signs of letting up early into the second half.  After a shot from midfielder Luke Mulholland in the 47th minute ricocheted off the crossbar, Wolfe's reaction sent his body into flight.  He left his feet and connected on a diving header, beating the outstretched arms of the Charlotte goalkeeper who left his feet as well while attempting to make the save.

The goal was Tanner's first of his professional career and you could see the joy in his eyes while being congratulated by his teammates.  The link below has a great shot of the goal and celebration, plus a post-game interview with the man himself.

- Check out the Coaches Corner - Part 2 on wway3tv.com by clicking on the link below. There you can see 2 of the goals from Saturday nights' match vs Charlotte, plus some post game interviews with Tanner Wolfe and Head Coach David Irving.

*** Video Highlights from the Hammerheads Win over Charlotte ***

The Wilmington Hammerheads have now received goals from 14 different players this season.  That amount of depth and confidence from the players will really help them going into the final stretch of the season. Their recent win over Charlotte also put them into a tie for 2nd place in the American Division with the Richmond Kickers. Both teams now sit at 10-6-3 and 33 points through 19 games.

New York Update: Yesterday a few of the guys took the train into Manhattan and I got to know them a little better.  Some of them had never been to the "city that never sleeps" so it was cool to see their reactions in the ever so entertaining and energetic environment.  I'll be at the game tonight to support the team and take some pics so check back in on Saturday for a full post game write-up along with pics....and possible some video. Go Hammerheads!

Richard Jata Scores His First Professional Goal as the Hammerheads Manhandle City Islanders 3-1 (Video)

The Wilmington Hammerheads bounced back in a big way Saturday after suffering a heartbreaking loss to the Charleston Battery a few days earlier at Blackbaud Stadium.  On Thursday night the visiting Hammerheads were up 1-0 in the second half, only to see the Battery come back and score two big goals en route to a 2-1 victory over their division rivals.

On Saturday night the Hammerheads had a little comeback victory of their own.  Harrisburg City Islanders came into Legion Stadium and found themselves leading 1-0 going into halftime.  The Hammerheads have a great record at home and let Harrisburg know rather quickly that they wouldn't be going down without a fight.

Andres Cuero started the rally, netting a goal in the 65th minute to tie it up 1-1.  Andryi Budnyy found Luke Mulholland in the 76th minute for his second assist of the night and Mulholland's team leading 6th goal of the season, giving the Hammerheads an outright lead with less than 15 minutes to go.  In the 85th minute, Richard Jata finally put and end to his cold streak, scoring his first goal of the season and the first of his professional career on a brilliant finish.  Jata received a pass from his best friend and high school teammate Tanner Wolfe that sprung him through to face the keeper one on one.  Jata kept his composure and chipped the keeper to give the Hammerheads a 3-1 with less than 5 minutes left in the game.  Jata's signature celebration(round off to back flip) followed shortly after as the crowd erupted in jubilation. Read about Jata's reaction to the goal and post-goal flip here.

- Check out the Coaches Corner - Part 3 on wway3tv.com by clicking on the link below. There you can see all 3 goals from Saturday nights' match vs Harrisburg, plus some post game interviews with Brock Duckworth, Richard Jata, Luke Mullholland and Coach David Irving.

*** Video Highlights from the Hammerheads Win over Harrisburg ***

To view the 160+ pics from Saturday's game click here.

Highlights from Tuesday's US Open Cup match vs. RSL

The video below has no sound, but you can only imagine the 7,000 plus fans cheering on every opportunity Real Salt Lake had Tuesday night.  Chances were limited for the Wilmington Hammerheads, which most people knew would happen in advance, but RSL dominated play for nearly the entire game. While listening to the broadcasters commentate the game via radio, it became obvious to me that the game could've gotten way out of hand, easily ending 4 or 5 to nil.

Richard Jata and Tony Beltran battle for the ball in Tuesday's Match

I don't know whether or not Wilmington expected to have more chances or if they thought they could manage the wave of attacks mounted by RSL, but you can see from the highlights that they gave them too much too often.  The Hammerheads are good going forward in the midfield, but they lack the cohesion and discipline to get back and play defense for a full 90 minutes. Defending counter-attacks and constant pressure on the opposing squads midfield is essential when playing at a higher level.  I guess you can put most of the blame on Wilmington's lack of fitness. Since watching and covering both the USL PRO and MLS, it's easy to see the differences that make up the distance between these divisions. The one thing that stands out to me the most is fitness, in that MLS teams are constantly training to get more fit, while USL PRO teams train just to stay fit.

Hopefully things will change in the coming months and the Hammerheads strive to be that team who runs circles around their opponents. Otherwise, a chance at a USL PRO Championship seems highly unlikely, at least to me.  There are two things, besides skill and cohesion, that turn good teams into championship contending teams, one is determination and the other is fitness.