BROOKLYN, NY – The club’s first team (1-0-2, 5 points) makes their first trip to Pennsylvania in two short weeks, as they visit the national championship runner-up’s in the Reading United AC (2-0-0, 6 points) on Saturday, May 25, for a 7:00 p.m. kickoff from Gurski Stadium on the campus of Wilson High School. The first team has not lost in regulation during the 2019 season through three games. The runners-up from the then-PDL championship match are looking for their third consecutive victory. The previous two victories came against the Lehigh Valley United and New York Red Bulls respectively.
ALL TIME SERIES:
The club’s first team trails the overall series 4-0-0 dating back to 2017. The teams have met four times in the previous two seasons following the divisional shake-ups. In the previous pair of meetings against Reading, the first team suffered sequential 2-0 shutouts at Gurski Stadium and Aviator Complex respectively. During the first 2018 meeting, former first teamer and current League One signee Leo Folla recorded a shot on goal, while Cheick Karembega came the closest with three on net. The opposition recorded a pair of goals from Kieran Roberts and Zachary Zandi. During the second meeting, Nico Solabarrieta tallied a pair of goals on three shots, with MLS draftee Ben Lundt obtaining the shutout with a pair of saves to go along with the victory.
SCOUTING THE UNITED:
The Philadelphia Union affiliate returns to Gurski Stadium for their second stint in West Lawn, PA following a three-year tenure at Don Thomas Stadium. Reading United AC has a slew of rostered players on the “USL Top 100 Watch List” that includes Kentucky’s Kalil El Medkhar, and Louisville’s Lamine Conte. The former recorded the game-winning goal against the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday for their second consecutive victory in League Two play. The club has also participated in the “U.S. Open Cup” during the early weeks of May, that saw a first round victory over Junior Lone Star, followed by a 3-0 shutout against Louisville City in the cup’s second round.
LAST TIME OUT:
The club’s first team (1-0-2, 5 points) drew against the Nor’easters of Ocean City (0-0-1, 1 point) on Saturday evening. This is the first time in the club’s presence within USL League Two that they are undefeated through the first three contests of the respective season. The first team also has combined for a total of 19 points during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Ocean City opened up their USL campaign with a draw against the first team, where they have taken down Euro in regulation the previous eight meetings dating back to 2014. The first team and the New Jersey based club, maintained possession through the first 20 minutes of play, which has been a staple of the first team through the first three games of the season. The first two shots of the contests came from the foot of Ocean City’s Ilias Kosmidis, who went just to the right of the keeper, Babucarr Ceesay. The third shot overall, came from first teamer DeAndre Gordon, as the ball grazed the crossbar. Injuries took a toll for the first team as striker Filippo Tamburini was replaced in the 37’ by former Tampa Bay Rowdies striker Karamba Janneh, along with Adelphi defender, John Sabal, Jr. replacing Kalley Muntaha. The former was injured a pair of times during the first half, that resulted in the stoppage time to be extended to three minutes. The contest began to shift in the direction of Euro, as the first three shots in the half were off the foot of Conor McGlynn, Kyle Parish, and DeAndre Gordon. Roles reversed rather quickly as the gas pedal was accelerated from the opposition as Wright State’s Deri Corfe, and Daniel Kozma took the following three shots after the slew of first team possessions. The final 10 minutes of action featured a pair of goals. First, from Ocean City’s Daniel Twizer, just three minutes into his stint against the first team. Twizer would round out his time on the field to 12 minutes. The first team responded with a cross from DeAndre Gordon across the field to defender Tomasso Davico. The shot was redirected in front by striker Karamba Janneh to knot the match at one. The first team finished trailing in shots 14-6. Bryant and Stratton’s Babucarr Ceesay recorded five saves on the evening, while allowing his first goal of the season. While a clean game on the score sheet, fouls were 7-6 in favor of the Ocean City Nor’easters. One caution to report was from Jordan Schwartz in the final minute of regulation just prior to the stoppage time beginning. In the previous eight contests against the Ocean City Nor’easters, the first team has failed to come away with either a victory or a draw. Saturday evening featured the first point achieved against the opposition dating back to 2014.
UP NEXT:
The club’s first team returns home on Tuesday, May 28 for an 8:30 p.m. kickoff as they welcome the Long Island Rough Riders. The contest will be streamed live on the I-95 Sports and Entertainment Network, and YouTube Live.
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