Sweet Revenge as Flames Down Hammerheads

New Rochelle, NY - 06/12/2004

Oh, how sweet it is.

The Westchester Flames had to wait ten months to redeem themselves, but after 90 full minutes of play this afternoon, the scoreboard read - Westchester 2, Wilmington 0.

This was, indeed, a sweet, sweet victory for the Flames.

The long awaited matchup between the two national championship teams from 2003 proved to be a hard fought battle as Wilmington was out to prove their win wasn't a fluke, while the Flames were out to prove that they actually did belong in that final game.

The Flames got on the scoreboard in the 44th minute when forward Costea Decu took a clean feed from midfielder Alex Tobon-Villa and put it past Hammerheads goalkeeper Billy Platz. Two minutes prior, the Hammerheads had a goal disallowed for offside. There was little protest on the call.

Team leading scorer, forward Evaud Thompson sealed the deal in the 62nd minute when forward Kwame Richardson sneaked a ball to the foot of Thompson who buried it once again. Thompson is now tied for the lead with Jacob Coggins, of the Charlotte Eagles, for goals scored in the Pro Soccer League.

Flames goalkeeper Guillermo Valencia got his first clean sheet of the season, having to come up with 5 saves in the process. Luck was on his side in the 87th minute when the Hammerheads were awarded a direct free kick outside the box. Midfielder Kenny Bundy took the shot. It hit the near post and bounced harmlessly out of play.

The Flames defense held firm as the team is adjusting to the absence of Mersim Beskovic, scheduled for knee surgery on June 28th. Defenders Danny Parkin and Julian Kapaj played a full 90 minutes for the first time this season.

Unsung hero, Alex Tobon Villa, is quickly working his way up the assist leader standings for PSL. His assist is his 4th on the season, putting him in a tie for 2nd place in the league.

The Flames take to the road next week as they look to extend their winning streak while visiting the New Jersey Stallions. They return home on Saturday, June 26th, playing host to the Harrisburg City Islanders.

MATCH REPORT:
Westchester 2 :: Wilmington 0

Scoring Summary

WFL: Decu (Tobon-Villa)44th
WFL: Thompson (K. Richardson)

Lineups:
Westchester: Guillermo Valencia, Julian Kapaj, Laurence Piturro, Danny Parkin, Frank Gizzo, Fredy Nava (Juan Carlos Gomez 82), Alex Tobon-Villa, Roberto Esquivel, Kwame Richardson (Mario Gallo 74), Evaud Thompson, Costea Decu

Wilmington: Billy Platz, Brady Bryant, Tim Karalexis, Marc Hubbard, Paul Chase (Glenn Murray 75), Daniel Cappecci, Neil McNab (Ryan Miller 61), Kenny Bundy, Joe McNab (Iovo Stefanov 61), Buddy Forward (Ben Hill 45), Warren Ukah

Stats (WFL::WIL):
Shots 14::10, Saves 5::4, Corner Kicks 0::3, Fouls 8::9, Offsides 5::7

Attendance: 218

Officials:
Referee: Lee Suckle
AR 1: Samir Souidi
AR 2: Lahoussein Kharmaj
4th: Brendan Mullarkey

06/12/2004