Flames Defeat Rough Riders

New Rochelle, NY - 07/04/04 - With fireworks supposedly only off the field on this Independence Day, the Westchester Flames dealt with plenty during their game today with the Long Island Rough Riders, coming out victorious 2-1 on goals by forwards Costea Decu and Evaud Thompson.

The Rough Riders featured a team full of roster changes from the last time these two teams met, and where the Flames easily won. This time, the Rough Riders came out hammering the Flames and putting them on their heels for the first few minutes of the game. The Rough Riders dominated, until the 36th minute when Decu got a perfectly timed feed from midfielder Fredy Nava and made the shot count, giving the Flames a 1-0 lead going into halftime.

Making it 2-0 in the 68th minute, Evaud Thompson added to his team-leading total by scoring his 10th goal of the season, which ties him for 2nd in league scoring. Midfielder Alex Tobon-Villa provided the assist, giving him sole possession of 2nd place in the league for assists.

The Riders came back to score in the 69th minute, when first half substitute Moussa Sy got a feed from newly acquired midfielder Jim Rooney and put the ball under Flames goalkeeper Guillermo Valencia.

Tough play prevailed throughout the game with a total of 6 yellow cards and one red card being handed out. Frustration abounded on the part of the Flames, culminating in the 90th minute when Evaud Thompson took an elbow the the right cheek, creating an open gash under his eye. Alleged abusive language ensued, resulting in the issuing of the red card to Thompson. Upon review of the tape by the League's Disciplinary Committee, he will be suspended for at least one game, and possibly up to three.

MATCH REPORT:
Westchester 2 :: 1 Long Island

Scoring Summary

WFL: Decu (Nava) 36th
WFL: Thompson (Tobon-Villa)
LIRR: Moussa Sy (Rooney)

Lineups:
Westchester: Guillermo Valencia, Laurence Piturro, Danny Parkin, Frank Gizzo, Fredy Nava, Alex Tobon-Villa, Juan Carlos Gomez, Roberto Esquivel, Kwame Richardson (Chikudi Richardson 80), Evaud Thompson, Costea Decu

Long Island: Daniel Sirota, Steve Cadet (Paul Caffrey 76), Dahir Mohammed, Carlyle Myrie, Wilmer Cabrera (Moussa Sy 23), Rich Bradley, Ricardo Blanchard (Shaun Higgins 58), Steve Frantzke, Jim Rooney, Carlo Espinoza (Evan Bruno 49), Giovanni Savarese (Derrick Etienne 73)

Stats (WFL::LIRR)
Shots 18:13, Saves 3::5, Corner Kicks 3::2, Fouls 14::15, Offsides 7::7

Attendance: 185

Officials:
Referee: Pat Pinzon
AR 1: Brian Dunn
AR 2: Kambiz Riazi
4th: Brendan Mullarkey

07/04/2004