The Georgia Revolution took on the Atlanta Silverback in the second round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. They played the match at the Revs' home field, Rockdale Youth Soccer Association ("RYSA") soccerplex in Conyers, Georgia. I grew up playing at RYSA and won a Georgia state soccer title with the '78 Rangers.
I was really excited to see "big league" soccer in my beloved community. Approximately 1,000 fans cheered on the Revs, but they lost 1-0 to the Silverbacks. They had several chances near the end of regulation to tie the match, but the could not capitalize on solid crosses. The Revolution versus the Silverbacks has the potential to be a great rivary.
Since the Silverbacks won the match, they have the opportunity to play the 2011 defending U.S. Open Champions, Seattle Sounders FC. Initially, the Silverbacks were to host the match, but according to the Red Apes' website, Seattle "made an offer they could not refuse". The match will now take place on the westcoast at Starfire Sports Stadium in Tukwila, Washington.
I am a little disappointed that Atlanta sold their rights to the home match because MLS soccer never comes to Atlanta. However, I understand why they would sale the game. It allows them to grow their franchise - improve their facilities and acquire better talent (coaching and players). The Silverbacks anticipated that fans would be disappointment. To make it up; they are hosting a fan appreciation night on June 16, 2012 where all tickets are free! You may not get to see the Red Apes challege the Seattle Sounders in person, but you can see them play against the Carolina Railhawks. Realistically, this will probably be a better game anyway. The Sounders will broadcast the third round of the U.S. Open Cup on their website on next Wednesday.
2 comments:
The Silverbacks played one-half of good soccer. They showed grit and did not back down from the Sounders. They actually had several opportunities to score goals, but failed to keep the ball on target. They lost some momentum when the went down 1-0 before half time.
Seattle started the second half on fire and quickly established that they were the better team. The final score was 5-1. The Red Apes may not be ready for MLS play, but games like this will help them on their journey.
A big thank you goes out to the Sounders for broadcasting the match on the internet.
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