LD Update: USL Pro Game Night; Zinho appointment; PDL/W-League signings

Three games... Three goals... Three road wins…

Charlotte Eagles 0:1 Rochester Rhinos – For the second consecutive week the Rochester Rhinos squeezed out a victory against the Eagles, this time in Charlotte. This time the Rhinos got the goal on their own with former Real Salt Lake and New York Red Bulls striker Conor Chinn, who tallied his first professional goal in the 18th minute. Kristian Nicht picked up his fourth consecutive shutout with two saves. It was not all bad news for Charlotte though as the Lady Eagles picked up a season-opening victory.  – MORE

Antigua Barracuda 0:1 Orlando City – Last week it was the Rhinos with an own-goal victory, this week it was Orlando doing the same. With an adjusted lineup due to Caribbean Football Union tournament action this week, the Barracudas were still a danger to the visiting defending champions, sending two shots off the post in the first half. Jamie Watson’s initial shot was stopped, but the rebound effort by Max Griffin as inadvertently turned into the goal by defender Troy Dublin in the 89th minute, spoiling the anticipated draw. – MORE 

LD Update: NASL & USL Pro previews; Brooklyn documentary

NASL Previews: The sixth week of the season is starting to produce in-season rematches as all four games fall on Saturday night. The Puerto Rico Islanders host the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, looking to avenge their only loss, a 3-2 defeat in Florida. Last year they finished even at 1-1-2... The expansion San Antonio Scorpions visit the Tampa Bay Rowdies for the first time. The two played to a scoreless draw last week in Texas...

The Carolina RailHawks are still looking for revenge when they visit Minnesota. The Stars swept the season series last year 2-0-2 - with every game decided by one goal - and then knocked the regular season champion RailHawks out in the semifinals with a 1-0 home win and advanced via the away goal tiebreaker following a 4-3 second leg defeat in Carolina. The season-opening meeting in Minnesota finished in a scoreless deadlock... FC Edmonton visits the Atlanta Silverbacks in their first meeting of the year. The hosts are looking for their result of against the Canadians having been swept last year in four games by an aggregate score of 8-1.

USL Pro Previews: The weekend slate kicks off and concludes in the Caribbean with Orlando City visiting Antigua Barracuda Friday and Sunday. After winning their initial meeting in Orlando last year, Barracuda dropped the next two at home as Orlando went on to win the league and playoff championships.

LD Update: Edmonton out; Velez returns; Blues broken nose

No midweek lower division pro action aside from FC Edmonton's Canadian Championship contest...

ACC: Scoreless after the first leg, Toronto FC got an early lead at home just two minutes in via Reggie Lambe and, despite losing Richard Eckersley to a 16th minute red card, held on for a 2-0 series win against the Montreal Impact with a Ryan Johnson insurance tally in the 38th minute... In the late game, the second division FC Edmonton made things interesting with the opening goal in Vancouver after falling 2-0 at home. Yashir Pinto headed home a cross in the 54th minute to make it 2-1 on aggregate. Vancouver answered back though with Sebastien Le Toux scoring in the 75th. Le Toux headed a second in with three minutes left to leave no doubt and Darren Mattocks added another three minutes into stoppage to repeat the two-goal margin, 3-1, for a 5-1 aggregate win.

Lower Division Five Stars - Round 5

It was a big week for players coming off the bench. Three of the Five Stars were second half substitutes...

1 – Shaun Saiko – F – FC Edmonton: Led the club to a big 3-0 win days after falling in the first leg of the Canadian Championship first leg, scoring three goals against the Carolina RailHawks.

2 – Joseph Kabwe – M – Charlotte Eagles: He came off the bench with a half-hour left and rallied Charlotte to a victory in Harrisburg, setting up two goals for the 2-1 win. 

3 – Walter Restrepo – M – Fort Lauderdale Strikers: With the club trailing by two with 25 minutes left, he scored to cut the deficit in half and set up the equalizer to give the Strikers the 3-3 draw at home.

LD Update: USL Pro honors; PDL/W-League signings

USL Pro Honors: United Soccer Leagues announced midfielder Drew Cost as the USL Pro Player of the Week for leading the Rochester Rhinos to a 1-0 win over the Charlotte Eagles, tallying an assist on the lone goal.

PDL Signings: The GPS Portland Phoenix announced that three players are returning and seven newcomers have been added to the 2012 roster, led by Phoenix PDL All-Conference defender Brian Fekete and former Ocean City Nor'easter Jack Bailey... The Fredericksburg Hotspur announced that three players are returning from last year's squad... The North Sound SeaWolves announced the addition of five players, three from locals schools and a pair from Spring Arbor University in Michigan... The Southern West Virginia King's Warriors announced the addition of three players from Messiah College.

LD Update: NASL Honors; Charleston Dragon Boat; W-League signings

NASL Honors: The league announced Minnesota Stars defender Cristiano Dias as the Defensive Player of the Week following the 2-0 shutout of Atlanta, and honored FC Edmonton midfielder Shaun Saiko as the Offensive Player of the Week for a hat-trick in the club's first win, a 3-0 victory against Carolina.

USL Pro News: The Charleston Battery won the men's division of the 2012 Dragon Boat Charleston Festival while wearing special pink jerseys that they will also don for Saturday's Kick for a Cure match versus Rochester. The victory, by tenths of a second, ended the run of four straight championships for another local group.

PDL Signings: The Brooklyn Knights announced that seven former Met Oval Soccer Academy products have been added to the roster.

W-League News: The Vancouver Whitecaps named four recent college graduates to the roster, including three with previous W-League or WPSL experience. The Whitecaps are coming off a 2-1 preseason win Sunday against Oregon State University... The Northern Virginia Majestics announced that Jill Porto, a member of the 2005 U19 Majestics SYL champion and W-League teams, is back with the club after stints with three other W-League sides... The Colorado Rapids Women added another Danish international with the signing of Camilla Kur-Larsen, who has scored over 60 goals the past four years in the nation's top flight playing for Brondby IF.

LD Update: NASL & USL Pro Game Night

The final 40 minutes proved eventful in both contests tonight, wrapping up with one fewer winless club following a big victory by FC Edmonton at home, leaving MLS' Toronto FC (0-8-0); the NASL's Atlanta Silverbacks (0-1-4) and Carolina RailHawks (0-3-4); and USL Pro's Dayton Dutch Lions (0-2-2) as the last four pro league clubs without a win.

LD Update: NASL & USL Pro Game Night; PDL signing

The expansion San Antonio Scorpions proved they are not going to be pushovers in the NASL with a second consecutive win Saturday evening and the Rochester Rhinos sent a message that Orlando City will likely have to keep looking over their shoulders if they plan to repeat as regular season champions.