Lower Division Five Stars - Round 8... plus US Open Cup Rd 3

Five Stars of the Week - Round 8 (ending May 27)

1 – Shaun Saiko – F – FC Edmonton: Gave the club a two goal lead against one of the hottest sides in the league with a goal and an assist against starting keeper Daryl Sattler, who had allowed only one goal in previous five appearances, for a 2-2 draw against the San Antonio Scorpions. 

2 – Chris Agorsor – F – Richmond Kickers: Struck for a pair of goals late against Wilmington Hammerheads in a 3-1 victory.

3 – Mitch Hildebrandt – G – Minnesota Stars: Made four saves in his rookie debut, posting a shutout on the road as the team rested starters in advance of its US Open Cup contest.

4 – Frankie Sanfilippo – D – Tampa Bay Rowdies: He was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Week for leading the Rowdies to a scoreless draw against the unbeaten defending champion Minnesota Stars, who had scored at least two goals in each of their last five games and had not been shutout since their opening two matches.

LD Update: USL Pro Game Night; NASL honor; Timbers attendance

Harrisburg City Islanders 1:1 Richmond Kickers - Just days after posting their miraculous last-minute rally against the New England Revolution, the City Islanders came from behind yet again. A long ball from Jason Pelletier found Garret Pettis, who scored within second of entering the match. Richmond took the lead in the second half when a Stanley Nyazamba cross was headed in by rookie Shane Johnson. - MORE

NASL News: Four goals and an assist in leading FC Edmonton to a 2-1-1 record earned Shaun Saiko the league's Player of the Month honor.

PDL News: Two days after the MLS side was stunned by USASA's Cal FC, 1-0 in overtime, in the Third Round of the US Open Cup in front of 5,489, the club's PDL side dwarfed that attendance number with a record turnout for the PDL team's Health and Fitness School Day match with 8,174 as they defeated Cascadia rival Vancouver, 2-1.

LD Update: USL Pro Game Night; PDL US U20 call-up

Charleston Battery 3:1 Pittsburgh Riverhounds - Two nights after being eliminated from the US Open Cup, 3-0, by the Red Bulls, the Battery rebounded nicely with an emphatic road win. It took 45 minutes, though, for Nicki Paterson to break through, scoring twice in less than a minute. He buried a corner kick in the 45th and on a free kick shortly after the restart, he bent the ball over the wall and into the upper corner. At the hour mark Mike Seth was taken down for a penalty and Rich Costanzo converted. A counter nine minutes later finished by Dane Kelly wrapped the night up. - MORE

US Open Cup: The second night of the Third Round wrapped up with the Atlanta Silverbacks falling 5-1 in Seattle and Cal FC of the USASA registering a stunning 1-0 overtime victory on the road versus the Portland Timbers. The results of the two nights advanced half of the field of lower division clubs onto the Fourth Round. Two non-MLS showdowns in round four guarantees that at least two lower division sides will also move onto the Quarterfinals June 26. The PDL's Michigan Bucks are playing host to the Dayton Dutch Lions, who are winless in USL Pro. The other match sends the USL Pro Charlotte Eagles back to Texas for a third occasion, this time to face the expansion NASL side San Antonio Scorpions. US Open Cup Coverage.

PDL News: Eric Miller of the Portland Timbers U-23s was invited to the US U-20 National Team camp in Houston in anticipation of a set of exhibitions versus Uruguay and Chile... Austin Aztex striker Kekuta Manneh highlighted the Team of the Week, earning the Player of the Week honor.

LD Update: Weekly honors; Player additions

US Open Cup: On the first night of the tournament's Third Round Tuesday seven lower division clubs registered upsets over Major League Soccer opposition, including the Carolina RailHawks (NASL) and Dayton Dutch Lions (USL Pro), who both remain winless in league play. Making history as the first USL PDL team with two victories against MLS all-time were the Michigan Bucks. For full coverage, visit TheCup.us. 

NASR News: Frankie Sanfilippo of the Tampa Bay Rowdies was honored as the league's Defensive Player of the Week and FC Edmonton's Shaun Saiko was recognized as the Offensive Player of the Week.

USL Pro News: The Team of the Week was highlighted by Player of the Week Chris Agorsor of the Richmond Kickers... The Wilmington Hammerheads added New York Red Bulls forward Corey Hertzog on loan for the next month.

Women's Soccer Summit: Add CONCACAF to the list

The United States Women's National Team delivered an emphatic win in front of a sold-out crowd in Philadelphia Sunday, downing a young Chinese team 4-1. But the bigger news to come out of PPL Park were the comments by US Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati that there will be a gathering of the nation's top soccer organizations by the end of June to discuss the future of the women's game.

“We will reach out to a number of people that are involved in the game, whether it’s, as I mentioned, the USL, or MLS or individual teams from the WPS and have a broader group come in and talk about it and see what is the best model that we can get consensus around going forward,” said Gulati. “And that may not be a model that starts off like the WPS, or the WUSA, or the W-League – I don’t know what that model is, but we’ll certainly look at it. And then what we do with the national team program will partly fit in around that and partly lead that.”

LD Update: Scorpions unbeaten for six with rally

With a holiday Monday and the US Open Cup Third Round against Major League Soccer opposition Tuesday, there was only one contest on a very quiet Sunday, though the match did provide plenty of excitement.

FC Edmonton 2:2 San Antonio Scorpions - The expansion side made fantastic rally in the final half-hour to extend its unbeaten run to six games. Shaun Saiko gave the hosts a two-goal advantage lead, setting up Yashir Pinto in the 37th and scoring himself in the 54th. Josue Soto cut into the lead in the 62nd minute with a shot from 19 and Aaron Pitchkolan struck for the equalizer in the 83rd off a Hans Denissen free kick. - MORE

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

Another draw leaves Atlanta still winless in the NASL. In USL Pro, a stoppage time tally kept Dayton from getting into the win column for the first time. Meanwhile, Orlando City picked up another victory to remain unbeaten as the trend in USL has switched back to what is expected with home clubs going unbeaten for the week.

NORTH AMERICAN SOCCER LEAGUE

Fort Lauderdale Strikers 1:1 Atlanta Silverbacks - In a game littered with yellow cards, including a second to the host's Toni Stahl in the 73rd minute, the game was a deadlock through the first half. Four minutes into the second half, however, Fort Lauderdale got on the board first when Mark Anderson, who nearly earned a penalty when tripped by Silverbacks keeper Daniel Illyes late in the first half, struck the fall in off the underside of the crossbar. In the 69th minute Reinaldo Navia picked up his first goal in five games, tallying his sixth off an assist from Ciaran O'Brien. - MORE