LD Update: Antigua wins; Weekend previews; International signings

Antigua Barracudas 3:2 Charlotte Eagles - After two weeks off, the island club showed no rust. They immediately took the advantage through Peter Byers in the 12th minute. Jorge Herrera tied the contest up eight minutes before the break, but Stefan Smith scored two in five minutes to give them a commanding 3-1 lead on the hour mark. A tally from Luke Williams, though, made the finish a close contest.

NASL Previews: Saturday night features three matches with teams looking to end winless streaks. First, there is the first-ever meeting between San Antonio Scorpions, who come to North Carolina still searching for their first-ever victory after finally ending their scoreless status last week at home.  And though the Carolina RailHawks have the second best goal total in the league, all they have to show for it are three draws and a loss... The Atlanta Silverbacks are at home looking to end two frustrating streaks with the Minnesota Stars visiting. They have draws in all three games this season, and last year went without a point against Minnesota. The fell, 1-2, at home in the first meeting and were blanked the rest of the way, falling 3-0 and then 2-0 twice... The other host, Tampa Bay Rowdies, are in the complete opposition situation having posted an unbeaten record against rival Fort Lauderdale last year. They finished level, 1-1, at Fort Lauderdale in the opening game of the series and then beat the Strikers in the next three with a 4-2 home win and then a pair of 2-0 shutouts. 

USL Pro Previews: Friday night's lone contest is a meeting of old foes with a unique history as the Charleston Battery play host to the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. The Battery went winless against the Riverhounds last year with a pair of scoreless draws and two losses. It was unusual for Charleston, which had not lost a regular season game against Pittsburgh since their first-ever meeting in 1999, a stretch of nine games (5-0-4). The only other odd note is that Pittsburgh had won the only playoff series between the two with a two-game sweep in a 2001 season in which they did not face one another.

LD Update: Match Previews; Signings; Charity

The NASL heads into the third weekend of action looking for more offense. In 10 games thus far, there have only been three occurrences of a team scoring more than one goal in a game, and only two contests that have had at least two goals. Four have finished scoreless and another three were 1-0 decisions. Only four games have had a winner, and the Puerto Rico Islanders account for two of them.

USL Pro has been almost the exact opposite with only one match of nine finishing in a draw. There have been six shutouts, including one scoreless stalemate. Six of the eight match-winners scored at least two goals in the contest. The third weekend will finally see its last remaining season opener as Harrisburg City takes to the field.