To The Army,
Well, here we are. It's July of 2009, and we're in a similar situation as we
were last year.....a few wins out from the playoffs. Our advantage this year is
pretty clear: we have 5 home games in a row to finish the season.It seems like years since we've played at CV, but we're just 1 game away from
the return.Thinking back on last season, there was a moment that catapulted us toward
the playoff run - Harrisburg. Of my moments as a pro, I will never forget the
run to the corner, celebrating Justin's goal. I will also never forget the toast
at Molly Brannigans that night. That night made the Riverhounds organization an
organization. Until then, we were just efforts and hope glued together by
financing.I know as a supporter, the past year and a half have been tough. As a player,
they have been tough. As an owner, they have been tough. As a player/owner who
loves the Army, they have been very tough.Each day I show up to work, I am faced with a variety of challenges from
financial constraints to planning on how to get out of a high school stadium to
how to properly evolve our youth academy to how to finish all the work in time
to get to practice. Scott Gibson, Justin Evans, and I show up at 8am to start
our work day, then train our youth players each and every day for an average of
4.5 hours, then get back to work, and then leave for our own training. During
that time, I sort out two separate companies, trying to elevate both to new
levels. We shed the tired skin every afternoon in order to perform at training.
As professionals, it is expected that we will perform, no matter what we did
during the rest of the day. And we do so.We have others working full time jobs, like Nate Salsi and Cody Bragg, who
turn on the jets in the evenings to do the same. We do so as the nucleus of the
team. We do so because we love what the team represents. We do so because of the
Army.My work will transform over the next few months, as we embark on a mission to
make a significant impact on soccer in western pennsylvania. The love and
respect for all that the Army provides is in that project. There is a brighter
future in that project - hopefully we can all enjoy it together.But for now, here we are again. It's July 2009 and we're in a similar
situation as we were last year....a few wins out from the playoffs. If there are
7 of you in Harrisburg or 70, you are the Steel Army and we play for you. You
each work and support families and make sacrifices in order to turn on the jets
when supporting us. If we are to move forward into a brighter future, we need
each other. It has to start back up again, in Harrisburg. It is not EPL, it's not
La Liga, it's not MLS, its your team.Let's get points and pints from here on out!
Thanks for all that you do and will do.
Kutney
Tomorrow we'll be in Harrisburg for what is shaping up as a pivotal game as the Hounds prepare for their season-ending home stand. Things have been bit depressing lately with the lack of on-field results and very little off-field news. I mentioned this to Jason Kutney in an email and got the following from him in return...
On the orders of General Jason Kutney, the Steel Army's 1st Battalion will be deployed to the northern front this Friday evening to reinforce the Riverhounds. We encourage any and all independent militia to join the fight in Edinboro as we take on the Richmond Kickers. A briefing has been scheduled for 10:00 down at Piper's Pub with the convoy leaving at 12:00 sharp. Forces will mass in the stadium parking lot before commencing Operation: Hydrate, where we'll be clearing out establishments that provide alcoholic beverages.
The main battle is pegged to begin at 20:05.
The Riverhounds shut down and shutout Western Ass this past Saturday night on the road. The Hounds now have six road points this season coming off one win and three draws. This is a vast improvement over last season's campaign where we struggled away from home. After this weekend's match up in Edinboro, the Riverhounds head to Bermuda for the double and then travel to Maryland and Harrisburg before hosting the last five contests of 2009 at the Valley. Success on the road will help the squad qualify for postseason play.
Match report courtesy of Jason Kutney:
Match report courtesy of Jason Kutney:
We came out strong from the get-go and absolutely took it
to Western Mass from the start. The rain increased as the game went along, but we clearly controlled the possession and attempts at goal. In the first half, we had some nice chances created from the wings (Tommy Gray and myself) and Tony, Justin, and Niko stepped up to join in. Randolphe Jerome played well.
Tommy, Jerome, and I were fouled quite often. All in all, the ref did a good job of keeping the play alive and only calling the definite fouls. The second half saw harder rain and the wet field helped Western Mass a bit, as some of the passes that could've led to opportunities for us were just a bit too fast or skipped over a foot. Sean Cameron stepped on as a sub in the second half, with about 15 mins to go and nearly scored to take the lead.
He made a streaking run and took the ball perfectly from a Tommy
Gray pass and nearly converted, but the keeper came up big. All in all, the weather conditions didn't help, but we should've come away with a win. We played very well, moving the ball much better than last week, but certainly having an opportunity to rest up helped! The lineup for the start of the game was consistent from our recent matches, but T-Bone was not fit to play so Cody Bragg replaced him in the middle next to Salsi and played well.
Super....Super Eddie
Super....Super Eddie
Super....Super Eddie
Super Eddie Hayden!
From the looks of it, we'll never know...
It's no secret that the Hounds have two very explosive forwards in Randolph Jerome and Sean Bucknor. Jerome has been featured a ton so far this season, leading the team with three goals. Bucknor on the other hand has only had one start, on the road in Harrisburg while Jerome recovered from a set of bruised ribs. Will we ever see these two paired up, and if not, why? Down by two goals to Richmond last night, Jerome was subbed for Bucknor in the 78th minute. Sean went on to record a few shots and created some great scoring chances down the stretch. Why couldn't we have pulled a fullback off and kept Jerome in the game? I cannot see any backline in the USL2 being able to stop these two monsters at the same time. Also, the 4-5-1 formation is stifling, but it's also taxing on the lone forward and wingers. These guys had started their third game in six days. Richmond had played on Saturday night in Maryland. We should have utilized our depth and been the more energized team throughout the contest. Make no mistake about it, we dropped three very important points at home which could have vaulted us into 4th place. Instead, we're sitting in 8th wondering if this is the beginning of the end.
We want Bucknor to get a chance alongside of Jerome up top. Please gaffer, UNLEASH THE HOUNDS!!!
