By Phil Murphy
Senior Multimedia/Content Editor
Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area
Click the links above for all photos and videos from the PDL game! All videos posted at 9 p.m.!
In its second home game of the season, Northern Virginia had Hampton Roads on the ropes early, but quickly felt the bite of the Piranhas on a fluke of a goal.
The Royals and Piranhas drew, 1-1, in the USL Premiere Developmental League match held at Fairfax High School on Saturday.
Still, Royal coach Tom Torres hopes the point at home against a quality side will spur his team, which stands at 0-2-2 through four games.
“It’s a tough one because they didn’t have a lot of subs and we thought we could try and get behind them a little bit,” said Torres, also the current coach at Westfield. “Fortunately, we got a point out of it. Obviously, we would have rather gotten the win.
“We thought being the home team and having a decent crowd here, we were hoping to have a little bit better of a result. But that’s soccer, that’s why it’s cruel.”
But seven minutes in, a Northern Virginia counterattack gave it an earlier advantage on a goal by outside midfielder Ernie Marquez, a graduate from Woodbridge.
Striker — and Westfield alumnus — A.J. Sheta dribbled deep into the right channel before crossing to the top of the 18-yard box. Central midfielder Eber Martinez — a former Gar-Field standout — dummied the ball to central mid Yu Hoshide (YKK AP, Japan), who rattled the far post with a first-time shot.
Marquez was ready for the rebound, though, 13 yards out for the open-goal finish.
It was in the 17th minute, though, that Hampton Roads equalized on an uncontested header by Robert Foglesong (Old Dominion) after a long throw-in by Edward Floyd (Central Connecticut State).
“When you lose the ball in the middle of the field, it’s tough to recover when the other team countering,” Torres said. “With the low numbers, they played low pressure and the expected to get behind us on the counter.
“A low throw, a missed mark and a free header from six to eight yards, it’s unfortunate … We probably could have been more organized and more disciplined with our marking, but it is what it is.”
While disappointed over the tie with the Piranhas (1-1-1), Torres hopes the point against the team that won the league two of the last three years will help the confidence of his side.
The Royals feature defender Mike Green, who played at the University of Virginia and with the Kansas City Wizards of the MLS; Mo Hughes, who played the University of Alabama-Birmingham and with the Atlanta Silverbacks of the USL; and a number of other local stars.
The 16-game season lasts through mid-July, which includes six more home games, highlights NCAA, professional and semipro talent, much of which was bred in Washington, D.C. area high schools.
“It’s local, right in the heart of Fairfax and we also have a Hellwig location for our Prince William players,” said Torres, in his first season coaching Northern Virginia. “We just want to get as many people out here as we can. We had some drums here today, but it’d be nice to get a few more people out. I think it’s a good opportunity to see a decent level of play.
“We’ve got about 15 guys in our pool that played locally in high school, in Maryland, D.C. and Northern Virginia. It’s a great opportunity to see what some of those guys are doing if you can’t get to their colleges far away. But we’ve also got a lot of local college guys and a lot of local coaches that continue to play, as well.”
Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.com
*Northern Virginia Royals website
*PDL.USLSoccer.com
Hampton Roads (1-1-1) 1 0 — 1
Northern Virginia (0-2-2) 1 0 — 1
Goals:
NV — Marquez (7)
HR — R. Foglesong (17)
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