Long Island Rough Riders Press Release - www.liroughriders.com

Thursday, July 16

SOUTH HUNTINGTON, NY – The Long Island Rough Riders settled for a scoreless draw with the Westchester Flames in front of an excited crowd of 549 fans at Cy Donnelly Stadium on Wednesday night. Goalkeeper Hasely Thorne preserved the shutout with two key saves in the first half.

With an opportunity to tie the undefeated Ottawa Fury atop the Northeast Division with a victory, the Rough Riders (11-2-2, 35 pts.) relentlessly pressured the Flames all night long with Westchester (3-8-4, 13 pts.) goalkeeper Dario Cabanas facing 16 shots. Michael Todd had the Rough Riders best chance midway through the first half after receiving a ball atop the goal box with room to move, but his shot was deflected away off the back of a Flames defender.

In the 69th minute, Rough Riders head coach Dan Fisher replaced defender Chris Aloisi with Mike Adamcewicz, giving the team a much more offensive look. The final 20 minutes of the match saw Long Island pester the Westchester defensive third, but fail to cash in on their two best opportunities.

First, Mike Palacio’s header off a Danny Kramer corner kick in the 83rd minute was flicked just wide of the Flames goal. Four minutes later, with time running out, Palacio had a golden chance inside the penalty box but his lunging attempt slipped out of bounds, inches from the goal post.

On Sunday, the Rough Riders will finish the regular season with a visit to New Hampshire to take on the Phantoms. A Long Island victory coupled with an Ottawa loss at home to Brooklyn on Sunday would clinch a division championship for the Rough Riders. However the results end up, the Rough Riders will be hosting a first round match some time next week Cy Donnelly Stadium at St. Anthony’s High School in South Huntington. The date and an opponent are still to be determined and fans are encouraged to keep checking www.liroughriders.com for the latest information on how to purchase tickets.