Legacy-Crystal Palace play to a draw
Anthony Han records two goals for the Legacy
Williamsburg, VA (July 3, 2007) - In a special exhibition match between top level teams, the Virginia Legacy of the PDL and Crystal Palace Baltimore of the USL-2 matched up in Williamsburg, VA for a holiday scrimmage.
Right from the whistle, the fans were treated with an excellent display of soccer as play was sharp and solid right from the beginning. For the much of the first half, the Legacy controlled the play as they peppered shots at Crystal Palace net minder, Brian Rowland. After 15 minutes of play, the Legacy was rewarded with a goal off the foot of high school senior, Anthony Han. Erwin Diaz sent in a grass-burning cross through the Palace box which found Han who placed it in the side netting to put Virginia up one, leaving a stunned Crystal Palace side.
Still pressing the Palace back line, Legacy forward, Andrew Hoxie found Han again as Han recorded his second goal of the evening, finding the far upper corner of the goal. However, similar to the past weekend against the Ocean City Barons, the Legacy could not hold onto to their lead for long, as Crystal Palace Baltimore, needed only a few seconds to cut the lead to one. Daniel Capecci found an open net after a Zak Thompson save from a Gary Books shot from about six yards out.
Play continued at a high pace for the remainder of the half, with Han coming up big for the Legacy again and just missing out on his hat trick as he struck the cross bar from 30 yards out. With quality chances at both ends, the teams went into the locker rooms with the score 2-1 in favor of Virginia.
As the teams took the pitch for the final 45 minutes, the majority of play quickly went in the favor of Crystal Palace Baltimore, as they controlled much of the possession. Palace’s best chance came as #20 for Baltimore, Sean Rush, just skimmed the post after looking at a vacant goal. Palace continued to press but Virginia found plenty of chances of their own but never found that third goal to put the game away.
With little time on the clock, Sergio Flores found Harold Urquijo on a long, diagonal ball into the box. Legacy goalkeeper, Zak Thompson came up to smother the ball but lost his footing for a split second and gave Urquijo enough time to find the back of the net and tie the game at two.
Over the course of the 90 minutes Zak Thompson came up huge for the Legacy all game, coming up with a number of critical saves to keep the game under control. Thompson ended the game with a total of 8 saves.
With virtually no time left on the clock, the Legacy had their best and final chance of the match to take back the lead as Bobby O’Brien flicked on a ball to on-running winger, Jason McMillan who failed to finish a clear chance from 12 yards out.
After a good game played by both sides, the match ended a 2-2 tie. Crystal Palace out shot the Legacy 13-7, but both teams had plenty of quality chances. This friendly match between two quality sides proved to be a great test for both teams.
The Legacy will enjoy a week and a half off as they do not play again until the 15th of July as they match up with the Northern Virginia Royals. Crystal Palace Baltimore will not have as much time to rest as they host the Pioneers of Western Mass in Annapolis, MD.
About the Virginia Legacy Soccer Club
The Virginia Legacy Soccer Club is a 501-C3 non-profit organization based out of Williamsburg, Virginia. Legacy Soccer offers some of the top facilities in southeastern Virginia including the Williamsburg Indoor Sports Complex (WISC) and the Warhill Sports Complex. The Virginia Legacy, a USL Premier Development Team, is at the top of the Legacy Soccer tier. The club offers a variety of playing level options, cost packages, and opportunities. Legacy Soccer aims to pioneer, develop, and continuously be on the cutting edge of youth soccer in the area and country.
