South Huntington, NY (May 17, 2010) – The Long Island Rough Riders W-League team opened their 2010 campaign with an exhilarating 3-2 victory over the New York Magic at Cy Donnelly Stadium.

This see-saw battle ended with a powerful shot through traffic, by Rough Riders defender Sue Weber.  The Magic and Rough Riders were tied 2-2 at the end of the 90th minute, before Weber netted the game winning goal in stoppage time.

“Today was a good building block for my squad,” said Rough Riders Coach Steve Cadet. “I was happy with the amount of chances created offensively; with more training together, I think we’ll finish more of these chances.”

The Magic had several opportunities and were able to score an early goal by Shermann (assisted by McDermott) in the 18th minute, taking a 1-0 lead.  The Rough Riders countered with a pair of goals in the 34th minute by Amanda Ferranti and in the 44th minute by CJ Ludemann off of a PK past the diving Magic keeper.  The teams went into the half with the Rough Riders leading 2-1.

The Rough Riders held the 2-1 advantage until New York’s forward McDermott (assist by Shermann) scored in the 62nd minute.  Tied at 2 a piece, the Rough Riders pushed forward in the second half, supplying an onslaught of shots on goal (14).  The Rough Riders ended up outshooting the Magic 22-9. 

With time running out in stoppage play, Defender Sue Weber picked up a loose ball and launched her first goal of the season to give the Rough Riders the 3-2 advantage.  This goal proved to be enough as the defense held off the Magic in the remaining seconds of the game. 

"The players showed character and determination in pulling out a last second win against our local rivals. Congratulations to the players and coaching staff," said Rough Riders General Manager Flavio Ferri.

For full game stats and box score please visit: http://w.league.uslsoccer.com.

Article by Brian Patak