Wilmington Hammerheads FC scored a stoppage time goal for the second consecutive match to earn a 2-2 draw with top-ranked Louisville City FC to stun a crowd of 7,761 fans at Slugger Field in Louisville on Saturday night
The streaking Hammerheads continued their aggressive play early and opened the scoring when Kyle Parker finished a low cross from Jeff Michaud to grab a 1-nil lead in the 17th minute.
Wilmington had a good game plan and executed the team’s understanding of when to try and press the ball. The Hammerheads’ ability to read loose passes by Louisville gave them opportunities on the counter-attack.
However, Chandler Hoffman re-found his feel for movement in the penalty area, and was rewarded with a pair of beautiful crosses by Mark-Anthony Kaye and Kyle Smith to give Louisville its opening two goals. His equalizer in the 42nd minute leveled the match before giving the home side a 2-1 edge just three minutes into the second half.
With Louisville (8-1-4, 28pts) searching for the result, Wilmington refused to go down quietly and used its short passing and movement to try and find avenues through Louisville’s defense. Their aggressive play led to a scramble in the penalty area in the waning minutes of the contest and Peabo Doue found himself in the right place at the right time to earn his side a point.
Hoffman earned Man of the Match for notching his ninth and 10th goals of the season to move into a tie with Vancouver’s Kyle Greig for second in the United Soccer League.
With 28 points, Louisville remains atop the USL Eastern Conference Table. Wilmington evened their regular season mark to 4-4-4 overall.
The Hammerheads continue a busy stretch with a fourth round U.S. Open Cup contest in Utah against Major League Soccer side Real Salt Lake on June 14. They return to Legion Stadium for a date against USL opponent Bethlehem Steel FC on Friday, June 17.
Scoring:
17’ – WIL – Kyle Parker (Jeff Michaud)
42’ – LOU – Chandler Hoffman (Mark-Anthony Kaye)
48’ – LOU – Chandler Hoffman (Kyle Smith)
90+ — WIL – Peabo Doue
