Ocean City Barons - Ocean City Barons: Pro Barons

Maher helps Carolina advance to semifinals

Barons in the pros: Open Cup edition

It’s been a busy week for the Barons in the Pros. Three teams featuring former Barons competed in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals. Out of those clubs, one of them moved on the semifinals. In league play, the Harrisburg City Islanders are fighting for home field advantage in the USL Second Division playoffs. Meanwhile, in the First Division, the Vancouver Whitecaps continue to fall down the table with Miami FC, the Charleston Battery and the Carolina RailHawks trying to fight their way into the postseason.

Matt Maher (Temple Univ. / Cape May, NJ) is this week’s headliner, having one of the best weeks that a young player can have. Last Friday, he made his first professional start in a game featured live on Fox Soccer Channel. To make things even more special, he played well and helped the RailHawks earn a 2-0 shutout over the California Victory. The pressure was on for that match, not only because it was on national TV, but because the club had made a guarantee to their fans that they would win. The victory snapped an eight-game winless streak for Carolina, who moved within range of the last playoff spot.

What would he do for an encore? Head coach Scott Schweitzer put him in the starting eleven in Tuesday’s Open Cup match against the defending Second Division champion Richmond Kickers. Once again, Maher’s solid play helped the Carolina defense earn another shutout, with a 1-0 win over the Kickers. The RailHawks, in their first season as a franchise, will play the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer in the semifinals of the nation’s oldest cup competition on September 4.

Tony Donatelli (Temple Univ. / Glenside, PA) played another full game last Thursday, but his Vancouver Whitecaps weren’t able to break their winless streak after a 1-1 draw against the Puerto Rico Islanders. They will look to break their nine-game winless streak this Saturday at Portland. After that, they close out the season with six straight games at home.

Michael Todd (Hofstra / Cleveland, England) is in Thailand representing Great Britain (along with current Baron and Hofstra University player Rob Youhill) in the World University Games, so he hasn’t been with the Charleston Battery. Since he’s been gone, the Battery lost 2-1 to the Atlanta Silverbacks in league play, and were knocked out of the quarterfinals of the Open Cup by the same scoreline at the hands of MLS’ FC Dallas.

Miami FC with Pat Hannigan (Temple U / Philadelphia, PA) and Chris Williams (Phila Univ. / Philadelphia, PA) had the week off. With only six games remaining, they play two crucial games this weekend. Friday they travel to Montreal to take on the Impact, and on Sunday they will host the Atlanta Silverbacks at Tropical Park Stadium.

The Harrisburg City Islanders, who are preparing for the USL Second Division playoffs, were also eliminated from the Open Cup quarterfinals by an MLS team. The New England Revolution dominated the majority of the match, with two first half goals, but Matt Tanzini scored a brilliant free kick late in the game to cut the lead in half, but the push for an equalizer fell short. Matt Nelson (Lynn Univ. / Tampa, FL) and Brian Devlin (Penn State Univ. / Philadelphia, PA) both started and played the full 90.

In league play, the City Islanders lost 1-0 at Cleveland last Friday. Devlin played the whole game and received a yellow card, while Nelson made two saves. They will wrap up their regular season schedule with a crucial home game against Crystal Palace Baltimore on Saturday. They need a win in order to have a chance at home field advantage in the playoffs.

Adam Williamson (Lehigh Univ. / Ocean City, NJ) and the Wilmington Hammerheads won’t be joining the City Islanders in the postseason. They suffered a 3-0 loss to Crystal Palace last Sunday. Williamson came off the bench late in the game, as the Hammerheads fell to 7th place. They wrap up their season on Sunday when they will host the Bermuda Hogges.