The Northern Virginia Royals faltered Saturday night, falling 3-1 on the road to the Carolina Dynamo at McPherson Stadium in Greensboro, North Carolina. Yu Hoshide scored in the closing minutes to deny the shutout and give Northern Virginia it’s only bright spot for the night.

 

The Royals and Dynamo have maintained a fairly heated rivalry over the last decade as demonstrated in a match that turned overly physical at times.   The Royals spent the first half containing the Carolina attack and managed a few counters into Dynamo territory. Dynamo midfielder Erfan Imani came off the bench after an injury to Daniel Roberts and scored the only goal in the first half, giving the Dynamo the lead at the 33-minute mark.

 

“We wanted to try to get them (Dynamo reserves) all in different spots,” Carolina coach Joe Brown said of his substitution plan. “For Erfan’s situation I wanted to see him behind the forwards sooner or later. Obviously the situation called for that and I thought he did a good job.”

 

Carolina upped their pressure and cashed in on some chances in the second half. Defenseman Chris Estridge came up with the ball at midfield and worked his way up the field, as the Royals kept expecting him to pass the ball. Instead, Estridge took it deep into Northern Virginia territory, before knocking home a goal at the 73-minute mark.

 

Minutes later, Imani booted his second goal of the night, off a feed from Dynamo Cody Arnoux.

 

Northern Virginia substitute Philip Gordon found a chance down the sideline in the waning moments of the match and struck a cross to teammate Hoshide. Hoshide struck true, and scored a consolation goal for the beleaguered visitors.

 

The Royals return home next Sunday, June 14th, to face the West Virginia Chaos at Hellwig Memorial Stadium in Manassas, Virginia. Match time is set for 6:00PM.