Darren Spicer

2010 US Open Cup Third Round: Crew advance on stoppage time goal

July 5, 2010 by J.T. Alwin

Columbus Crew forward Steven Lenhart broke a 1-1 tie with a goal four minutes into stoppage time to send the Crew into the quarterfinals over the Rochester Rhinos of the USSF Second Division.

Columbus took control early on, and broke through first. Eddie Gaven crossed a corner into position, and Andy Iro headed the ball past Scott Vallow for a 1-0 lead. The Crew couldn’t capitalize on their dominance any further, and took the single goal into the half.

Rochester got going in the second half thanks to Darren Spicer, who subbed in for Ryan Heins at 62′. Spicer sparked the Rhinos immediately, and scored 7 minutes after coming in on a rocket from the edge off the box to tie the score at 1. The match continued evenly across the board until 84′ in, when Felix Motagalvan of the Rhinos tackled the Crew’s Emilio Renteria with his studs up, drawing a straight red card. This let Columbus take back control, and they pressed ahead hoping to avoid extra time. Four minutes of stoppage time were added, however it seemed that for all the Crew’s pressure, they were headed for extra time. That changed in an instant, as Eric Brunner’s long pass bounced off a Rhino defender and right to Lenhart, who capped the heroics with an edge-of-the-box shot that went through the right side of the net.

The Crew will host the Charleston Battery of USL-2 on Tuesday, July 6, attempting to avoid becoming the Battery’s second straight MLS victim.

SCORING:
CLB- Iro (Gaven) 30′
ROC- Spicer 69′
CLB- Lenhart 90+4′

DISCIPLINE:
ROC- Motagalvan 84′ (straight red, Serious foul)

SUBSTITUTIONS:
ROC- Spicer for Heins, 62′
CLB- O’Rourke for Ekpo, 64′
CLB- Renteria for Duka, 70′
ROC- Kissi for Franks, 91′

2008 Second Round: Battery escapes with late PK vs. Charlotte Eagles

June 24, 2008 by

On the cusp of extra time, the Charleston Battery escaped with a 2-1 win over the Charlotte Eagles, thanks to a 90th minute penalty kick by Osvaldo Alonso. In front of 1,411 at Blackbaud Stadium, Darren Spicer opened the scoring for the hosts in the 12th minute, who recovered a rebound from Charlotte goalkeeper Terry Boss after a shot by Aaron King.

Charlotte answered back in the second half, as Jorge Herrera headed home a long throw-in from Ben Johnson in the 66th minute. As extra time seemed a given, Charleston’s Randi Patterson was brought down in the box, and referee Skye Arthur Banning awarded the spot kick. Alonso stepped up and beat Boss for the winning goal.

Charleston will host the defending MLS Champion Houston Dynamo in the Third Round next Tuesday at Blackbaud Stadium.

Charlotte Lineup
Keith Wiggans, Kevin Nylen (Tim Velten 67), Marco Reda (Brandon Curran 59), Nelson Akwari, Chris Corcoran, Osvaldo Alonso, Mike Richardson (Dominic Cianciarulo 89), Stephen Armstrong, Darren Spicer, Randi Patterson, Aaron King (Lazo Alavanja 59)

Players Not Used – Dusty Hudock, Lester More, Louie Rolko

SHOTS: 4; SAVES: 6 (Wiggans 6); FOULS: 15 (Patterson 3); CORNER KICKS: 2; OFFSIDES: 3; PENALTY KICKS: Alonso 90 (Goal); CAUTIONS: Nylen 54; EJECTIONS: (NONE)

Charleston Lineup
Terry Boss, Josh Rife, Steve Shak, Ben Johnson, Brady Bryant, Joe Kabwe, Darren Toby (Worteh Sampson 89), Jorge Herrera, Jonah Long (Ben Page 89), Dustin Swinehart, Rob Ssejjemba

Players Not Used – Kevin Trapp, Chris Klotz, Dan Harvey, Chad Smith, Taurai Daka

SHOTS: 7 (Swinehart 3); SAVES: 2 (Boss 2); FOULS: 9 (Bryant 2); CORNER KICKS: 8; OFFSIDES: 4; PENALTY KICKS: (NONE); CAUTIONS: Bryant 35, Swinehart 84; EJECTIONS: (NONE)

Referee – Skye Arthur Banning
Att – 1,411

2008 First Round: Spicer’s hat trick helps Charleston shoot down USASA’s New Stars

June 10, 2008 by

Darren Spicer’s natural hat trick in the first half was all the Charleston Battery needed for a 3-0 victory over the visiting ASC New Stars.

The Houston-based USASA club nearly jumped out to the lead after 12 minutes, as Esteban Lotero found Alex Bolan with a through ball. Bolan beat Charleston goalkeeper Keith Wiggans, but the shot just missed wide right.

Five minutes later, Spicer began his scoring surge, heading home a cross from David Kenga. Spicer struck again in the 27th minute, this time receiving a pass from Aaron King, who found Spicer at the middle of the box for an easy header.

Just before halftime, Spicer completed his hat trick. Spicer recovered a loose ball after ASC tried to clear a cross by King, and the midfielder beat ASC goalkeeper Emilio Frias for the final goal. The Battery were dominate in their second all-time meeting with a USASA club. In a Second Round match in 2006, they narrowly defeated the Sonoma County Sol from California 1-0 at Blackbaud Stadium.

The Battery move on to the Second Round, where they will host the Charlotte Eagles of the USL Second Division on June 24.

Lineups

Charleston – Keith Wiggans, Louie Rolko (Randi Patterson 86), Nelson Akwari, Kevin Nylen, Chris Corcoran, Darren Spicer (Chris Williams 78), Dominic Cianciarulo, Osvaldo Alonso (Tim Velten 75), David Kenga, Aaron King, Lester More Players Not Used – Dusty Hudock, Ian Fuller, Lazo Alavanja

SHOTS: 25 (More 6); SAVES: 1 (Wiggans 1); FOULS: 6 (Alonso 3); CORNER KICKS: 5; OFFSIDES: 3; PENALTY KICKS: (NONE); CAUTIONS: Alonso 55; EJECTIONS: (NONE)

ASC New Stars – Emilio Frias, Ali Daneshman (Lucas Fuentes 64), Salvador Lopez, Dubravko Pecikozic, Reza Daneshmand, Alex Bolan (Murillo Alves 86), Esteban Lotero (Armen Allahverdia 58), Orufe Abara, Peter Kozlowski (Destiny Ohiri 79), Arzgang Salashoor, Anthony Ashiufu
Players Not Used – Arami Allahverdian, Jason Harville

SHOTS: 5 (Kozlowski 2); SAVES: 4 (Frias 4); FOULS: 6 (Ashiufu 2); CORNER KICKS: 4; OFFSIDES: 0; PENALTY KICKS: (NONE); CAUTIONS: (NONE); EJECTIONS: (NONE)

Referee: Alan Schechtman
Assistant Referees: Jeff Muschik, Carlos Arango
Attendance: 1,401
Weather: Clear, 90

2007 First Round: Thunder gets past NPSL’s El Paso Indios USA 3-2

June 12, 2007 by

The Minnesota Thunder survived a tough encounter with the NPSL’s El Paso Indios USA, managing a 3-2 win over the USASA side to advance to the Second Round.

El Paso got on the board almost immediately after the opening whistle, when Marco Vidal was left undefended inside the 18-yard box, and beat Thunder goalkeeper Nic Platter in the 5th minute. Indios kept the pros off the board for most of the first half, until Minnesota scored twice in four minutes. In the 37th minute, Jeremiah Bass scored from a Godfrey Tenoff cross, diving to head the ball past Indios goalkeeper Hernandez. The Thunder struck again in the 40th minute, Tenoff once again with the assist, this time to help Darren Spicer send a low ball past Hernandez.

Minnesota widened it’s lead twenty minutes into the second half. Leo Gibson took Kevin Friedland’s throw-in and chipped it over a surprised Hernandez. Indios would not quit, pulling a goal back in the 77th minute. Urbica Uglijesa chipped a ball towards Joel Rios, but found the feet of Minnesota’s Spicer. Spicer then indirectly hit the ball towards Rios, who beat Platter to move to within one.

The Thunder will host the California Victory in the Second Round on June 26. It will be the second game in three days between the two clubs, the other being a USL-1 contest on June 24.

Scoring Summary:
(EPI) Marco Vidal 5’ (Olivares)
(MIN) Jeremiah Bass 37’ (Godfrey Tenoff)
(MIN) Darren Spicer 40’ (Godfrey Tenoff)
(MIN) Leo Gibson 66’ (Kevin Friedland)
(EPI) Joel Rios 77’ (Uglijesa)

Minnesota Thunder: Platter; Friedland, Tenoff, Greenfield, Taylor; Spicer (Mallace 79), Toure (Farber 86), Bass, Lencho (Alvino 23); Gibson, Paye (Gotsmanov 73)

El Paso Indios USA: Hernandez; Rios, Tena, Olivares, Becerra; Uglijesa, Vidal, Carrazco (Silva 71), Salas (Salas, Sergio 56); Brooks, Leal (Desantiano 62).

Game Statistics:
Minnesota: Shots 15, Fouls 11, Offside 2, Corners 6.
El Paso: Shots 6, Fouls 10, Offside 4, Corners 3.

Goalkeeper Statistics:
Platter (Minnesota): Shots faced 6, Saves 4, Goals allowed 2.
Hernandez (El Paso) Shots faced 15, Saves 12, Goals allowed 3.

Cautions
Minnesota: Bass 43’, Friedland 45’, Spicer 65’
El Paso Indios: Becerra 25’, Juarez 89 ’

Attendance: 1,132