One Last Road Trip for the Barons

In their final road match of the 2007 regular season, the Barons face a very different Reading Rage from the team that visited Ocean City back in May. The Rage are in a purple patch, unbeaten in their last five matches with a record of 3-0-2.

The Barons will travel to Reading, where the Rage are yet to lose (3-0-1) this season for a Thursday night match, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

During their unbeaten streak, Reading has scored 12 goals while conceding six with all three wins coming by a 3-1 scoreline. In their last match, they scored a goal against first place Hampton Roads, something that hadn’t happened in any of the Piranhas’ first ten games this year. Reading managed a 1-1 draw in that match, and after holding the division leaders to a scoreless draw back on May 20 (which kept the Piranhas out of the Open Cup) they are currently the only team to avoid a loss to Hampton Roads. The Rage are 4-3-4 (16 points) which is good for fifth place in the Mid-Atlantic Division, six points behind the Barons, who are tied for the second and final playoff spot with the Virginia Legacy.

Ocean City enters Thursday’s game on an unbeaten streak of their own. They are 1-0-2 in their last three matches, with the last two finishing in a tie. Saturday at Richmond, they fell behind 2-0 early in the match, but battled back to finish 3-3 thanks to a pair of goals by Byron Carmichael and a game-tying penalty kick in the 76th minute by Jeremy Ortiz. The very next day, the Barons fell behind 2-0 to the Legacy, but once again battled back to tie the game up. Carmichael scored his third goal in two days and Adam Sternberger scored the equalizer.

Carmichael has been the club's top scorer this year. He’s registered six goals in seven games, in addition to a goal in their first round Open Cup match against Crystal Palace Baltimore. His Barons’ career total stands at 32, four shy of the club record of 36 set by Ruben Mingo.

The Hampton Roads Piranhas recorded their 11th shutout in a 3-0 win over the Fredericksburg Gunners on Sunday. That victory combined with the Barons’ two draws, extends the Piranhas lead to 10 points at the top of the table with Ocean City and Virginia tied in second place with 22 points. After Thursday’s match, the Barons will still have a game in hand over the Legacy.

The Barons return to Ocean City on Sunday, July 8 to face the Northern Virginia Royals at 7:30 p.m. It will be the first of four straight home games to close out the regular season. Tickets are available at the main gate at Carey Stadium, $6 for adults, $4 for kids. For more information about the Ocean City Barons, visit the official website at www.ocbarons.com.

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Author: Press Release--Ocean City Barons