By KEITH TOLBERT Special to the News & Record

GREENSBORO — The Greensboro Dynamo had a slow start this season, but if the final eight games are any indication, next season should be as exciting as ever.

The Dynamo ended its the season with a 2-1 win over Bermuda, to finish 7-5-4. That wasn’t good enough to make the playoffs, but it gives reason for optimism for next season.

Pictures by AltaSky

“If we don’t let a goal in at Ocean City last Friday, we would have been unbeaten in our last eight games” said Dynamo coach Joe Brown. “If we could have won a couple of those ties, we would have been in the playoffs. We are a very young team and lot of these players will be back next season and they got some really good experience this season.”

Brown pointed to the fact that they played from behind in most of those ties and had to scramble to make it back. On Saturday   night, the Dynamo scored first and controlled the action most of the night.”

“That first goal is always the most important,” Brown said. “We got that tonight and you saw what a difference that made. I thought we could have done better in the first half in putting the game away, but we deserved to win.”

After a 1-1 tie at halftime, the Dynamo took the lead in the 74th minute. Greensboro’s Matt Rose converted a free kick into a score when he curved the ball over the defenders and into the upper left corner. The goalie was so fooled by the kick he didn’t attempt to make the save.

“He thought the right-footed player was going to take the kick,” said Rose, who will be a redshirt freshman at North Carolina in the fall. “I saw how the ball was lined up and knew I was going for the post. I kept telling the other guys ‘I can get this. I can get this.’ I think it nicked one their players and that put even more spin on it.”

The Dynamo played the Hogges for the first time this season. Bermuda formerly had a professional team, but is now mostly made up of players from the country’s national team. Some of the players will represent Bermuda in the next Olympics and possibly the FIFA World Cup qualifying round. The team is funded by the Bermudan Soccer Federation.

“He’s (Rose) is a young player,” Brown said. “For him to get the winning goal against an essentially international team is great for him and something he can point to in his career.”

There were few scoring chances for the Hogges the rest of the game and that was partially due to the aggressiveness of the Dynamo offense.

“I thought we possessed the ball well in the first half, but we couldn’t get around them,” Brown said. “We did a much better job of getting behind them in the second half.”

Both teams had some opportunities early, with Dynamo goalie Brock Duckworth making a diving stop on a Bermuda shot in the 5th minute. But it was the Dynamo which scored first.

A long pass was settled by Tanner Wolfe and he sent a pass ahead to Luciano Delbono. Delbono split two defenders and beat the goalie with a bullet into the lower left corner for a 1-0 lead. But the Hogges scored the tying goal just before halftime. With several players surrounding him, Shane Hollis made a spin move about 10 yards from the mouth of the goal, and scooted a shot just past a diving Duckworth in the 44th minute.

“We haven’t been able to be consistent in our back four due to injuries,” Brown said. “When you don’t have those same four on the field at the same time there are sometimes miscommunications.”

Goals: Bermuda — Shane Hollis (44th); Carolina — Luciano Delbono, Matt Rose (74th). Assists: Bermuda — Rakeem Deshields; Carolina — Tanner Wolfe. Shots: Bermuda 8; Carolina 12. Saves: Bermuda 0; Carolina (Brock Duckworth) 1. Corner kicks: Bermuda 1; Carolina 5.

Records: Bermuda 4-10-1; Carolina 7-5-4.

SEASON SCHEDULE

May 15 Central Jersey T, 1-1

May 22 Reading L, 4-0

May 19 at Northern Va. W, 6-1

May 30 at Hampton Roads W, 4-1

June 5 at Reading L, 4-1

June 6 at Ironbound (N.J.) W, 4-2

June 12 Hampton Roads L, 2-1

June 19 Ocean City T, 2-2

June 25 Northern Va.-a L, 2-1

June 26 West Virginia-a W, 2-1

July 8 at West Virginia T, 1-1

July 10 New Jersey W, 1-0

July 14 at Hampton Roads T, 0-0

July 17 at Ocean City (N.J.) L, 2-1

July 18 at Central Jersey W, 3-0

July 24 Bermuda W, 2-1

Bermuda Hogges 1-0-1

Carolina Dynamo 1-1-2

Former Dynamo Star, Bermudian International and current New England Revolution forward/midfielder Khano Smith will make a special guest appearance at the Dynamo season Finale against the Bermuda Hogges. Khano started his pro career with the Dynamo back in 2003, leading the Dynamo to a regular season National Championship. In the 12 games Khano appeared in for the Dynamo he recorded four goals including a game winner against arch rival Wilmington. Khano will be on hand Saturday night to sign autographs and take in this historic match the first ever between the Carolina Dynamo & Bermuda Hogges. The Bermuda Football Association is providing the Dynamo with a Khano Smith National Team jersey that will go to one lucky fan in attendance Saturday Night.

The Bermuda Hogges & NE Revolution have also been kind enough to donate Khano Smith Jersey as well that will be raffled off on Saturday Night. Kick-off is 7:30PM at Macpherson Stadium at the Bryan Park Soccer Complex. Tickets start at just $5 for kids 18 and under and $7 for adults. For more information call the Dynamo at 336-316-1266 or visit www.carolinadynamo.com

This past weekend the Dynamo was at BB&T Park (Home of Twin City Soccer) for back to back matches on Friday and Saturday nights. On Friday the Northern Virginia Royals got the scoring started early in the 2nd minute.

The Dynamo came right back tying the game in the 8th minute of a goal by Karo Okiomah, his fifth of the season. Tanner Wolfe (Stetson Alum) recorded the assist. Northern Virginia netted the eventual game winning goal in the 32 minute.

This past Saturday, the West Virginia Chaos came to town to face the Dynamo. The Dynamo took the lead in the 38th minute off a goal by Tanner Wolfe assisted by Karo Okiomah. West Virginia tied the match in the 77th minute. Tanner Wolfe scored his second goal, the game winner just three minutes later in the 80th minute to give the Dynamo the win. Brian Harrison recorded the assist.

The Dynamo is currently 4-4-2 and has some time off not playing again until Thursday, July 8th at West Virginia.

Make sure we post very visibly the next home game on July 10th

Thanks

On Saturday, June 19th the Carolina Dynamo played their first ever match at High Point University. The Dynamo went down two goals before making a comeback to earn a 2-2 tie. Chris Estridge (Wake Forest) scored his third goal of the season off an assist from Scott Rojo (High Point) in the 58th minute Just two minutes later Rojo, drew a penalty, fellow High Point University teammate Karo Okiomah stepped up and converted the kick to bring the match level. . Rojo is ranked third in the League with six assists, and earned PDL Team of the Week honorable mention for his efforts.

Dynamo midfielder Stephen McCarthy (UNC Chapel Hill) was name to the PDL team of the week for his performance in a 1-1 tie with Central Jersey this past Saturday in the Carolina Dynamo season opener. Stephen netted the first goal of the 2010 Dynamo season in the 8th minute off an assist from Micheal Balogun (Akron). For a complete list of the PDL Team of the week please click on the link below.

Stephen

http://pdl.uslsoccer.com/home/431191.html

GREENSBORO – Carolina Dynamo goalkeeper Brock Duckworth described the play as just unlucky.

But for the next several days, the game-tying goal that Central Jersey’s Jerry Saintil headed in off a corner kick in the 83rd minute of a 1-1 tie Saturday night at Bryan Parks Macpherson Stadium may leave the Dynamo questioning whether its defense is ready to carry it the way it did last season.

There were moments when it looked capable, holding the Spartans (0-0-1) to only four shots on goal in the first half and yielding few real threats. But then there was the header in the game’s final minutes, when a set play soured what would have been a solid season-opening victory.

“We have the players that can get it done,” said Carolina coach Joe Brown. “I think as a team we didn’t play well as a whole. We just have to be smarter.”

Brown didn’t expect his team to be as reliant on defense as it was last season, when one-goal victories were common during a successful 10-5-2 year. With this year’s squad bringing more of an attacking personality to the offense, more breathing room was anticipated as the Dynamo (0-0-1) prepared for Saturday’s opener.

But after Stephen McCarthy displayed the explosive potential of the Dynamo’s attack with a goal in the eighth minute, when he took a long through pass and slipped behind the Spartans defense before sticking a shot in the right corner for an early 1-0 lead, it was Carolina’s defense that was left to make the advantage stick.

And there was little reason to believe it couldn’t.

First there is Duckworth, who anchored last season’s defense with a 1.0 goals against average and is coming off a junior season at UNC-Wilmington in which his .886 save percentage ranked second in the nation. In front of him is Seahawks teammate Indy Smith, a third-team All-American who helped Duckworth lead UNCW to a Colonial Athletic Association championship.

With those two leading, the Dynamo made their one-goal lead stick for most of the night despite defending eight shots on goal in the second half.

“We were solid in the back,” Duckworth said. “We didn’t give up too many chances. It’s just a set piece late in the game. Just unlucky.”

But that unlucky break showed Brown that his team isn’t yet ready to rely on its defense the way it could last year. Perhaps that will come and the expected addition of defender Mark Linnville from Princeton next week could provide more stability in back, Brown said.

But for the next several days, a defense that was the cornerstone of success last year will be looked upon as a work in progress.

“This team will get stronger as the season goes on,” Brown said. “But these guys here have to learn more about each other. It’s going to take time for us to develop, no question.”

The Carolina Dynamo along with Greensboro Youth Soccer & Guilford United Futbol Club have announced the 1st two Recreation Soccer Nights for the 2010 season, sponsored by A Cleaner World. A Cleaner World as sponsor of all Rec nights again in 2010 have purchased tickets for all of the various Rec programs throughout the Triad. Rec players from both organizations will be recognized on field at half-time and receive their award for participating on their respective club night. Additional Nights to come.

Today the Carolina Dynamo in conjunction with SoccerOp released their 2010 Summer Soccer Camp dates and locations.  As always Dynamo players will be on site and serve as camp counselors along with members of the SoccerOp staff.  All participants receive a free t-shirt and Carolina Dynamo game ticket.  Any players signing up prior to April 30th receive a free soccer ball.  Please note spots are limited so sign up today.

http://www.soccerop.com/camps.aspx

For more information including dates, locations and prices please click on the above picture, or call (336) 375-7728.C

Greensboro, NC: Today the Carolina Dynamo announced their 2010 schedule.  The Dynamo schedule features (7) Saturday home dates, and (1) Friday.  The 2010 season will see the Dynamo again play two matches in Winston Salem at BB&T Park, and another match at High Point University.  All other home games will be played at Macpherson Stadium at the Bryan Park Soccer Complex.  The Dynamo will again compete in the Eastern Conference’s Mid-Atlantic Division along with the following teams: Bermuda Hogges, Central Jersey, Hampton Roads, Ironbound, New Jersey, Northern Virginia, Ocean City, Reading, and West Virginia.  The top two teams will move onto the play-offs.

Click here to see the Full 2010 Schedule

Dynamo Sign 1st (5) Players for 2010 Season

The Carolina Dynamo recently signed the first five players for the 2010 season pending League approval. All five players are from UNC Chapel Hill, including returning player Eddie Ababio. Joining Ababio from the Tar Heels are newcomers, Jalil Anibaba, Cameron Brown, Stephen McCarthy, and Dustin McCarty. To see their complete bios please click on the link below:

http://www.battlegroundnc.com/2010_dynamo.html

The Philadelphia Union arrived in Greensboro this afternoon. AltaSky.com was at their 1st practice session to bring you some great shots.