Long Island Rough Riders to Host USL Quarterfinal Matches on July 21

The Long Island Rough Riders will play their most important home game in years as they host the USL League Two Eastern Conference quarterfinals at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale, N.Y. on Friday, July 21. In the first game of the doubleheader, the Seacoast United Phantoms will face the Hudson Valley Hammers at 4 p.m. The second game, starting at 7 p.m., will see the Rough Riders take on the Ocean City Nor'Easters. The winners of each match will compete in the conference semifinals on Sunday, July 23 at 2 p.m. The team that comes out on top of this weekend's series will reach the Eastern Conference finals the weekend of July 28-30.

"It's exciting from our point of view," said Rough Riders General Manager Tanner Sands." Our goal is always to bring a platform of high-quality soccer to Long Island. Not only are we giving our team a place to highlight the success they've achieved during the season, but we're doing it on a bigger scale by bringing in three games."

Coming off successful regular seasons, all four teams represent the best that college and amateur soccer has to offer on the East Coast. Seacoast (11-2-1) finished atop the Northeast Division, Hudson Valley (10-3-1) was runner-up behind Metropolitan Division champion Long Island (12-1-1) and Ocean City (8-1-5) captured the Mid Atlantic Division crown.

"They are some of the best franchises at this level from the competitive standpoint," Sands said. "It might not be the best draw, but in terms of what we're doing in creating a platform on Long Island, I don't think there's much more you can ask for.”

The Rough Riders played all their playoff games on the road last year, reaching the League Two final against the Ventura County Fusion.

“[The Rough Riders] deserve this,” Sands added. “It's been years in the making. Hopefully, this is a platform that Long Island soccer fans can get behind."

"It's a nice reward for the hard work that they've put in," said Rough Riders head coach Tom Bowen. "We've had three really successful years on the bounce since I've been the head coach, and we haven't had the opportunity to play a playoff game in front of our crowd. To get that chance on Friday, it's awesome. People can come out to the game and see some high-level soccer. Hopefully, we can do the business and progress to Sunday."

The Rough Riders are quite familiar with the Nor'Easters, whom they have played several times in the postseason over the years, and they defeated Ocean City on the road in the 2022 conference quarterfinals, 3-1. The team is coming off a 3-1 victory over NJ Copa FC in its regular-season finale on Sunday, but Bowen realized that game was in the past because there are no gimmes in the playoffs.

"In terms of a first-round playoff picture, it's as tough as it gets," Bowen said. "We felt they were probably the best team we played all season, including all our playoff games, and that was in the very first round. The fact that we've got to do it again just speaks volumes to how strong this region is…For us to advance, we've got to beat the best.”

To purchase tickets for Friday's doubleheader, visit https://liroughriders.com/tickets/. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for youth.

About the Long Island Rough Riders

Since their inception in 1994, the Rough Riders soccer franchise has stood as a pillar of the Long Island soccer community. With a comprehensive player development pathway, the Rough Riders continue to provide male and female soccer players the ability to fulfill their aspirations in the beautiful game. Each year over 10,000+ Long Islanders benefit and enjoy Rough Riders community instructional programs creating a pipeline of success while kickstarting the professional careers of top players, coaches, and front office executives.

About USL League 2

USL League Two is the leader in pre-professional soccer in North America continuing to provide top pre-professional players the opportunity to train and compete at the highest level. The League holds a vital role as it continues to provide the elite platform for those pursuing professional careers domestically and internationally. More than the leading national pre-professional league, League Two is the defined and proven pathway for players to progress to the ranks of professional soccer, while its clubs become fixtures in the communities where they operate.