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New York Red Bulls II travel to North Carolina to take on the Wilmington Hammerheads.
The Hammerheads have a really cool logo are are connected to NYRB II via New York Red Bulls II. Why does this matter?
New York City FC is the affiliate club of the Wilmington Hammerheads. NYCFC is apparently a rival to the New York Red Bulls because both teams have New York in them and if you've played another team within the last ten years then you're rivals in the eyes of MLS.
These two franchises also have a natural geographic boundary separating them: the Delaware River (and a couple hundred miles of I-95).
Since these are the two USL affiliates in this esteemed rivalry, I dub this match the "Delaware River, and a whole lot of interstate Showdown."
To prepare for the showdown here is the rundown on the two teams.
Wilmington (1-4-6) is in 11th in the Eastern Conference winning only one of their 11 matches this season. NYRB (3-4-5) II sits pretty in 8th place, one point out of the playoff picture. The Hammerheads only win this year came against NYRB II, a 3-0 victory in April.
Former New York Red Bulls Nick Zimmerman leads the Hammerheads with 3 goals.
The Hammerheads were formed in 1996, the same year as the New York Red Bulls. Okay, this is getting eerie. (Editor note: Not really.)
Two players on the Hammerheads, Christian Mougang Bassogog and Brian Anunga Tah, were signed in April, from the same club as... Marius Obekop and Anatole Abang.
Speaking of Abang, he has 4 goals to lead NYRB II. We'll know a lineup an hour before game time. Expect it to contain a mixture of MLS and USL players. Some players in this match will probably feature in the US Open Cup match on Jun. 16 against Atlanta.
So is this a rivalry? No. Not at all. That was really stupid. (Editor note: All of your posts are stupid.) Do these two teams share some facts that coincidentally and inexplicably link them together? You betcha.
Look below for information on this match: