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USL Pro recap: Richmond rolls, Charlotte and New York struggle to score

By JOHN BOSCHINI

After four weeks of USL Pro action, one question is emerging. Can anyone stop Richmond?

The Richmond Kickers took their winning streak to four games with a victory over the defending champion Charleston Battery. The Kickers have outscored their opponents 7-2 in their first three games.

Los Angeles' hot start cooled a bit with a 1-1 draw with River Plate Puerto Rico. Los Angeles continues its unbeaten start to the season and its offense, which has scored 10 goals in four games, shows no signs of slowing down.

Goals were not as plentiful in Charlotte as the Eagles and New York battled to a scoreless draw while Pittsburgh only needed one goal to down Harrisburg.

Orlando City and Puerto Rico United's match ended in a 2-2 draw in front of a large crowd in Orlando and Rochester rattled off three goals to down Dayton.

Here is a recap of all of the weekend action in the USL Pro.

Orlando City 2, Puerto Rico United 2: For the second-straight game, Puerto Rico rescued a point with a late goal in front of a crowd of over 7,000. Puerto Rico went ahead at the half-hour mark with a goal from Edivaldo Silva following a free kick.

Orlando equalized and took the lead in a span of three minutes just after halftime. Max Griffin scored in the 47th minute and completed his double by directing Jamie Watson's cross across the goal line in the 50th minute. Christian Turizo capitalized on a goalkeeper mistake to equalize in the 76th minute.

Richmond Kickers 2, Charleston Battery 1:The Richmond Kickers find themselves all alone at the top of the USL Pro table after handing Charleston its first loss of the season.

Charleston opened the scoring in the 15th minute with a goal from Levi Coleman that gave the visitors an early lead. Coleman had seen his header come off the post 10 minutes earlier and Richmond was left reeling.

The Kickers composed themselves after the intermission and equalized on the hour mark. David Bulow was left unmarked on a corner kick and powered a header past Keith Wiggans. Richmond completed the comeback in injury time as Shaka Bangura's shot from 15 yards out bounced off the post and across the line.

Pittsburgh Riverhounds 1, Harrisburg City Islanders 0:A lone goal from Shintaro Harada proved to be the difference as Pittsburgh registered its first win of the season as Harrisburg slumped to an opening loss.

The first half offered little in the form of scoring chances as both sides battled for possession in midfield. After the break, the Islanders failed to get back into the game and Harada punished them with a goal in the 47th minute. A goal-line clearance from Jason Kutney kept the game level in the 56th minute and Harrisburg failed to mount another significant scoring chance.

Charlotte Eagles 0, FC New York 0: Charlotte's goal-scoring drought is causing serious concern as the Eagles have yet to find the back of the net this season, this time against a porous New York defense.

Charlotte dominated possession but couldn't find a finishing touch. Chris Salvaggione rattled the crossbar in the 35th minute for Charlotte's best chance of the game. The Eagle's had 13 shots to New York's four as both teams earned their first point of the season.

Dayton Dutch Lions 2, Rochester Rhinos 3: The Rochester Rhinos earned their first win in 2011 with a comeback victory over Dayton, loser of two straight.

Dayton's George Davis gave the home side the lead with a headed goal in the eighth minute but Rochester stormed back with three unanswered goals. Alfonso Motagalvan equalized in the 13th minute and the Rhinos had the lead courtesy of a goal from rookie J.C. Banks. Rochester tacked on an insurance goal in the 69th minute from Anthony Hamilton. Kyle Segebart's strike in the 88th minute proved to be little more than an insurance goal as Rochester held out for the final whistle.

River Plate Puerto Rico 1, Los Angeles Blues 1: The Los Angeles Blues continued their unbeaten run despite conceding late to nine-man River Plate in a game that included three ejections.

L.A. broke the deadlock early with a goal from Cesar Rivera in the 12th minute. The game took a nasty turn before halftime when Rivera and Martin Morello were sent off following a confrontation.

River Plate equalized with a goal from Eloy Matos but spent most of the last half-hour defending as Yeniel Bermudez was sent off after picking up a second yellow card for dissent.

Antigua Barracuda FC 3, Sevilla FC Puerto Rico 2:Summary unavailable

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What did you think of the weekend's action? Impressed with Richmond? What is going wrong with Charlotte and New York? Do you expect L.A. to continue its unbeaten run? 

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