Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Near Me Lexington, SC

TAMPA, Fla. – The USL Championship today announced that Lexington SC midfielder Aaron Molloy has been voted the USL Championship Player of the Month for July after recording a league-high four assists in five appearances across all competitions, helping Lexington move into the top half of the Western Conference standings.

Acquired by Lexington for a league-record transfer fee from the Charleston Battery this offseason, Molloy has produced another standout campaign in the Championship. During July, he recorded a pair of assists in Lexington’s 4-1 win away against current Players’ Shield leader the Tampa Bay Rowdies and another pair against Commonwealth Cup rival Louisville City FC in the Prinx Tires USL Cup group stage.

The Irish midfielder now leads Lexington with both four goals and five assists this regular season, while having notched seven assists across all competitions overall this campaign.

"I’m really grateful to be named Player of the Month,” said Molloy. “It’s a great individual honor, but I couldn’t have done it without my teammates, coaches, and everyone around the club who pushes me every day.

“We’ve put together a really good month as a team, and I think that’s the most important thing. I’m proud to represent Lexington SC, and hopefully we can keep building on this and have a really strong second half of the season.

“Thank you to everyone who voted and supported me. I really appreciate it.”

Molloy has been voted to the USL Championship All-League First Team in each of the past four seasons, earning plaudits as one of the league’s top central midfielders. Since the start of the 2022 season, he has recorded 50 goal contributions in regular season play, ranking tied for first with 32 assists alongside San Antonio FC’s Jorge Hernández.

The 29-year-old has also recorded a league-high 959 recoveries and 215 interceptions while winning 738 duels, ranking fifth in the league in that category, making Molloy one of the league’s top two-way performers all-time.

“Aaron brings the highest level of mentality and work rate in every training session and every game,” said Lexington Head Coach Masaki Hemmi. “He is a multiplier that makes everyone around him better. He is our captain and sets the standards for the team daily and leads by example. I’m happy for him to be receiving this recognition, and he is only getting started here in Lexington. He possesses the character that we look for in every Lexington player.”

Molloy earned 57% of a weighted poll that included the USL Championship Technical Committee, a national panel of independent media representing every USL market and an online fan vote held at USLChampionship.com. Louisville City FC’s Jansen Wilson finished second on 20% after recording four goals and one assist for LouCity in four appearances across all competitions.

There was a sense going into Lexington SC’s visit to the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday night that it would be the litmus test as to whether the side that many tipped to be one of the main contenders in the USL Championship’s Western Conference in preseason had – after early struggles – reached that level.

The opening 15 minutes at Al Lang Stadium provided all the evidence required to say that’s the case. Lexington caught the current Players’ Shield leaders flat-footed on their home turf, scoring a pair of goals through Xavier Zengue and Nick Firmino that set the side up for a 4-1 victory that stood out as its most notable win of the campaign so far.

“It’s a statement win,” said Lexington Head Coach Masaki Hemmi. “San Antonio was as well, but this one for sure. They had only lost one game prior to tonight. Being up 3-0 at halftime at their home grounds was dominant. It shows that we’re proving ourselves, clicking and improving.”

The remaining 75 minutes provided plenty of evidence as well. Defensively, Lexington took Tampa Bay’s best shots and emerged relatively intact. Goalkeeper Oliver Semmle shone, certainly, putting up a five-save performance that included a key penalty save on Tampa Bay’s Russell Cicerone eight minutes before halftime, but the visitors also blocked nine shots, committing to the defensive cause.

Even when the Rowdies broke through via Gino Vivi with 12 minutes to go to cut the deficit to a pair of goals, Lexington found a response. Tarik Scott’s outstanding late strike on a counterattack provided the exclamation point as the Rowdies conceded four goals at home for only the second time in its USL Championship history.

For the Rowdies, Saturday night provided a reality check, arguably at an ideal moment for their season. The raggedness the side showed early in the contest defensively was a surprise for a side that had conceded only once in the opening 15 minutes all season previously, and in the long-run Tampa Bay could end up the better for it.

The momentum Lexington is building, though, has put it into a great position mentally ahead of one of its biggest games of the campaign. Saturday night’s visit to Commonwealth Cup rival Louisville City FC – with top spot in Group 4 of the Prinx Tires USL Cup and a place in the knockout stage on the line – is the next opportunity for the side to make a statement as it looks for its first win in official competition against its in-state rival.

Certainly, Lexington looks and sounds primed for the challenge.

“It’s a great team win away from home,” said Molloy. “We want to take one game at a time. The team showed great mentality all week leading up to this game. We knew it wouldn’t be easy. I’m super-proud to be part of this group.”

In their fourth ever clash, New Mexico United and Lexington SC went head-to-head on Aug. 26 at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park. Both teams looked to attack early, but better goalkeeper play on both ends kept the offense on their toes.

Lexington SC goalkeeper Oliver Semmie picked up a yellow card during the 10th minute, the first of the match, followed by a very physical battle throughout the first half. Leading into the break, both teams remained scoreless, making it a rough offensive showing for both sides.

Lexington defender Marqes Muir scored in the 51st minute, giving Lexington the first lead of the night. With the score now 1-0, United fans weren't pleased to see their home team get scored on first.

The goal by Muir changed the momentum of the game, but would not be the deciding factor. At the end of the 73rd minute, United defender Kipp Keller scored the first New Mexico goal of the night to tie things at 1-1.

“Goals change games,” Keller said of his contribution after the game.

Keller’s goal sparked action by the rest of the team, as evidenced by forward Niall Reid-Stephen’s goal in the 78th minute for United, giving them a 2-1 lead just five minutes after being put on the board.

“We were on top of them most of the game, we knew it was coming, fortunate enough I was able to get one past the keeper and so was Niall,” Keller said.

Keller showed himself to be the player of the game during this matchup, lifting his team to success through both offensive and defensive production.

“They know what the expectations are, the standards have been set and now it’s really about challenging them to play at a higher level every single day and showing they can do that,” Head Coach Dennis Sanchez said.

New Mexico United looks to keep the momentum going Saturday, Aug. 29 against San Antonio FC at home.

Kaedon Petties is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @DailyLobo

United starts double match week with Western Conference Foe

New Mexico United will look to keep the positive momentum going as they head home after a trip to the east coast to take on Loudoun United last Saturday. United is currently tied for first in the Western Conference with three matches in hand on the teams they share the top spot with heading into Wednesday Night. Here’s what you need to know!

Giddy Up

Wednesday Night New Mexico United will honor horse racing icon Mike Smith pregame. The native of Dexter, New Mexico has won the triple crown and the Kentucky Derby respectively and is now the center of a documentary about his life as a jockey.

Shake it up

Kris Shakes has been a massive part of New Mexico’s back line success. The third year keeper was named to the USL Team of the Week for his heroics in United’s gritty 0-0 draw last Saturday. Shakes has nine clean sheets on the season for the Black and Yellow and is in the top of almost all goalkeeping stats in the USL Championship this season. He is currently up for save of the week.

Home coming

Lexington SC Head Coach Masaki (Mac) Hemmi was once an assistant for New Mexico United under former head coach Eric Quill. That isn’t the only connecting Lexington’s head man to the Land of Enchantment. When Hemmi was 16 years old his family moved from Tokyo, Japan to Carlsbad, New Mexico where he went to high school.

Where to Watch

In Person: Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park

TV: MY50 and Estrella TV

Streaming: ESPN+ and KRQE.com

Radio: 101.7 The Team

Match Previews are powered by Ezee Fiber.

LEXINGTON — A major Columbia-area interchange project to unsnarl a notorious bottleneck is a prime example of the work states should be doing to improve roadways, a federal highway official said Wednesday, Aug. 26.

The overhaul of “Malfunction Junction,” what’s officially called Carolina Crossroads, is one of the biggest road projects in state history, said Secretary of Transportation Justin Powell. The $2.7 billion improvements are expected to wrap up in 2034, according to the transportation agency.

Roughly 90% of that money will come from the federal government, Powell said. The remaining 10% will come from the state’s coffers.

Focused on increasing safety and decreasing traffic, the project is what President Donald Trump wants to see under the Freedom to Drive Initiative launched in April, said Sean McMaster, who oversees the Federal Highway Administration (and is no relation to South Carolina’s governor).

“This is the exact type of project that we want to help and support and invest in,” McMaster said.

The program doesn’t come with specific funding. Rather, the federal Department of Transportation asked governors to pick out the worst chokepoints for congestion in their states and outline what they’re doing to fix it.

The federal agency then offers solutions to high-traffic areas, as well as technical support in getting projects done, McMaster said. The idea is that extra expertise will allow states to finish improvements that may seem daunting, especially in places that get federal funding, he said.

“Where you have that federal work, you should have federal support,” McMaster said.

Completing the Carolina Crossroads makeover is vital not just to local commuters who take that route to work or school every day but to national companies that drive shipments across South Carolina, McMaster said.

An estimated 134,000 people drive through the 14-mile corridor every day, according to the Department of Transportation.

Price increases in construction across the country have caused the cost of the project to increase by about $1 billion. Facing delays, the agency changed the order of construction to speed up the process, Powell said.

Federal and state help will “continue to make it a priority for us” to finish the crossroads and ensure everything gets done, he said.

“We have been able to make tremendous progress,” Powell said.

What is the project?

The Carolina Crossroads project — which reconfigures the intersections of interstates 20, 26 and 126 — long predates the federal program. When the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer signed off on the project in 2020, it was already expected to be the most expensive in state history.

Construction began in 2021, and the project is on the third of five phases.

The first phase involved building a new interchange where Interstate 126 meets Colonial Life Boulevard, removing the Interstate 26 interchange and Bush River Road and lengthening the exit ramp off I-26 onto Sunset Boulevard.

The next step was to make improvements to interchanges on Interstate 20 and remove an unnecessary ramp, making it easier for drivers to get on and off the interstate.

Workers are in the process of replacing two interstate bridges, where I-20 crosses the Saluda River and a railroad track. This week, work will begin to construct new bridges on I-26 over the river and railroad, along with replacing parts of I-126.

The “big boy” of the project is a complete overhaul of the interchange where I-20 and I-26 meet, Powell said.

That will involve redoing the roads where drivers get on and off the interstate, ending the need to get across multiple lanes of traffic, which makes the area especially prone to accidents, he said.

By the end of the project, workers will have widened both I-20 and I-26 from three lanes to four for 14 miles and extended the roads’ shoulders, giving emergency vehicles more space to maneuver around traffic when responding to accidents.

Carolina Crossroads is an especially challenging undertaking, Powell said. Not only is it expensive and time-consuming, but the agency must deal with multiple major arteries, railroad crossings, bridges and a large number of utility lines, he said.

The interchange has been a thorn in drivers’ sides for decades, Powell said. He heard complaints about the area when he first got his driver’s license, he said.

Support, both monetary and otherwise, from the federal government and state politicians made the difference in actually getting the work done, he said.

In 2017, state legislators raised the gas tax by 12 cents per gallon over six years, putting the additional money toward fixing deteriorating roads and bridges.

A law passed this year is meant to speed up the construction process by allowing the transportation department to take over environmental permitting from the federal government and build “choice lanes,” where drivers can opt to pay a toll and bypass congestion.

“We are tackling some of the biggest, hardest projects that South Carolina has and making a difference on it right now,” Powell said.