Crystal Palace Baltimore suffered their first defeat of the season on Saturday night at the hands of the Wilmington Hammerheads. A trio of second-half goals for the home side also ended Palace's shutout streak at three. Despite the loss, Palace remain at the top of the standings, two points clear of Richmond and Pittsburgh.

"The bottom line is that Wilmington outplayed us," said Co-Manager Jim Cherneski. "They had a great chance just 20 seconds into the match, taking the ball straight through the midfield, past the centre backs. That spelled out what was in store for us."

Facing their second game in less than 24 hours, just one change was made to the line-up with Dan Lader regaining his starting spot and Alex Ughiovhe taking a seat on the bench.

Though Wilmington took the upper hand in the opening period, the visitors were unfortunate not to be awarded a penalty midway through the half. A Wilmington defender on the goal-line made what appeared to be an impressive reaction save with his hand to a goal-bound Palace effort, but the officials weren't interested.

Near the half-hour mark, striker John Nusum pulled a hamstring, so Bryan Harkin entered the match in midfield, with Lader moving up top to partner Pat Healey.

A scrappy, physical opening stanza was brought to an end by the referee's whistle with neither side having broken through.

But the Hammerheads took the lead seven minutes into the second half from a set piece and never looked back. A Mark Briggs free kick from the left found Wilmington defender Tim Karalexis eight yards from goal and his thundering header put an end to Palace's shut-out streak.

Palace had another claim for a penalty when Pat Healey's leg was taken out while in the act of shooting, but the referee waved play on.

In the 71st minute, Wilmington had their first shout for a penalty and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Jamie Watson stepped up and beat Brian Rowland to double the lead for the home side.

Soon after, Palace made a tactical change in an effort to get back into the game, bringing Stephen Basso off to leave three at the back and inserting Kevin Gnatiko as a third forward.

With Palace pressing forward in numbers as time was running out, they left themselves exposed to the counter-attack. Jyler Noviello capitalized on this strategy and sealed the win for the Hammerheads in the final minute of regulation.

"We didn't establish our style of play," Cherneski summarised, "and as a result, we played into their hands."

Though Palace return to Maryland for their next match, it's on the road against in-state rivals Real Maryland at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville on Saturday May 9th at 6:00pm.

For a full USA fixture list and table, click here.