Virginia Beach City FC Sinks FC Frederick with Late Goal
By FC Frederick
The margin between first and last place was measured in inches Saturday night as FC Frederick fell to Virginia Beach City FC 2-1 at Urbana High School.
FC Frederick (0-4-2) had a shot hit the post and two miss just wide while the score was tied at 1 before a late goal by NPSL Mid-Atlantic Conference leading Virginia Beach City FC (5-1-1) doomed the home side.
Ezana Kahsay scored his team-high seventh goal of the season, which leads all Mid-Atlantic Conference players, in the 85th minute to earn the result for Virginia Beach City and end a testy match that featured 20 fouls and five cards — two red cards.
The match got of to a physical start and only two minutes in, FC Frederick defender Alex Lee was issued a red card. On the ensuing free kick, Robby Dambrot lofted a pass into the box from 30 yards out and Preston Bremus rose above an FC Frederick defender to head home a goal.
Despite playing a man down, FC Frederick answered only 12 minutes later when Reilly Maw’s cross found Youness Benmouna wide open on the back post for an easy score to level the match at 1.
In the 42nd minute, Virginia Beach City’s Prince Idornigie was red-carded for a challenge on an FC Frederick breakaway, leaving both teams with 10 players on the field for the rest of the match.
FC Frederick generated most of the second-half scoring chances, outshooting Virginia Beach 10-7 in the half and 14-11 for the match. But in the waning minutes, Bremus connected with Kahsay, who slotted a shot past FC Frederick keeper Abiye Jack for the match winner.
The result was a heartbreaker for FC Frederick, which saw Jade Mesias clang a shot off the post and John A. Eskay strike a pair just wide of the goal. FC Frederick has been tied at halftime in four of six matches this season, but ended up losing two and tying two as goals have been hard to come by for the defending division champs.
Jack played all 90 minutes in goal for FC Frederick, collecting five saves. Christian Coulson played the entire match for Virginia Beach City and gathered six saves.
Photo Credit: FC Frederick
