FC Frederick Falls to Alexandria Reds 3-1

Speedy forwards break down FC Frederick, hand the Blues their first loss

By FC Frederick

Seni Joseph scored twice, the second coming less than two minutes after FC Frederick scored to even the match, and it lifted Alexandria Reds to a 3-1 victory over the host team Saturday night at St. John’s Catholic Prep.

The loss drops FC Frederick to 1-1 on the season and into third place in the NPSL’s Mid-Atlantic Conference.  FC Frederick returns to action Wednesday, June 1 with a 6:30 pm home match against Grove Soccer United.

Joseph, who plays for the University of Dayton, gave the visiting Reds a 1-0 lead in the 28th minute on a shot that deflected off an FC Frederick defender.

Elias Norris tied the score for FC Frederick in the 40th minute, marking the second straight game that the George Washington University attacking player has scored.

But just as it seemed momentum had swung in favor of FC Frederick, the speedy Joseph ran onto a perfectly played ball from Kevin Peprah and slotted it past FC Frederick keeper Bennett Schwartz in the 41st minute for a 2-1 lead.

Dennis Mensah, a native of Ghana who plays for James Madison University, added a game-winning goal in the 83rd minute for the Alexandria Reds, which moves to 2-0-1 and into second place in the conference.

Throughout the foul-filled match, FC Frederick had difficulty handling the pace of Alexandria’s forwards – Joseph, Dilane Zouanchta, and Mensah.  In fact, Zouanchta and Joseph accounted for all seven of Alexandria’s first-half shots as the visiting team held a 7-4 margin in shots. 

Alexandria outshot FC Frederick 12-8 for the match with Alexandria’s trio of forwards accounting for all but three shots.  Schwartz played the first 45 minutes in goal for FC Frederick and had four saves.  Will Stack had two saves in the second half.  Nicholas Conklu was in goal for Alexandria and recorded four saves.

FC Frederick’s Spencer Shortt had three great scoring chances, but two he hit the ball straight to the Alexandria keeper and the other he lifted a shot just over the crossbar.

FC Frederick committed 17 fouls and received a pair of yellow cards.  Alexandria Reds had nine fouls, and one player was shown a yellow card.

Photo Credit: FC Frederick