Fort Pitt Regiment Wins Opener At Buffalo
A pair of second-half goals propelled the Fort Pitt Regiment to a 2-0 win over FC Buffalo. The match was the season opener for the Red Coats.
Lucas Godinho opened the scoring with a goal in the 56th minute. He converted an Anthony Virgara set-up, knocking the ball past the FC Buffalo keeper. The scoring play was set up when Lamine Balde drove a ball into the box to find Virgara.
Marc Alexander capped the evening’s scoring in the 81st minute. Godinho played him through the Buffalo defense and he dribbled around the goalkeeper at the edge of the area to slot the ball into an open goal.
Following the match, head coach John Kowalski said, “It’s a good start. The backline was solid and we found the attack in the second half.”
Early in the first half, the Regiment controlled possession but Buffalo created better chances with Bayley Winkle always lurking and putting a pair of shots on frame and just missing with another.
FPR’s best first chance saw Balde pop a shot straight into the air in front of a wide-open goal in the 38th minute. Virgara played a ball from the right wing through the area to the FPR forward at the back post. The attempt popped straight into the air, making it easy for the Buffalo keeper to recover from the near post and grab the ball to snuff out the chance.
Early in the second half FC Buffalo’s Isaiah Wilson’s quick shot required a quick reaction from Scott Rissler to prevent FCB from scoring the game’s first goal in the 48th minute.
Buffalo introduced Akean Shackleford in the 64th minute. The Red Coat killer proved to be dangerous with several hard-charging forays into the FPR area. The most dangerous in the 90th minute when he blocked Rissler’s clearance of a back pass toward the FPR goal. Rissler was able to block the subsequent shot.
Rissler said of his adventure, “I was a bit slow playing the ball and he closed very quickly.”
The Red Coats keeper notched his first clean sheet.
The Regiment travel to Binghamton on June 1 for a 6:00 pm kickoff.
Contributor: Fort Pitt Regiment
Photo Credit: Tim McCoy/Fort Pitt Regiment
