FC Baltimore Defeats Virginia Beach City FC 5-2
Goals were flying from every angle Saturday night in Virginia Beach. After being blanked 1-0 at home to D.C. United’s U-23 squad last Friday, FC Baltimore showed how dangerous they can be on the attack. The first-year squad netted five while only allowing two against fellow Mid-Atlantic Conference foe Virginia Beach City FC.
Virginia Beach striker Trevor Knight began the scoring in the 17th minute by heading a ball off the post and into the back of the net from a dangerous free kick position. VBCFC seemed as if they had good control of the game, not allowing too much from the attack-minded Baltimore side until the 41st minute when Tyler Gabarra scored the first-ever FC Baltimore goal with a screamer from outside the penalty box.
A few minutes later, in stoppage time, Grant Robinson responded the same exact way with another rocket from about the same position. After trailing 1-0 for 20 plus minutes, FCB led 2-1 headed into the half.
“You go down a goal 15 minutes in, it’s very easy for us to quit and lost 2 or 3-0 and have a bad performance, and instead we have two goals right before the half, come out and are the better team for the rest of the game and get a great result against a quality side.”
It did not take the team too long to score again as the offense continued to pour on the pressure. Tre Pulliam found himself face to face with keeper Christian Coulson in the 57th minute only to slide it past his outreached arm to put FCB up 3-1. Avionne Flanagan continued to help the cause by making it 4-1 in the 62nd minute. Virginia Beach brought one back to make it 4-2 but FC Baltimore wrapped it up when recently substituted Josh Fawole scored his first and the team’s fifth goal in the 85th minute.
This win for FC Baltimore is the first-ever for a very young club, and the win marks some extra significance. Virginia Beach City FC won the conference last year and were a force to reckon with, not to mention their 4-1 win over Legacy 76 in their previous affair. This loss for Virginia Beach was their first regular season loss in two years running.
In FC Baltimore’s inaugural game, the team drew a crowd of over 2.000 spectators in a fantastic night for soccer. On Saturday, the club defeated an opponent who had not lost in the regular season in two years. Special things are happening in Baltimore, Maryland, and these first two games have been a precursor to what this team can accomplish.
“It sets the tone for the rest of the season,” head coach Brandon Quaranta mentioned. “We haven’t gotten into full gear with our roster and training schedule yet, but the best things are still to come. It is something that can springboard us into the season.”
FC Baltimore’s next match is home at CCBC Essex, Wednesday, May 23rd against fellow expansion club Atlantic City FC. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 pm.
Contributor: FC Baltimore
Photo Credit: Christian Taylor and FC Baltimore
