New Jersey United Athletic Club Advances to Keystone East Conference Final after 2-0 Win against Players Development Academy
By Liam Fitzpatrick/New Jersey United Athletic Club
NJ United Athletic Club beat PDA 2-0 in the Keystone East Conference semifinal on Wednesday night.
United entered the match as the no. 1 seed in the Keystone East Conference, earning them homefield advantage. PDA, coming in at the no. 4 spot, secured the final conference playoff spot on the final day of the regular season with results around the conference going their way.
Wednesday night’s meeting marked the second in just a week, a match that saw NJ United win 4-1 at home on Wednesday, July 2. The familiar foes went at it from the first whistle, but much like last week’s matchup, NJ United dominated.
“We addressed that it would be difficult to beat the same team three times in the same season,” United head coach Fernando Barboto said. “We had a good game plan, and we said let’s not worry about the past, but just execute and move forward.”
Just eight minutes into the match, PDA goalkeeper Nolen Olson-Warwick conceded a penalty after taking down Jamie Madrid, yet made up for it by making a wonderful diving save from Javier Losa’s spot kick. Olson-Warwick looked unbeatable through the first 35 minutes. It wasn’t until the 38th minute when Losa, the man who had his penalty saved just before, displayed wonderful creativity with a toe poke that caught Olson-Warwick off guard to take a 1-0 lead.
“I just shot it,” Losa said. “I didn’t know where the keeper was. I didn’t look up, I just knew where the goal was, and I was lucky for it to go in.”
Javier Losa, who was just recently nominated for Capelli Sport NPSL Player of the Month for June, continued his fine form into the playoffs. In the final minute of the first half, Losa delivered a corner kick right to the head of Jayden Jackson who sent a bullet header to the back of the net for United’s second goal.
The second half was steady sailing for NJ United, who created quality chances but simply couldn’t find the back of the net to ice the game for good. It was United’s physicality and determination in the midfield that allowed them to control the second half and cut off PDA from creating any threat.
“I think we’re all a little edgy,” Barboto said. “It’s not league play anymore. So we started a little edgy, but got into the game, and I don’t think they even had a shot on goal in the second half. Top to bottom we dominated the game, did our job, and we’re in the finals.”
This win marked the first playoff win in NJ United’s young lifetime, this being only their second season as a club. At the end of the game, Losa reiterated that the team is ready for whoever they face in the conference final.
“We don’t care who is in the final,” Losa said. “We know we are going to compete, we are going to do our best, and hopefully we win. We’re going to play our game and that’s it.”
NJ United are slated to play Jackson Lions FC, after the Lions upset the no. 2 seeded FC Motown in their semifinal fixture. That match will be hosted by NJ United this Saturday, July 12.
Photo Credit: Connor Bowen/New Jersey United Athletic Club
