FC Frederick Claims First South Mountain Derby with 4-0 Victory over Hub City FC

By Andy Mason/Hub City FC

FC Frederick claimed the first South Mountain Derby on Wednesday night, scoring four second-half goals for a 4-0 road victory over Hub City FC Black Roses before an estimated crowd of 500 at North Hagerstown High School.

The Mid-Atlantic Conference matchup marked the inaugural meeting between the regional rivals.  FC Frederick improved to 2-1-1 with its second straight victory, while Hub City fell to 2-3 after its second consecutive loss.

The final score was lopsided.  The first half was not.

Hub City controlled much of the opening 45 minutes and created several dangerous scoring opportunities while playing without leading scorer Joshua Wisdom, who was sidelined with a shoulder injury suffered Saturday against District Elite FC.  But the Black Roses were unable to capitalize, and the match remained scoreless at halftime.

“It happens all the time in the game,” Hub City head coach Michael Long said. “You’re the better team, and you’re having your way with the match.  We were keeping possession, and we had reverted back to our patient urgency.  It’s what we talk about all the time.  We need to be urgent, but we also need to be patient and composed.  We were finding feet, and we had triangle passing going. We were doing the things that we needed to do and wanted to do.  But we just didn’t finish.”

FC Frederick found the breakthrough in the 57th minute when Christian Woobay scored on an assist from Maxwell Riley.

The visitors doubled their lead in the 66th minute when Ethan Conway finished a setup from Zander Templeton.

Frederick continued to capitalize on its opportunities down the stretch. Chase Wesley made it 3-0 in the 77th minute on a cross from Lincoln Bauer, and Bauer capped the scoring in the 89th minute with a goal on a free kick.

Bauer, a 17-year-old recent Leonardtown High School graduate, was named The Washington Post’s All-MET Player of the Year and a United Soccer Coaches All-American last fall.  He is set to play at Mount St. Mary’s.

“We got a win on Saturday, and everybody came here hungry for another win,” Bauer said. “Everyone wanted it, and everyone worked together. It was just a great team performance.”

Goalkeeper Brendan Kane recorded the clean sheet.

“It was a fun game,” FC Frederick head coach Colin Viti said. “First half, we had to do a few things to figure ourselves out.  Second half, it was awesome to see that, to just come out and pile it on.”

Viti also praised the atmosphere Hub City has created in its inaugural season.

“They’ve done a fantastic job building this,” Viti said. “The crowd they got was awesome.  The sponsorships, the food trucks and just the pageantry about it is really cool and great for the league.  And it’s great for us.  It’s cool to have what feels like a local rivalry, a cool thing to be a part of, for sure.”

Long said the match turned when Hub City failed to convert its first-half opportunities.

“If we had been up 2-0 or 3-0 at halftime, like we should have been, they would have folded,” he said. “But because they were still in the match, it gave them life and energy.  We’ve got to erase these short periods of the game where we’re just not good enough and make mistakes.”

The teams will meet again June 20 at St. John’s Catholic Prep.

Photo Credit: Andy Mason/Hub City FC