New Jersey Copa FC Puts Up Five Tallies to Stun Unbeaten West Chester
West Chester United SC entered Saturday’s Keystone Conference matchup with New Jersey Copa FC ranked No. 3 of 98 teams in the NPSL power rankings, having outscored opponents 16-1 in the first four games of the season. Leading 3-1 in the 38th minute, WCUSC was poised to continue that trend. But an incredible goal by Jonathan Yazo just before halftime sparked four unanswered goals, including the only three tallies of the second half and New Jersey Copa FC registered a signature win, stunning West Chester, 5-3, on June 9 at Mercer County Community College.
New Jersey Copa FC improved to 3-1-0 on the season while handing West Chester (4-1-0) its first blemish. NJCFC entered the day with six goals in its first three games of the season before nearly doubling that total in the win.
An efficient NJCFC side put seven of its 10 shots in the game on frame, scoring five times. Anthony Ferrer, Yazo, Louis Silva, Raphael Araujo, and Rafael Terci all scored for NJCFC. Juan Giraldo stopped four shots to secure the win.
Yazo and outside back Dennis Correia were tabbed the Soccer Zone USA/New Jersey Copa FC co-Men of the Match.
NJCFC led 1-0 just 2:09 into the game when a long ball up the right sideline sprung Louis Silva on a full sprint. Silva sent the ball across the right endline and WCUSC keeper Andrew Verdi came off his line to break up the cross but couldn’t handle it cleanly. Ferrer gathered the loose ball inside the six, tucking it away for an early 1-0 lead.
West Chester answered four minutes later when Richie Schlentz settled a cleared ball and ripped a one-timer from 25-yards out that slipped through the high hands of Giraldo.
West Chester went ahead on an own goal in the 15th minute and gained a 3-1 lead late in the 38th minute on a beautiful double assist. A flick from the right endline from Aiden McFadden to Evan Fare near the 18, was chipped to the far left post where Chas Wilson was unmarked and knocked in an easy shot.
The momentum began to swing in the 45th minute. After a WCUSC foul and caution card resulted in a free kick from just outside the left corner of the 18, Yazo curled an attempt to the back post and it slipped untouched through traffic to far side netting. That cut the WCUSC lead to 3-2 at the half.
Less than three minutes into the second half, Copa tied it. Correia curled a cross from the right wing onto the far post, forcing Verdi to extend to tip it away. The rebound landed at the feet of Silva for the easy finish.
Giraldo made a key save in the 59th minute when Vare curled a shot on goal and Giraldo went up to punch the attempt over the crossbar. In the 63rd minute, defender Angelo Jack sprinted half the length of the field to stop another breakaway bid by Vare.
Still knotted at 3-3 in the 68th minute, a WCUSC hand ball in the box gave Copa a chance to pull in front and Araujo, NJCFC’s most dangerous striker, cashed in, drilling a penalty kick into the far left side for the eventual winning goal.
WCUSC’s best chance to tie it came in the 80th minute, on a broken play in the box, before Giraldo smothered a shot by David Bettenhausen that had been blocked by the Copa defense.
A timely substitution gave NJCFC a necessary insurance marker. Terci, a star at Montclair State University, entered the game late in the 80th minute for Ferrer and needed less than four minutes to notch his name in the goal column. Leutrim Saiti played a low ball to the back post where Terci was waiting for an easy 84th-minute tap-in.
New Jersey Copa FC heads to Red Bank, N.J.’s Count Basie Park on Wednesday, June 13 (6:00 pm) for its first-ever meeting with FC Monmouth, playing in its inaugural NPSL season.
Contributor: Ira Thor/New Jersey Copa FC
Photo Credit: Dmitry Zbarsky / New Jersey Copa FC
