JUNIOR LONE STAR FC 4, BUXMONT TORCH FC 1

A brace from Zoncher Dennis and goals from Anthony Allison and Kouassi N’Guessan gave Junior Lone Star FC a convincing 4-1 victory over BuxMont Torch FC at the Monsignor Bonner High School Stadium in Drexel Hill, PA.

The Stars looked in control of the game from the first whistle with majority of the possession and most of the chances created in the first 15 minutes. The fireworks began in the 20th minute when would-be Man of the Match Zoncher Dennis received a lay-off pass from forward Anthony Allison on the right edge of the 18-yard box to fake out two defenders before burying the ball in the back of the net to put the Stars ahead 1-0.

BuxMont Torch responded with a 10-minute spell of possession before their back line was caught up field with a telling through ball from midfielder Fatoma Turay that saw forward Mitchell Torh through one-on-one with the goalkeeper but the Torch’s netminder Matt Palmer came up with a magical save to keep the tally 1-0 at halftime.

The second half started in a similar fashion like the first ended. The Stars got out of the blocks on the front foot and continued their dominance but a seamlessly innocent long ball played in the defensive half of the Stars saw them let in their lone goal of the game when Abu Donzo tried to shield the ball out of bounds only to see a determined Torch player hustle and keep it in-bounds before crossing across goal which hit Mohammed Mayah to send goalkeeper Boubacar Keita the wrong way for an own goal and Torch’s equalizer in the 48th minute.

The Stars picked up their game and seem to enter another gear after conceding. In the 55th minute, a diagonal ball over the top of the Torch defense saw Anthony Allison in on goal only to be fouled by the goalkeeper. Allison coolly converted the penalty to put the Stars ahead 2-1 and tally his sixth goal in seven appearances across all competitions.

After going up for the second time in the match, the Stars took total control of the match. The third goal came from an unlikely source in defender Kouassi N’Guessan who followed up a shot to calmly finish a rebound in the 83rd minute.

MOTM performer Zoncher Dennis got his second and the Stars’ fourth in the 87th minute when he dribbled past a defender before slotting the ball in the back of the net to give the Stars the 4-1 victory.

“I was pleased with the performance the boys put in today,” said head coach Neewilli Saie. “Everyone played a good game and the win was a collective effort. We have not been playing badly; we have just had a series of bad fortune when it came to getting the ball in the back of the net. We hope that this victory will serve as a launching pad for the rest of the season,” he further added.

Yesterday’s win sees the Stars moved up to third on the Keystone Conference standings with three points from two matches. In other Keystone Conference matches, league debutants West Chester United continued their amazing run with a 4-0 win over Hershey FC to remain as Conference leaders on six points from two matches; Clarkstown SC Eagles defeated Greater Binghamton FC Thunder 5-0 to move second on three points from one match; while Electric City Shock FC and New Jersey Copa FC played to a 1-1 draw to remain fourth and fifth, respectively on one point each from one match.

The Stars will take a break from NPSL action during the Memorial Day weekend before travelling to Mahwah, New Jersey on Sunday, June 4th to face Clarkstown SC Eagles.