CLARKSTOWN EAGLES’ UNBEATEN STRING CONTINUES WITH 4-2 VICTORY OVER ELECTRIC CITY

The Clarkstown SC Eagles went west to Fitzpatrick Field at the University of Scranton for their second meeting with the Electric City Shock this season. Unlike other games this season, the Eagles started slowly. In the sixth minute the Shock’s Peter Bannister, off a pass from Rory McKinnon, beat the Eagles’ keeper when the shot deflected off an Eagle defender. This was the first time the Eagles trailed in any game so far this year.
The Eagles struck back in the 11th minute when Phil Bannister took a pass from Adam Himeno and put it past the Shock keeper evening up the score. The pace slowed down somewhat for the next twenty minutes until an Eagles player got fouled just outside the 18 yard box. The Eagles’ Lucas Befi took advantage of the opportunity and buried the ball into the back of the net, beating the keeper on the short side and putting the Eagles ahead 2-1.
The Eagles scored again just before halftime when Phil Bannister’s shot hit the right post and came out to Adam Himeno. Adam passed to Lucas Befi in front who beat the keeper, giving the Eagles a 3-1 lead at the half.
The first 15 minutes of the second half had the Eagles putting a number of shots on the Shock net, but all were handled easily by the Shock keeper. The pace picked up in the 63rd minute when the Shock’s Peter Bannister, off of a second assist from Rory McKinnon, blasted a shot past the Eagles keeper to make the score 3-2. This really changed the complexion of the game. Three minutes later the Shock’s Rory McKinnon came down the left side one-on-one with the Eagles keeper only to be denied by a great one hand stop by keeper Ryan Linder and a clearance off the line by the Eagles defense.
The Eagles found a second wind after the Shock goal. In the 69th minute the Eagles’ Befi found Adam Himeno in front, but his shot hit the right post and bounced off harmlessly in front of the goal. Two minutes later Josue Ortiz had the ball with the Shock keeper out of position, but he missed just wide right.
Then the action shifted to the Eagles half of the field. In the 77th minute the Eagles’ Yuriy Mazur sprinted back to stop a Shock break towards the goal with a great slide tackle. Two minutes later, a Shock corner kick was headed harmlessly over the crossbar. The Shock kept the pressure on the Eagle defense and in the 82nd minute won a free kick from 25 yards out, but the direct kick sailed over the Eagles net.
A minute later the Eagles moved downfield. A long throw-in on the left side from Andreas Chronis landed at the feet of Pavlo Kolonifa. He found Adam Himeno in front, who beat the keeper for the fourth Eagles score. And that is how the game ended with a 4-2 win for the visitors. Now at the mid-point of the season, the Eagles remain undefeated, untied, and are on top of the Keystone Conference.
Eagles owner and head coach Oliver Papraniku was concerned about this weekend’s games.
“We have a couple of players out with injury and we have to play both Electric City and Binghamton within a 16-hour time period, so we have go with some of our younger, less experienced players.  Our offense really stepped up today and made the difference in the game.”