MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND EQUALS GREAT NPSL SOCCER

FRIDAY

The Northeast Region had just one match on Friday, a nighttime encounter between two rivals.

Chesterfield United FC walked away from its home opener with a 1-1 draw against Virginia Beach City FC.  The first half was quite active in the attack, but both teams ended up empty-handed.

In the 75th minute Daniel Lauretano took the free kick for CUFC, placing the ball right at Benjy Slator’s head. Slator then flicked the ball inside the far post to put CUFC upc1-0 and giving him his second goal of the season.   Fourteen minutes later chaos ensued and resulted in an own goal by Tommy Watkins, bringing the score to 1-1.

CUFC had a chance to take away three points in stoppage time, but a PK attempt by Finnlay Wyatt clanked off the crossbar.

The South Region had a slate of quality matches.

Nashville FC defeated Georgia Revolution 2-0 at Vanderbilt University Football Stadium to claim its first win of the 2015 NPSL season.  Roberto Pimental led Nashville FC to victory, scoring a goal within the first two minutes of the game, and a second just before halftime.

“The guys played very well in the first half. We succeeded in possessing the ball and creating attacking chances out of that,” said Nashville FC Associate Head Coach Kyle Roelke. “Roberto scored two very good goals and we defended well to limit Georgia’s offensive chances. Overall, it was a solid win.”

FC Carolina Discoveries, coming off a defeat to Myrtle Beach last week, landed a massive 4-2 victory over the Carolina Railhawks U-23s.  Newcomer Weston FC defeated Storm FC by a 2-0 margin.

The match between Lansing United and Indiana Fire was a goalless affair in the Midwest.

SATURDAY

The GBFC Thunder beat the Clarkstown SC Eagles today 2-1 on Visions Field at the Greater Binghamton Sports Complex on goals by Bo Jelovac and Marcello Palucci and some timely saves by Thunder keeper Nate Ripic. The win evens the Thunder’s NPSL record at 1-1-1. The Eagles fell to 0-1 on the season.

In other Northeast Region action, Hershey FC defeated Electric City Shock SC 3-2, while the Brooklyn Italians shutout the Rhode Island Reds 3-0. Midfielder Daniel Herrera scored a brace for the Italians.

The Midwest Region saw both Cincinnati and Cleveland come away with impressive victories.  FC Buffalo and Detroit City FC couldn’t break a 1-1 draw in front of 1200+ spectators.

Saturday was a busy day for the South Region.  Two expansion sides, Kraze United and Miami Fusion FC, each won their matches by two goals. Knoxville Force struggled in a 3-0 loss to the Atlanta Silverbacks Reserves.

The Joplin Demize and Dallas City FC both claimed three points at home thanks to 2-1 wins over Fort Worth and Tulsa respectively.

The West Region, which has seen great parity and competition, had Real San Jose dominate the Sonoma County Sol in a 5-1 win.  RSJ was propelled by a hat trick from midfielder Jake Wiffen and a strong defensive performance.

“This has been a tough three weeks for us for a variety of reasons that had nothing to do with soccer on the field,” RSJ head coach Nick Arellano concluded.  “I am so proud of the players. Sonoma was the hottest team in the conference and had just beaten us 7-1 two weeks before. Our players had every excuse to accept another loss but they ‘said enough was enough’ and battled like I have never seen them do before.”

CD Aguiluchos USA edged the SF Stompers 2-1 with Deportivo Coras USA defeating Temecula FC by the same scoreline.  Stompers striker Khalid Arramdani’s scored his 11th goal of the season in the loss, giving him an early edge in the race for the PUMA Golden Boot.

The San Diego Flash defeated FC Hasental 1-0 at Lincoln HS.

SUNDAY

Sunday featured some scintillating matchups.

The first of the day was an exciting one as the Madison 56ers dispatched the Minnesota United Reserves 3-1.  Madison striker Andrew Whalen scored a hat trick, giving the 56ers four points from the first two matches of the season.

Austin Dunn scored the only goal in Lansing United’s 1-0 win over the Michigan Stars.  The game remained scoreless until the 89th minute when Dunn slotted one home.   The match was a physical one with 25 fouls and four cards.  Lansing held a 15-10 advantage in shots and a 5-2 edge on corners.