Compiled by Tyler Pray
After a muddy and cold weekend, all Downtown Soccer League teams look forward to their final matches of the year next weekend.
Major 10
Valencia defeated Celta, 6-2. Reflecting the cold weather with a slow start for Valencia, Celta scored two quick goals — one by Jack Weil — before Valencia went on the offensive with Jake Shapiro tying the score midway through the first half and knocking in the go ahead goal on a penalty shot. As the field thawed at the end of the match, a balanced offensive Valencia squad of Jake Miller, Cameron Spector and Ali Rossi all contributed by scoring one goal apiece. The midfield playing by Jessica McAlear, Sarah Pangburn, Anna Schwab and Brian Boyd contributed strong passes and were valuable to Valencia’s scoring and maintaining pressure on Celta in what was a well played match by both squads.
Barcelona defeated Sevilla, 4-1, on the “frozen tundra” of Battery Park City fields. Kyle Maer and Jake Bader led Barcelona with two goals apiece. Byron Chow and Jeremy Allen held down tight defense while Sevilla’s Sarah Fadel and Darcy Haylor peppered the Barcelona goal with shots.
Major 11
Bordeaux defeated Lyon, 6-0, in a cold, muddy game on Sunday. While Lyon was short staffed, all 13 Bordeaux players rotated into the game giving the team an advantage. Max Cohen, Marley Breindel, Gabby Eisenberg-Edidin and Eddy Owens scored goals for Bordeaux as goalie Ryan Bucci made several saves against hard goal shots by the Lyon forwards. Harrison Spelman and Brett Russell played outstanding games along side their fellow defensive players and midfielders Jackie Benfield, Meng Hunt, Adele Johns, Theo McCarthy, Lucas Rosario and Darius Raazi.
Senior 12-13
Dallas Burn defeated DC United, 2-0, on Sunday. When the teams met earlier in the season, DC took the victory, but this time scorching Burn defense, led by Luke Smith-Stevens in goal and Will Gibbons at sweeper, kept them scoreless. Smith-Stevens made seven saves while Gibbons had numerous clearances. Offensively, Burn strung together nice passing combinations setting up Xavier Garcia and Jake Donnenfeld each to score a goal for Burn. Gabe Cook and Ben Lenovitz joined Donnenfeld in making several outstanding offensive plays. The final game, Burn vs. the Fire, is next Saturday at 5 p.m. – definitely a hot game.
Crew defeated the Metro Stars, 8-3, in a slippery, mud-filled game. Max Davis scored 3 goals for Crew and Robin Campbell and Alex Wedmore each scored 1.
Downtown Soccer League coaches should e-mail information to news@DowntownExpress.com.
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