ALLENTOWN, PA – The club’s first team (1-1-3, 6 points) tied with the Lehigh Valley United (2-2-1, 7 points) on Saturday evening at Cedar Crest College. The lone goal scorer for the first team was Siena’s Conor McGlynn assisted by Filippo Tamburini. The first team began the first of two in a back-to-back match weekend. The second match will take place against the Long Island Rough Riders on Sunday evening back at Poly Prep Country Day School. For the Lehigh Valley United, the previous three contests have proven to be winners in a sense. The Allentown based club is 2-0-1 in their previous three following starting the season 0-2-0.
Coming into the contest with a 4-0-0 record against the Lehigh Valley United, the first team had thoughts on their mind to secure three points in a victory to plant them in the top-three of the Mid-Atlantic Division. The opposition had other plans, as a header from Eddy Enowbi lit the scoreboard first just three minutes in. The cross came from Michael Tahiru as he was credited with the assist. Just six minutes following the opening goal, the first team responded with a goal from Conor McGlynn on a cross from fellow MAAC peer Filippo Tamburini to tie the match at one a piece.
Ahead in the contest, Lehigh Valley became injury prone on the pitch, as defender Brian Reyes went down with a lower-body injury. He was replaced by Espinosa. Roughly 12 minutes following the injury to the home teams’ defender, the United got a trio of shots off against the first team, but were blocked by a combination of Kyle Parrish, Johan Mauritzson, and Tomasso Davico. Bryant and Stratton goalkeeper Babacarr Ceesay was fortunate enough to not allow a goal as he was roughly 20 yards out of his own net playing defense. On the ensuing possession for the first team, team veteran Robi Sillah had a pair of shots blocked off the defenders, while one rebound came back to the feet of McGlynn as he looked for his second difference maker, but no can do.
A flurry of substitutions took place in the second half for the first team as preservation became the top priority on head coach Joe Balsamo’s mind in preparation for the back half of the back-to-back on Sunday evening. Injuries also became a factor, where goalkeeper Babacarr Ceesay was injured at the 64’ minute of play. While attemping to become the fifth defender on the field, Ceesay worked a yellow card into the resume on the evening, and managed to stay in the game regardless of a lower-body injury. At the 74’ minute, Ceesay simply could not keep the knee intact as he was replaced by Andrew Periera. Periera made his season debut by participating for 16 minutes against Lehigh. Numerous chances came to fruition for both teams, but nothing could be answered for it. Each team received a point following a 1-1 draw at Cedar Crest College.
UP NEXT:
The club’s first team returns to Brooklyn on Sunday, June 2 for a 7:30 p.m. rescheduled match against the Long Island Rough Riders to take place at Poly Prep Country Day School. The contest can be seen on YouTube.com/FAEuro in conjunction with the I-95 Sports and Entertainment Network.