PIONEERS BEAT BROOKLYN, FALL TO OTTAWA, BACK AT LUSITANO STADIUM SATURDAY
Team returns home to face New Hampshire at 7pm
The Western Mass Pioneers will return to the turf of Lusitano Stadium this Saturday to face division rival New Hampshire Phantoms in a key early season match up. After the season opener at home, the Pioneers played the next four contests on the road, concluding this past weekend with a date at Brooklyn on Friday, then a visit to Ottawa to take on the Fury on Sunday.
The Metropolitan Oval in Brooklyn was the setting for the Friday encounter with the skillful Brooklyn Knights. The early moments of the match saw the home team possessing the ball and applying a bit of pressure to the Pioneers defense, which saw the return of Captain Jay Willis, however for only a brief stint. Western Mass goalie Shane Curran-Hays (UMass) was up to the challenge, keeping Brooklyn from grabbing the lead. The Pioneers would settle down and would be the team to break the deadlock.
Right back Eddie Floyd would make a nifty move at midfield, then find teammate Chris Stoker open on the right flank. Stoker would take the ball deeper into the Brooklyn zone, crossing the ball to a streaking Greg Balicki at the back post. Balicki would not miss and the Pioneers led 1-0 at the 21' mark. The lead was short lived. Two minutes later a Brooklyn corner kick found its way through the traffic in front of Curran-Hays and to back of the net.
Brooklyn would grab the lead at the 38' mark with a combination of a few swift passes in the Pioneers zone, then a tremendous shot from 30 yards from the Pioneers goal. Curran-Hays diving attempt to his right was not enough and Brooklyn grabbed the lead 2-1 going into halftime.
Western Mass Head Coach Leszek Wrona's second half adjustments turned the game in the Pioneers favor. Mike Lima was brought on and provided some energy on the left flank working with left back Federico Molinari. Molinari would tie the contest at 2 apiece with a penalty shot at the 54' mark. The winning goal would come 17 minutes later when center midfielder Robert Cavener would hook up with forward Justin Brewer with a nicely slotted through ball. Brewer would beat the Knights goalie to the far corner for the game winning tally.
The Pioneers would take a two game winning streak to face the Ottawa Fury to wrap up the weekend.
It appeared the Pioneers would jump out on top as Brewer's run into the Ottawa penalty box was stopped by an apparent take down. The referee saw it differently and played continued. Ottawa would be the team to take the lead with a strike in the 31' from 12 yards for the 1-0 advantage, which they took to halftime.
The second half saw Western Mass create a few quality scoring chances, but nothing that would tie the score. An Ottawa late goal finished the scoring for the day and the 2-0 win.
