After coming off a tough loss last Saturday, the Phoenix boys seemed more determined to come away with a better result. Despite the field conditions the Phoenix team seemed to have control of the game in the first half. With some very tough shots from the Corning forwards, Zach Pastel stepped up big for the Phoenix. Reaching parts of the goal that Stretch Armstrong may have been jealous of. In the first half all of the boys played very well collectively the only thing that was missing was a scoring opportunity. That all changed when Mariano Casciotti took a through ball from John Hunter Booth, and sank the ball in the top right corner of the goal. The start of the second half started off with the Phoenix coming out on fire. Playing well collectively again, the breakout play came from a through ball from Matt Voorhees to the Phoenix captain Ronnie Harshbarger. When Ronnie shot the ball it had the pace and direction to go into the upper 90 section of the goal. Until a Corning United defender accidently raised his hand and brought the ball down. With the go ahead from the referee, Ronnie placed the shot in the lower right corner of the goal out of the goalies reach. After the 2-0 lead, the Phoenix seemed to let up a little. This lax gave the control to the Corning United team who placed 2 quick goals in the back of the net and just out of the reach of goalie Devin Tennity. After these two goals it was a pitted match against the two teams. But coming off of the recent loss the Phoenix did not wish to have the same result. With less than 3 minutes to go and coming from a save off of Devin Tennity, Hunter Camacho played a great leading ball to Ronnie Harshbarger. Ronnie seemed to beat all of the back line until he found himself next to the corner flag behind them. With no where else to go, Ronnie looked up and played a fantastic ball that Borna Eshraghi volleyed out of the air and put right past the keeper. Over everyone’s ecstatic cheers, you could barely hear the referee say there was 1 minute to go. After this was said the boys really knew this victory was in their reach. As a team the Phoenix held on to the lead and received their very deserved first victory of the season. With more to come!!

Despite the cold and rain, our Phoenix boys were able to play their first BCSA League Game this past weekend at Eldridge Park. Phoenix broke through first on a low strike from Ronnie Harshbarger. Owen Juan added a first half hat-trick to put us up 4-1 at half. Corning United came out in the second half and took control. Despite a great affort from Devin Tennity, the Phoenix goalkeeper, Corning finished 4 goals in the second half to take the game 5-4. To be honest, I think Devin’s hands were so cold it made stopping the hard shots from Corning nearly impossible.

On any other warmer day, I believe the game would have ended up in our favor. We controlled the pace and shared the ball well. With continued hard work, this team will be able to achieve more positive results. Remember, we are a true U11 team playing in an u12 league. We may take some lumps, but the boys will improve at an accelerated rate because of it.

GOAL SCORERS:

Ronnie Harshbarger

Owen Juan (3)