A Solid Sunday
June 19, 2006
Justin McGrath and the Jersey Shore Boca U23 men’s team traveled to North Brunswick on Sunday afternoon for two games in their third week of play in the Mid-Atlantic Summer Showcase League (MSSL) taking on the host club Jersey Knights in the opener and the Atlantic City Diablos in the second match of the day.
A Solid Sunday
Mancuso, McGrath tally two goals each as Boca U23 men’s team wins two and stays atop MSSL standings while remaining undefeated
NORTH BRUNSWICK, NJ (June 18, 2006) – The Jersey Shore Boca U23 men’s team traveled to North Brunswick on Sunday afternoon for two games in their third week of play in the Mid-Atlantic Summer Showcase League (MSSL) taking on the host club Jersey Knights in the opener and the Atlantic City Diablos in the second match of the day.
After playing to a scoreless tie in the first half against the Knights, Boca’s Jay Mancuso (Toms River) tallied his team-leading third goal of the season when he beat the Knights keeper to the far post off a twenty-yard cross from George Gkionis (Jackson) at eight minutes into the second half.
The Knights tallied their only goal of the game fifteen minutes later when one of their forwards bested Boca goalkeeper Jon Curry Edwards (Spring Lake Heights) to the left side after collecting a bouncing ball which Boca could not clear out of their penalty area.
In the game’s 75th minute, Boca’s Danny Haydu (Toms River) was fouled forty yards out on the left side.
Haydu, who will be a junior at Monmouth University in September, ripped the free kick on goal which deflected off two players to a waiting Christian Pontier (Forked River) inside the eighteen yard box who buried the game winner past the Knight’s keeper to make the final 2-1 in Boca’s favor.
In their second game of the day against the Diablos, Justin McGrath (Brick) staked Boca to a 2-0 first-half lead scoring two goals five minutes apart in the twenty-second and twenty-seventh minutes, off assists by Mark Schmiegel (Toms River) and Mancuso.
Boca opened the scoring in the second half six minutes in when Schmiegel found Chris Konopka (Toms River) on the right side who placed the ball to the right of the Diablo’s keeper to make the score 3-0. Konopka, who is normally seen between the pipes for Boca, was called on as a field player both games due to some injuries and personal commitments which limited the Boca roster on the day.
After allowing the Diablos back into the game with two unanswered goals, Boca’s Mancuso netted his second tally of the day and fourth of the season in the 65th minute when Stevens Tech. sophomore midfielder Versh Tivzenda (Marietta, GA) slotted a thru ball to the former Toms River North standout who beat the Diablo keeper near side to make the final 4-2 Boca.
Boca goalkeeper Curry-Edwards picked-up his second win of the afternoon.
The Boca U23s remain undefeated in league play and improve to 5-0-1 and stay in first place in the MSSL U23 men’s standings for their second consecutive week.
MSSL is a third year regional soccer league fostering high-level competition during the summer months at both the youth and adult ages in both men’s and women’s divisions.
The adult level of MSSL is specifically designed for collegiate players under the age of twenty-three and is fully sanctioned by the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA), the national governing body for adult amateur soccer.
The Jersey Shore Boca men’s summer soccer program is officially sponsored by Surf Taco, a popular Mexican themed restaurant chain with locations throughout the jersey shore.
Boca has been a fixture in the soccer community since 1978 and is one of the most respected soccer clubs on the East Coast.
The Club is celebrating their 28-year anniversary in 2006.
For more information about the Boca U23 team and all other the Jersey Shore Boca programs logon to the Club’s official web site at www.jerseyshoreboca.com
news