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Boca Men and Women Fall Short In MSSL Cups
July 22, 2007

Boca’s Christian Pontier attempts to re-direct a shot on goal in the 2007 Mid-Atlantic Summer Showcase League Cup finals yesterday. The Boca U23 men’s and women’s teams both fell short in the finals of the 2007 MSSL Cup Championships on Sunday on the grounds of Ft. Dix but not before scoring some big-game upsets and making some league and Club history along the way.
Boca Men and Women Fall Short In MSSL Cups

U23 teams score big upsets and make league history along the way as both squads advanced to championship games

FT. DIX, NJ (July 22, 2007) – The Jersey Shore Boca U23 men’s and women’s teams both fell short in the finals of the 2007 Mid-Atlantic Summer Showcase League (MSSL) Cup Championships on Sunday on the grounds of Ft. Dix but not before scoring some big-game upsets and making league history along the way.

The Jersey Shore Boca men and women become the first teams in MSSL league history to advance to both the men’s and women’s final game of the MSSL Cup Championships during the same season from the same soccer club.

The Boca women dropped a 1-0 heartbreaker to the Middlepath Soccer Club from New York in the U23 women’s championship game while the Boca men fell 2-0 to AC Perugia from Eastern Pennsylvania in the U23 men’s championship match.

In their first preliminary-round game on Sunday, the Boca women, who are in their inaugural season together, pulled-off one of the biggest upsets of the afternoon knocking-off the highly favored NJ Wildcats 1-0 on a goal by Brick Memorial HS alum Jessica Fuccello assisted by Lakewood’s Erin Cunliffe.

Cunliffe, who tallied 5 goals and 2 assists in 16 games last year for The College of New Jersey as a sophomore, found Fuccello streaking down the right side with three minutes remaining to play in the first half.

Fuccello, the 2006 University of Pennsylvania’s women’s scoring leader and Second-team All-Ivy selection as a freshman, collected the ball at her feet and buried her shot to the near post past the Wildcats keeper for the game winner.

The NJ Wildcats squad is also a member of the United Soccer League’s W-League.

In their second game of the day, the Boca women recorded a 0-0 tie against the Eastchester Patriots (NY) giving them 3 overall points during the initial MSSL Cup rounds and advancing them to the women’s championships.

Emily Wagner, a 2004 Brick HS graduate who started 20 games for Lock Haven University (PA) last season, was nothing less then exceptional between the pipes for Boca allowing just one goal in three games while recording two shut-outs in Boca’s championship run.

On the men’s side, Boca started the day with a 2-0 win in preliminary-round action against the NJ Rangers on goals from former Toms River North standouts Mark Schmiegel in the 17th minute and Jay Mancuso in the 55th minute.

Jeremy Zahn (Manchester Twp) assisted on Schmiegel’s goal with a cross from the left side while Schmiegel, who started all 23 games for Bucknell University last year as a sophomore, assisted Mancuso on a service from the right side to the far post.

The Boca men then recorded their own upset of the afternoon, playing last year’s MSSL Cup Champions and this year’s favorite selection West Chester United (PA) to a scoreless draw in their second match of the day giving the Boca men 3 overall points during the MSSL Cup preliminary-rounds and advancing them into league history and the men’s championship match.

Recent Lakewood High School graduate Charlie Cunliffe led Boca in the net for the U23 men allowing only 2 goals on the day while recording two shut-outs in three games.

Cunliffe, a long-time member of Boca youth teams earlier in his career, will vie for time between the pipes this September as a freshman joining Boca U23 teammate Andrew Finger, when he begins his college career at Rowan University.

Jersey Shore Boca is participating in MSSL for the fourth consecutive year this summer as one of the league’s inaugural founding members.

MSSL is a regional summer soccer league, which is specifically designed for collegiate players under the age of twenty-three and is fully sanctioned by the United States Adult Soccer Association.

The Jersey Shore Boca summer soccer program is officially sponsored by Surf Taco, a popular Mexican themed restaurant chain with six 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 29-year anniversary in 2007.

For more information about the Boca U23 teams and all other the Jersey Shore Boca programs logon to the Club’s official web site at www.jerseyshoreboca.com

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