Boca U23s and U20s Start July Strong
July 10, 2005
The Jersey Shore Boca men’s under-23 and under-20 teams began the second half of their summer soccer season in the Mid-Atlantic Summer Showcase League (MSSL) on Sunday as both teams squared-off against Cherry Hill United and the Iron Lakes Sports Club from Allentown, PA in a MSSL round-robin festival at the Manchester Soccer Complex.
Boca U23s and U20s Start July Strong
Teams go without losses on Sunday as second half of MSSL season begins
MANCHESTER TWP, NJ (July 10, 2005) – The Jersey Shore Boca men’s under-23 and under-20 teams began the second half of their summer soccer season in the Mid-Atlantic Summer Showcase League (MSSL) on Sunday as both teams squared-off against Cherry Hill United and the Iron Lakes Sports Club from Allentown, PA in a MSSL round-robin festival at the Manchester Soccer Complex.
The Boca under-23s started the day by giving up an early goal against Iron Lakes in the fourth minute of their first game that got past Boca U23 keeper Eugene Hahn (Roselle Park) after a scuffle just outside the penalty area.
After settling down defensively with strong play by the Boca back four of Eric Davis (Lakewood), James Early (Brick), Ryan Ruch (Toms River) and Frank Guacdascione (Manchester), Boca limited other scoring opportunities as the first half ended 1-0 in favor of Iron Lakes.
The second half began with Boca applying some pressure to Iron Lakes and creating several scoring chances of their own.
Twenty-five minutes into the second half, Boca’s Justin Fuccello (Brick) won a ball at midfield forty-yards out on the right side and served a cross to a streaking Ryan Campbell (Pt. Pleasant) on the left.
Campbell controlled the ball, went around a defender and ripped a left-footed shot which beat the Iron Lakes keeper high and to his left. It was Campbell’s second goal of the MSSL season. The game finished tied at 1-1.
In their second match of the day, the Boca U23s defeated Cherry Hill 1-0 credited with an own-goal as Hahn picked-up his second shut-out of the summer in the net for Boca which improves to 3-5-1 in the MSSL season.
Meanwhile, the Boca under-20 team battled Cherry Hill to a scoreless tie in their first game on Sunday at Manchester as Jon Curry Edwards (Spring Lake Heights) picked-up the shutout, his first of the summer.
After giving-up an early goal to Iron Lakes in the beginning of their second game, the Boca U20s got on the scoreboard in the tenth minute as Casey Zambor (Jackson) pushed-up from this stopper position to win a ball on the right side and found Andrew Perez (Brick) inside the box who beat the Iron Lakes keeper to the near post.
Perez scored again one minute later when Mark Schmiegel (Toms River) served a beautiful ball from the left side which found Perez all alone at the far post who tapped it in for his seventh goal of the season to end the first half 2-1 in Boca’s favor.
The Boca U20s tallied their third goal of the game in the fourth minute of the second half as Jason Mancuso (Toms River) played a prefect direct kick on the left side twenty-five yards out to Justin McGrath (Brick) who caught Iron Lakes standing still for the easy goal.
Mancuso made his presence felt again in the twenty-ninth minute of the second half as he served a ball from the right side and found a streaking Christian Pontier (Forked River) open at the six yard box who snapped in the head ball which became the eventual game winner after Iron Lakes scored late in the game to make the final 4-3 in Boca’s favor.
With the win and tie, the Boca under-20s improve to 4-4-1 in MSSL games.
Both Boca teams now wait for the other results from league play this weekend and an official announcement from MSSL to see if either team qualified for league wild-card berths to the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) U-23 and U-20 regional tournaments held in two weeks.
The Mid-Atlantic Summer Showcase League is a second 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, the national governing body for adult amateur soccer.
Jersey Shore Boca was one of the inaugural founding members of MSSL last year entering one U23 team.
The 2005 MSSL summer season began on June 4th and will finish on July 31st with the league playoffs and championship held at Ft. Dix.
The Jersey Shore Boca men’s summer soccer program is officially sponsored by Surf Taco, a popular Mexican themed restaurant chain based in Point Pleasant Beach.
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 27-year anniversary in 2005.
For more information about the Boca U23 and U20 teams and all other the Jersey Shore Boca programs visit the Club’s official web site at www.jerseyshoreboca.com
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