USL Match Report
Thursday, July 30, 2009
ROCKFORD, IL – In the second slate of matches at USL’s fourth annual Super-20 League North American Finals being held at Sportscore II in Rockford, Illinois: D.C. United (3-1), Parsippany SC (2-1), Alpharetta United (2-0), Chicago Fire (2-0), Chivas USA (2-1) and Red Bull New York (2-1) all were first day winners.
Men’s Standings [+]
In Parsippany’s 2-1 victory over the 2009 New England Division Champion MPS, high school senior Franklin Castellanos took over the first half, beating MPS goalkeeper Pat Ryan for a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute.
Just before that, Castellanos danced around a pair of MPS defenders on the left flank before a ball played over the top of the MPS back line sprung him deeper down the sideline and in on goal. Nearing the end line, Castellanos cut back and fed a wide-open teammate rushing on, but the ensuing shot on net missed high.
“Franklin is the youngest member of our team,” said Parsippany Vice President, Al Zalewski. “He is one of the most creative players I’ve seen. He has the ability to hold the ball in tight spaces and make things happen on his own.”
MPS responded well to the early goal, pressuring the Parsippany defense with their obvious size advantage and earning a free kick from a very dangerous area. However, the resulting free kick was canceled out by a well placed wall, preserving the 1-0 score.
Parsippany surged back just before the half but MPS’s Ryan kept his side in the game with two point-blank stops just before halftime.
“That was a great save,” said Zalewski. “I thought it was in the back of the net.”
Just three minutes into the second half however, Parsippany did capitalize, finding the eventual game-winner off a MPS turnover in the midfield.
Evan Zalewski knocked the ball latterly to teammate Eric Hayes, who was challenged quickly by an MPS center back. The sudden 50/50 ball was unexpectedly won by Hayes, who instantly found himself one-on-one with Ryan. The charging keeper did well to try and slow the attacker, but with much time and calculation, Hayes finished a slow-roller to the back post.
“I thought we were the better team today,” said MPS Head Coach Joe Bradley. “Unfortunately, a pair of mistakes just killed us.”
Switching to desperation mode, MPS slowly changed the second half from a game controlled by Parsippany into several quality offensive chances of their own.
Led by Bryan Longo, Mike Zazzara and Ian Rothkopf, MPS hammered away at Parsippany’s defense for much of the second half. Eventually, the New Englanders willed home a goal in the 88th minute.
On a corner kick taken by Longo, Rothkopf was the last to get a foot on a wild scrum in the box before it went in to make the score 2-1, but the goal had come too late as the match finished moments later.
“Ian obviously has a strong physical presence,” said Bradley. “He also has some good technique and quick feet for a guy his size. He is one of the boys who has a good chance of playing after college.”
“This result is disappointing for us,” added Bradley. “It puts us under a bit of pressure the next two days, but I am certain we will move on if we win both our matches.”
