Strikers Take Second Place
The 2015 Strikers brought home second place in their first tournament ever. The Strikers started off by playing the Medford SC club. The Strikers came out strong and grabbed an early lead on a goal by Yaw Barwuah. The Medford club was able to level the score on a counter attack slipping a goal just past the Strikers goalie Reno Furlough. The coaching staff made minor adjustments at half time and set the kids back onto the pitch. The message was “We will win this game.” that confidence was rewarded as Jett Aviles scored the go ahead goal and Reno and the defense pitched a shutout in the second half to get a hard fought win.
The second game was against the Mount Laurel Wolfpack. While the Wolfpack may have had the home field advantage, it was the Strikers that made themselves at home. The Strikers dominated both halves of the game and came away with a dominate 5-1 victory. Goals were scored by Colin Todd(2), Colton Duino, Jett Aviles, and Yaw Barwuah. The win setup a final match between the top two teams in the group. The Sunday match would be for the group championship.
The third, and final, match put the Hamilton Strikers against the West Windsor-Plainsboro(WW-P) 2015 boys. The WW-P team was reenforced by 4 members of their 2016 team giving them additional firepower and more substitutes. The WW-P team went into the final match after accumulating 13 goals in two games.
The Strikers game up two early goals on counter attack break aways. The WW-P team was able to finish smartly and get a lead they would not relinquish. Before the half ended, WW-P was able to add a third goal on corner kick that was bend into the goal directly from the kick.
The Strikers did not give up. After the second half kick-off the Strikers marched down the field and scored an early goal by Yaw Barwuah. The strikers kept up the pace and played the vast majority of the second half in the WW-P end of the field. There were many good opportunities and a few close calls, but the ball did not bounce the right way and WW-P was able to keep the Strikers from bring the game any closer.
WW-P 3, Strikers 1
Playing 3 games in 2 days, the team showed a lot of heart and determination. The tournament was a very good showing with the Strikers showing vast improvement since the beginning of the year. They take the field again on October 9th as they travel to the Dutchman FC for the first round of the MOSA Curci Cup.
