NY Surf and Flash Battle to a 2-2 Stalemate in Buffalo
New York Surf Soccer Club (1-0-1, 4 points) returned to United Women’s Soccer (UWS) action on Saturday, battling the Western New York Flash (0-1-2, 2 points) to a 2-2 draw at All High Stadium in Buffalo, N.Y. The result now sets up a first-place showdown for NY Surf when the team comes home on June 3 to host the New England Mutiny (2-0-0, 6 points) at SUNY Maritime College.
“We thought we played very well,” said Michele Canning, NY Surf head coach. “We improved from last week, which is not easy playing the same team in the road. We moved the ball well, created more dangerous chances and conceded less. It was disappointing to not put the game away when we had the opportunity, but we still feel positive about the point on the road and know we will keep improving.”
NY Surf opened its account in this match-up just before the halftime whistle, registering the first goal of the afternoon in the 43rd minute. On that scoring sequence, Meagen Doyle was able to find midfielder Flo Gamby, who finished her assist to give NY Surf a 1-0 advantage when they headed to the locker room at the intermission.
In the 57th minute, NY Surf stretched its lead to two goals, with Doyle again orchestrating the offensive conversion. On the play, she was able to find Albania international Furtuna Velaj, who quickly collected the feed and put it away for her first goal of the young season.
The Flash was able to respond fairly quickly to the Velaj goal, scoring its first tally of the contest in the 61st minute when Madisyn Pezzino connected with Carissima Cutrona to make it 2-1.
Western New York eventually found the equalizer in the 87th minute, leveling the count on a series where forward Gretta Dry was able to cross a ball into the area from the right flank. There awaiting the distribution was Pezzino, who turned on a left-footed shot that found the back of the net.
Following the equalizer, NY Surf turned up the tempo on the offensive end in an effort to reclaim the advantage, but the team eventually settled for a hard-fought road point once the final whistle had been blown.
As mentioned, NY Surf returns home to SUNY Maritime College on Saturday, June 3, to host the New England Mutiny in a battle for the top of the UWS Eastern Conference Table. SUNY Maritime College is located at 6 Pennyfield Avenue in the Bronx, and kickoff for that match is set for 4:30 p.m.
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