Photo Courtesy of Annapolis Blues
Photo Courtesy of Annapolis Blues
The Annapolis Blues defeated FC Frederick by a score of 4-1 on Sunday, June 16th. The Blues are 4-0-0 all-time against Frederick.
In the second matchup of the season between the two sides, tempers were flaring as Blues’ right winger Alex Wroblewski and Frederick defender John Eskay started to get physical early on. Wroblewski would ultimately be the assist provider to Alex Abril, who opened the scoring for the Blues in the 13th minute. From the right wing Wroblewski slipped a through ball to Abril who made his way into the box. Receiving the pass that split Frederick’s defense, Abril took one touch and fired a shot that found the side netting of the back post, leaving Noah Kump with no chance. In the 23rd minute, Joni Ndrenika received the first yellow card of the match following his very late challenge through the back of Taku Takashi.
Rich Monath scored his second goal of the season to double the Blues’ lead in the 35th minute. Matty Helfrich took a quick free kick from midfield that caught the Frederick defense off guard, finding Abril in stride, just outside the edge of the box. Driving into a two-on-one situation, Abril played a square pass to Monath who curled his first-time finish into the corner of the back post. Just on the brink of halftime, Abril secured his brace. The Frederick defense attempted to play out of the back, however it led to a poor giveaway that found the feet of Wroblewski. As he drove into the box, Wroblewski took on the Frederick defenders and made his way to the endline. His squared pass beat Kump at the near post found the feet off Abril, who had a simple tap-in finish to the empty net.
The Blues came within millimeters of adding a fourth goal in the 50th minute. Monath opened the Frederick defense by playing a through ball to William Hitchcock, who was in a one-on-one against Kump. Hitchcock rolled his shot on the ground, past the onrushing goalkeeper. The ball hit the back post, rolled across the goal line, hit the other post, and was then cleared off the line by a Frederick defender. Yuval Nimrodi picked up a yellow card o in the 63rd minute, following yet another late tackle by a Frederick defender, this time on Helfrich. Takashi picked up a yellow card in the 65th minute after taking down Frederick forward Robbie Ryerson.
Adding another tally to the scoresheet, Takashi scored his first goal for the Blues in the 74th minute. Luke Dunne received the ball on the right wing, just outside the box and played a through ball to Hitchcock. The first time cross from the endline found Takashi, whose header looped over Kump and into the back post to put the Blues up 4-0. Just three minutes later, Takashi scored again, but this time against his own team. A Frederick cross came in from the left wing and made its way to the back post. Attempting to clear the ball with his weak foot, Takashi’s failed clearance took a wonky deflection that beat the diving Owen Allegro at his near post. The final 13 minutes did not see any significant attacking or defensive plays.
The Blues now hold eight of the top 10 highest attended NPSL regular season matches, following a Father’s Day attendance of 8,861 (second highest). With another win, there is no movement atop the rankings as the Blues continue to hold the top spot in the Mid-Atlantic Conference Table. The next match will take place on the road, against DMV Elite, kicking off at 7 p.m. on June 22. The Blues will return home to round out the regular season with two more home games. The first of which will be on June 29 and the latter on July 6; both are slated for 7 p.m. kickoffs against its respective opponents.
