Photo courtesy of Annapolis Blues
Annapolis, M.D. (07/15/2023) – In front of 8,480 spectators, the Annapolis Blues and Alexandria Reds faced off in the Mid-Atlantic Conference Championship game.
In a rematch of the sole loss for the Blues this season, the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium was filled with energy. The first chance for the Blues came in the 10th minute. Leo Palomo danced and dribbled his way down the endline and squared a ball to Gordon Bernlohr whose shot was blocked by the Reds’ defender from eight yards out.
In the 30th minute Bernlohr would break the deadlock and open the scoring for the Blues. Stripping Reds defender Matias Hendi at midfield, Jacob Murrell sprinted down the right side of the pitch. As Murrell then outpaced Mudi Jagha he lifted the ball above the onrushing Reds’ goalkeeper, finding the feet of Bernlohr who took a touch and finished it into the empty net. Jagha received the first yellow card of the game in the 42nd minute after a two footed tackle on Murrell. As tempers started to flare, the Reds were awarded another yellow card, this time to Rafael Machado-Esteves. Jackson Ruckman received the first yellow card for the Blues in stoppage time of the first half.
Early on in the second half Ruckman received his second yellow card after dragging down Seni Joseph at the top of the box, dropping the Blues down to ten men for the remainder of the game. The resulting freekick was blocked by the wall and resulted in no further attacking opportunities for the Reds. As time went on, the game continued to get more physical; Andrew Schug received a yellow card in the 62nd minute for another foul at the top of the box. The Reds tied the game in the 65th minute. Running down the right side of the field, Pat Kakayira slipped a ball across to Chris Barnard whose low shot beat Griffin Hemmindinger at the near post.
The second half was filled with aggression, as a majority of the cards and calls were delivered to the Reds. In the 75th minute Jeffrey Aguilar received a straight red card for dissent and disorderly conduct. Additionally in the same minute Seni Joseph received a yellow card. In the 79th minute Kakayira received a yellow card for a rash challenge on the left side of the field. In the 83rd minute, the Blues conceded a penalty kick after Luke Dunne tackled Chris Barnard, which the referee deemed to be an unfair challenge. Barnard stepped up to the spot and calmly rolled his shot into the bottom left corner.
Murrell played hero on the night as he would equalize for the Blues in the dying embers of the second half. In the 97th minute Miles Lam took a throw in from the left side of the field that was headed away by Jagha. The attempted clearance fell to the feet of Murrell at the top of the box, who thundered home the first-time volley into the bottom left corner of the net, leaving Nick Conklu with no chance.
In the 116th minute, the Reds were reduced to nine men when Kevin Ventura was sent off after hitting the ball out of Hemmindinger’s hands, then following up with dissent towards the referee. With neither team able to find the winning goal, the game would be decided over a penalty kick shootout. As both teams battled back and forth, it would ultimately by the Blues who would come out on top. Hemmindinger saved Daniel Ankrah’s low struck penalty in the second round. Lam’s penalty was saved in the fourth round as he went to the bottom right, but the miss was immediately followed up by another save from Hemmindinger, this time on Bardia Hormozi’s penalty in the bottom right corner. Murrell stepped up to the spot and smashed his penalty to the bottom left corner, securing the Mid-Atlantic Conference title for the Blues.
With the win over the Alexandria Reds, the Annapolis Blues advance to the East Region Semi-Finals and will play on July 21st.
