Photo Courtesy: Annapolis Blues
"Games are won and lost, but teams last forever. That’s an official wrap to the Annapolis Blues FC Inaugural season! Milestones reached, records shattered, and memories made! Thank you to everyone involved. Till next year Annapolis!" -- Annapolis Blues | facebook.com/annapolisblues
Montclair, N.J. (07/21/2023) – The Annapolis Blues faced off against West Chester United SC at Montclair State University Soccer Park, home of New York Red Bulls 2 and FC Motown, in NPSL East Region Semi-Final match.
The action started right away, with the first goal of the match coming in the third minute via Dominick Bachstein, a senior at Drexel University. A corner kick was delivered in from the left side of the field that was punched cleared and away from danger by Griffin Hemmindinger. From the resulting throw in, the ball bounced around amongst both teams until falling at the feet of Ridge Robinson who lifted a through ball behind the Blues’ defense. Bachstein finished his opportunity on a first-time chipped shot over head of Hemmindinger who rushed out of his goal, putting West Chester up 1-0. Bachstein was called up to the West Chester NPSL side after the club’s USL League Two team was eliminated from playoff contention.
Robinson doubled the lead for West Chester in the 12th minute. A corner kick was swung in, this time from the right side of the field. The initial header bounced off the crossbar and back into the box. Standing in the right place at the right time, the ball landed at the feet of Robinson who calmly slotted his shot into the bottom left corner from roughly six yards out. A couple minutes later Blues’ midfielder Toshi Davis received the first yellow card of the game for his late challenge in the middle of the field.
In the 37th minute Hemmindinger made a one on one save to keep the score at 2-0. Brandon Curran received a pass inside the box and took a touch that split two Blues’ defenders. Hemmindinger came off his line and down into a split save, deflecting the shot away and out of danger. Kenneth Roby scored in the 44th minute, making it a 3-0 lead for West Chester going into the half. Bachstein, who was just outside the 18-yard box, received a pass from the left-hand side of the field. After turning his defender, Bachstein distributed a pass from the center of the field to the right wing, finding Roby in stride. Roby took one touch to settle, then rocketed his shot into the top left corner, leaving Hemminidinger with no chance.
Annapolis saw no major attacking opportunities in the first half, remaining on the back foot for a majority of the half. The Blues were continually being pressed by West Chester while continually attempting to dissect the opponent’s tactics. In the 58th minute Hemmindinger made another save to keep the deficient at three. Vincent Petrera, a sophomore at Villanova, started his run from just inside the half. Sprinting past Blues’ midfielders and attackers, Petrera made his way into the box where fired a shot just above the head of Hemmindinger that was pushed over the bar at full stretch. Elton de Oliveira Santos received a yellow card in the 74th minute for his studs up challenge on a West Chester attacker.
In stoppage time of the second half Petrera scored a goal to seal the 4-0 win for West Chester. In the 92nd minute, West Chester received a freekick on the right side of the field that was taken quickly. As the attacker made a run into the box, the ball was played across the 6-yard box on the ground, finding the feet of Petrera for a simple tap in goal. The second half was played in similar fashion to the first half for the Blues; a game dominated by West Chester across all parts of the field. The 4-0 loss ends the inaugural, record setting NPSL season for the Annapolis Blues who will look to bounce back in the 2024 season. The support from fans has been astronomical, showing that soccer is here to stay in Naptown.
West Chester United, who remain unbeaten on the season, will advance to the NPSL East Region Finals on July 22nd at 7pm against FC Motown.
