After two years of success in the NPSL, the Annapolis Blues opened its USL League 2 campaign on a brisk May 24th night. The boys in blue were in no rush, calmly maintaining the lion’s share of possession throughout the match, leading to a 2-1 win.
Charlottesville isolated its press to the outside backs, allowing Annapolis’ center backs and holding midfielders plenty of time on the ball. On the attacking front, Charlottesville attempted to generate opportunities from counter attacks, proving critical in opening the scoring.
Intercepting a pass from defender Ian Webb-Johnson, CBFC forward Graham Dougald distributed the ball to Zsombor Pall who slipped a through ball into Mouhamed Tucker on the left wing. Tucker’s cross from the edge of the box nearly found the head of Pall, but bounced inside the six-yard box and took a deflection off Taku Takahashi’s knee. Leading to a scramble inside the box, Sulaiman Abdul-Mateen found the back of the net, beating Emigdio Tormo Lopez with a simple one-touch finish on the goal line.
Returning to Annapolis for his second season, Ben Madore would make his mark on the scoresheet. In an attempt to play out of the back, Charlottesville Blues goalkeeper Colin Gallagher played a loose pass into the midfield that was quickly intercepted by Brady Geho. The UMBC forward left his defender in the dust with a smooth ball roll and distributed a short pass to Madore. Madore took a touch, cut inside and split two defenders before releasing a snapshot into the bottom left corner, leveling things up for Annapolis.
Following two minutes of stoppage time, the sides entered the half at 1-1. Annapolis recorded four shots with two on target, while CBFC tallied two shots with only one on target.
Charlottesville created the first attacking chance in the second half, coming from Pall in the 54th minute. Tucker charged into the box on the left wing, driving toward the endline in going toe-to-toe with right back Matty Helfrich. Managing to get his cross off at the last minute, his ball was met by Pall’s darting header that was pushed away by a sprawling Lopez, who pawed away the go-ahead attempt with a diving save to his left.
Geho received a pass on the right flank in the 65th minute. Driving towards goal, Geho blew past his defender and fired off a shot that soared just above the bar and went out for a goal kick, giving Annapolis its first attacking opportunity of the half.
Proving to be a tactical mastermind again and again, Head Coach Colin Herriot’s second-half substitute Matthew Lenert secured all three points for Annapolis in the dying embers of the match. With the ball bouncing around the middle of the pitch, Lenert found himself on the end of a first-time pass that broke the CBFC midfield line. Taking it in stride, the College of Charleston forward didn’t miss a beat as he darted towards the 18-yard box. Unleashing a shot from the middle-right side of the pitch, he found the bottom left corner with an impressive finish, leaving Gallagher with no chance.
Looking to set attendance records in both the USL 2 and USL W leagues, the men and women return to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on May 31st. The men will open play, taking on Christos FC at 5 p.m., followed by the women at 7:30 p.m. who will face off against Richmond Ivy.
