Annapolis, M.D. (06/10/2023) – The Annapolis Blues remain unbeaten after a victory over Virginia Beach City FC. In a fair, 80-degree night after a week-long hiatus from NPSL soccer, fans swarmed Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium to enjoy their next Blue’s home game. An audience of 7,665 people would lead to the second highest NPSL regular season attendance, securing the Blues in history as the highest and second highest attended games thus far.
The action kicked off early in the second minute of the game when Virginia Beach City striker Eli Carr found himself behind the Blue’s defense. Waiting for Carr to take a heavy touch, Griffin Hemmendinger rushed off his line, making the first save of the match off his foot at the near post. In the 16th minute, Justin Harris played a quick corner to Matias De Jesus, catching the Virginia Beach City defenders off guard. De Jesus cut outside and in, beating his defender but placed his shot just wide of the far post.
The first yellow card of the match was given to Brayden Wise for his late sliding challenge into the back of de Jesus. The first half would see neither team have any significant chances, however the Blues had most of any first half-chances, tallying seven corners and seven shots in the half.
As the second half opened, neither team started on the front foot. With head coach Colin Herriot making two substitutions before the 60th minute, the Blues would look to the bench for help, in similar fashion to last week’s game. One of the substitutes, Eric Gwadz, nearly found the opening goal for the Blues in the 63rd minute when he found the back of the net off a Francis Meyer cross, however it was disallowed for offsides.
Miles Lam found a breakthrough for the Blues in the 68th minute. After several dominant spells of possession, De Jesus found himself at the top of the box with the ball at his feet. As he fizzed a pass through the Virginia Beach City defense, the ball bounced off defenders and found the feet of Lam who hammered the first-time shot above the goalkeeper’s head, into the back of the net from 12 yards out.
Just three minutes later Hemmendinger made a critical save to keep the Blue’s in the lead. The City striker, Liam Moore, beat James Lee on the wing. Running into the box, he slotted his show to the low far post corner. However, it was met brilliantly by Hemmendinger at full stretch, as he pawed the shot with his left hand, pushing it away from danger.
The Blues doubled the lead in the 75th minute via second half substitute Gwadz. As De Jesus played a ball from the end line into the penalty spot, Toshi Davis struck it first-time, forcing a save from the City goalkeeper. The rebound was spilled into the feet of Gwadz as he charged into the box, placing his first-time finish into the back of the net, never breaking stride.
Jackson Ruckman would continue his positive form, scoring a goal in the 83rd minute. Luke Dunne crossed the ball from the right-hand side of the pitch off a corner kick. As the ball dropped into the box, Ruckman connected with the ball, flying in the air, finding the back of the net with an audacious scissor kick. Ruckman has scored two goals in his last two games.
The coaching masterclass from Herriot cannot be understated. In its last two home games, the Annapolis Blues have found vast success from the second half substitutions made by the head coach. “We have a good squad and a good roster. Everybody has a role to play,” said Herriot. “Everybody can be an impact player at some point through the course of the year.”
In just over a week on June 18th, the Blues will face off against Grove United at 5 p.m. The June 7th game against Northern Virginia United, canceled due to inclement weather from the poor air quality, is yet to be rescheduled.
