Super Y League Feature

Monday, December 14, 2015

BRADENTON, Fla. – Connecticut-based Shoreline FC’s U16 Boys stayed composed and disciplined during Monday’s semifinal match against F.A. Euro New York in the 2015 Super Y League North American Finals.

After a scoreless first half, the floodgates opened as four different Shoreline players tallied a goal for a 4-1 victory to advance to the tournament’s championship. Peter Marment’s second-half goal ultimately was the game-winner.

With the win, Shoreline FC will now face DDYSC Wolves at 11 a.m. ET on Tuesday at IMG Academy Stadium.

“We’re the only Connecticut club in the Super Y, and these guys have got a great future ahead of them,” Shoreline Head Coach Danny Simpson said. “Hopefully there are college coaches watching them. There’s a lot of talent on this team and it means the world to them. The representation has been great. I know they’re back in Connecticut cheering us on.”

Shoreline and F.A. Euro have met on more than a few occasions over the past year, and the Connecticut side was well prepared heading into Monday’s game.

“This is the fourth time we played against F.A. Euro in the last eight months, and they’re a very good side,” Simpson said. “To get to the finals of nationals is just phenomenal. They’ve played through injuries and they’re battling hard.”

F.A. Euro New York had a fair amount of the ball in the opening half and could have gained the upper hand on several occasions. Deandre Gordon in particular threatened the Shoreline defense. A key moment was when Shoreline right back Mikey Levene blocked a Gordon strike approximately midway through the first half.

“We knew what we were up against,” Levene said. “We started off slow and didn’t have too many chances in the beginning, but we had confidence. That’s what kept us going through the game. We came back at halftime, our coach, Danny, just fired us up. We came back out and just put the balls in the back of the net. No big deal.”

Shoreline managed to withstand the attack to go into halftime scoreless against New York.

“Neither of us were creating too many chances,” Levene said. “They had a few shots on us and we had a few chances on them. Once we got that first goal, they just dropped their heads and we just kept going.”

Alessandro Canicatti started off the scoring with a run straight up the middle and slotting past Euro’s goalkeeper for a 1-0 Shoreline lead. Then Marment followed up a shot and crossed the ball over the goal line. New York’s defense cleared it, but the referee signaled that the ball crossed the plain. Chris Sheehan added a goal and Pablo Martinez drew a penalty kick and converted his attempt to push Shoreline’s lead to 4-0.

Though Nicholas Garzon added a late score for New York, Shoreline’s lead was never threatened.

Two factors that certainly came into play in the second half was recovery and energy. New York was incredibly shorthanded during its 2-1 win against Indiana Elite FC on Sunday to advance past the group stage, while Shoreline was able to recover heading into the knockout round.

“The way they have approached their recovery and how they’ve approached in between games has been so professional,” Simpson said. “They’ve treated themselves like pros, and when you get into a tournament of this level of football, it’s so important to recover. The game F.A. Euro played yesterday with eight players on the field probably wore them down at the end. But our recovery was superb. Our guys were at about 75 percent, which is the best we can ask for at this stage of the tournament. I said, ‘your 75 percent is good enough.’”

The foundation of Shoreline’s defense has stood out during the tournament, posting two rock solid shutouts in the group stage. Levene certainly stepped up in some big moments for the club on Monday. Levene has been with Shoreline for several years and spent a year away from the club to gain some experience in Denmark.

“He puts his body on the line for the team,” Simpson said of Levene. “When you’re willing to commit yourself for the benefit of the team, that’s a player that a coach dreams of.”

Only one game remains for Shoreline, which swept its group stage and had to endure a hard fought 3-2 come-from-behind win against ACYS Spirit United on Sunday to make this knockout round stage possible.

“This is the dream,” Levene said. “We’re the only team from Connecticut in the league. Yesterday we had an amazing game, down 2-1 and came back in the last few minutes of the game. Who could ask for more?”

SYL National Finals – Additional Semifinal Results (U14 to U18 Boys):
U18 Boys – Ironbound SC 1, Barcelona USA Maryland SC 0: Bryan Medina scored the game’s lone goal – a second-half header into the upper right corner – as Ironbound advanced to Tuesday’s final against Met Oval. 

U18 Boys – Met Oval 2, TSF Academy 2 (7-6 PKs): Met Oval defeated TSF Academy in a shootout to advance to Tuesday’s final against Ironbound SC. TSF’s goals in regulation came from Ritchie Barry and Andrew Nino. Alexis Santa had a regulation goal for Met Oval.

U16 Boys – DDYSC Wolves 3, DCPDA 1: DDYSC scored three first-half goals, two by Zahmyre Harris, and held on for the win against DCPDA. Lagos Kunga scored DDYSC’s other goal while DCPDA’s Jacob Barrette found the score sheet in the second half.

U14 Boys – Kalamazoo Kingdom 3, Alpharetta Ambush Soccer Club 1: Despite a halftime deficit, Kalamazoo’s offense awoke in the second half as Dylan Sing, Levi Crooks and Max Keenan each had a goal – with Keenan adding an assist – to defeat the Ambush and advance to Tuesday’s title game.

U14 Boys – Miramar United Elite FC 1, Pittsburgh Riverhounds 0: Jude Waugh scored the game-winner in the final five minutes of regulation to push Miramir into the championship match on Tuesday. United has yet to give up a goal in the tournament, outscoring its opponents 11-0 for four victories.