Boca Drops Heartbeaker In MSSL Cup Semis
July 30, 2006
The U23 Boca team advanced to the semi-final game of the MSSL Cup on Sunday afternoon at the John F. Patrick Sports Complex in Lakewood before loosing a heartbreaker to West Chester United completing their summer season. Boca advanced to the semifinal match with a shut-out of the Golden Hawks of the NJ Rangers Soccer Club in preliminary MSSL Cup action.
Boca Drops Heartbreaker In MSSL Cup Semis
U23 team completes one of the best summer seasons in Club history
LAKEWOOD, NJ (July 30, 2006) – The Jersey Shore Boca U23 men’s soccer team advanced to the semi-final game of the Mid-Atlantic Summer Showcase League (MSSL) Championships on Sunday afternoon at the John F. Patrick Sports Complex in Lakewood before loosing a 2-1 heartbreaker to West Chester United (PA) completing their summer season.
Boca advanced to the semifinal match with a 1-0 shut-out of the Golden Hawks of the NJ Rangers Soccer Club from Denville early Sunday morning in preliminary MSSL Cup action.
In the first game, Andy Fraggos (Marlboro) tallied his third game winning goal of the season for Boca about 18 minutes into the second half as the Towson University junior snapped-home a head-ball into the far corner off a twenty-yard picture perfect service by Andy Perez (Brick) for the only goal of the game.
Chris Konopka (Toms River) picked-up this fourth shut-out of the summer between the pipes for Boca.
In the semi-final MSSL Cup match, West Chester tallied the first goal of the game mid-way through the first stanza when their attack beat Boca GK Jon Curry-Edwards (Spring Lake Heights) to the right side after West Chester moved quickly through the mid-field uncontested.
After another tally by West Chester early in the second half, Boca made the game interesting as Christian Pontier (Forked River) found Perez inside the West Chester penalty area fifteen minutes in who buried his fourth goal of the season and cut to score to 2-1.
Although Boca created 3 or 4 quality scoring opportunities during the remainder of the match, the U23s could not find the equalizer as the semi-final game ended with West Chester advancing to the MSSL Cup finals.
In the MSSL Championship game after a 1-1 tie through regulation and overtime, West Chester defeated Milmay FC from South Jersey on FIFA penalty kicks to claim the 2006 MSSL Cup.
The Boca U23 team played 22 games during the 2006 season and finished with an overall record of 16-5-1 which included five exhibition games (3-2-0), twelve league games (10-1-1), three USASA Regional Tournament games (2-1-0) and two MSSL Cup games (1-1-0).
Excluding their five exhibition games, the Boca U23 team scored thirty-seven goals while only allowing sixteen with the goalkeeper tandem of Konopka and Curry-Edwards finishing with a 0.94 goals against average for the season.
“This has to be one of the best summer seasons our U23 teams have had in the recent history of our Club. Twenty-two games played since March with sixteen wins, a second place finish during the league regular season, USASA U23 tournament semi-finalist and MSSL Cup semi-finalist. I’m very happy to have had the opportunity to coach a very talented group of players this year. The guys played very well this summer and went well beyond my expectations. I’m very proud of all of them and will be following each one of them during their college seasons this fall” mentioned Walt Konopka, a member of the Jersey Shore Board of Directors who also coaches the Boca U23 team.
“Also, on behalf of all of our Boca U23 coaches and players, I would like to give a special thanks to Lakewood Township and the Lakewood Department of Recreation for hosting the MSSL Cup this year. Their new complex (John F. Patrick Sports Complex) is a great venue truly worthy of such an event. They did a wonderful job getting the facilities ready” finished Konopka.
MSSL is a third year regional soccer league fostering high-level competition during the summer months at both the youth and adult ages in both men’s and women’s divisions in which Jersey Shore Boca is a founding member.
The adult level of MSSL is specifically designed for collegiate players under the age of twenty-three and is fully sanctioned by the USASA, the national governing body for adult amateur soccer.
The Jersey Shore Boca men’s summer soccer program is officially sponsored by Surf Taco, a popular Mexican themed restaurant chain with locations throughout the jersey shore.
Boca has been a fixture in the soccer community since 1978 and is one of the most respected soccer clubs on the East Coast.
The Club is celebrating their 28-year anniversary in 2006.
For more information about the Boca U23 team and all other the Jersey Shore Boca programs logon to the Club’s official web site at www.jerseyshoreboca.com
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