The Sonic (2-0) took to the road for the first time this season, and overcame a stubborn FC Reading Revolution side by a score of 3-1 Friday night at Shirk Stadium. After dominating much of the play from the outset and spending much of the time in the Revolution half of the field, Sonic took a 1-0 lead on Ricky Mucelli’s zero-angle goal in the 26th minute. “That was all Ricky,” expressed Sonic’s coach Dave Weitzman. Ricky is a tireless worker on the field and deserved that goal, said Weitzman.
The second half began much like the first, with the Sonic side having more of the run of play, but without the finishes necessary to extend the lead. The Revolution continued to be on their heels early and often until a corner kick for Sonic was poorly taken and the Revolution’s Pete Rowley (also plays for the Philadelphia Kixx) changed the momentum. With the Sonic players pressing for a second goal, the poorly struck corner bounced out to Rowley, who made a quick turn on a defender and began racing up the center of the field toward the goal. Gibrilla Conde joined Rowley on the attack, and Rowley slipped him a leading pass up the left side of the pitch. Sonic’s right back Matt Cecconi (Muhlenberg College) tracked the pass down but was unable to dispossess Conde of the ball as AJ Barnold and goalkeeper Sam Bishop closed Conde down. However, Conde pushed a 20-yarder far to the right post and past the Sonic keeper, the goal was the Revolution’s first of the season.
Spurred on by the equalizer, the Sonic turned up the heat again, with only six minutes remaining, such a short time for the FC Reading Revolution to hold off its opponent and earn their season’s first draw, but the Revolution wouldn’t get that chance, instead watching as Carlington Lamont’s penalty kick breezed by goalie Rich Kessler for a 2-1 lead.
Tony Pacella appeared to have an angle on Cody Antonini ,who pushed forward from the midfield late in the match, sweeping in to tackle the ball away before being called for a penalty a step inside the 18-yard box. The call immediately drew arguments from Revolution head coach Mike Moyer and from the Rev’s bench. “Pacella won the ball,” said Moyer, who was visibly upset about the game’s turning point. “He won the ball. It was a clean tackle and he won the ball. It was blatantly clear.
As the final minutes ticked away the Revolution were awarded a corner. Moyer pushed all the Rev players into the box, desperately seeking a draw. When the corner was cleared outside the 18 yard line, it was picked up by Lamont who had nothing between him and the opposing goal but 75 yards of turf and the Reading keeper. Following a stunning run during which Lamont actually seemed to gain ground on the chasing Rev players, the Sonic stalwart shimmied around Kessler and walked the ball into the net for the final tally, followed with a double back flip, in front of “Reggae Nation” that put the icing on the cake and the supporters Jamm’n to the chants of SONIC, SONIC, SONIC.
The Sonic were led by strong efforts from Mucelli up front, and by defender James Graf in the back, along with typical solid work from keeper Sam Bishop. We were a bit fortunate tonight to earn the three points but we clearly deserved them, said Weitzman. We outplayed them throughout the entire match but they kept battling and I give Mike (Moyer) and his players a lot of credit for never quitting. He has a good group of players over there and they have a lot to look forward too in the near future. However, we have a quality side here at FC Sonic and I’m especially happy for our boys as they, also, never stopped working hard on the field. Our strengths this year, without question, are our depth & our leadership. It doesn’t matter who I put on the field as we have confidence in every one of our boys. With Graf, Hess, Mucelli, & Bishop leading the charge they demand excellence from their teammates, not only in matches but also in training. In our first two matches, all of our field players have seen the pitch and every one of them have contributed to our early success.
FC Sonic and the “Reggae Nation” take to the road again on June 6th as they play a midday matinee, at 2pm, against rival Pocono Snow at ESU’s ELIER-MARTIN STADIUM.
The locals return home to Lehigh’s Ulrich Stadium on June 11th for a 7:30pm match against FC Buffalo.
Soccer Fans!….NPSL Soccer is back in the Lehigh Valley!
Service Electric’s Awarding Winning TV 2 Sports is proud to announce the FC SONIC Preview Show being aired Tuesday at 5:30pm & Thursday and Friday 8pm.
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