New York Shockers Advance to East Region Final
By Matt Ralph NPSL.com
New York Shockers fell behind early and again after a weather delay but both times fought back to equalize and took their first lead late in the second half on a well struck free kick to top West Chester United SC and advance to Saturday’s NPSL East Region Final.
Picking up right where he left off in the Keystone West Conference final, Owen Slack got in behind the Shockers defense and hit home a pass from Ken Roby to get West Chester United going, making it 1-0 in the third minute.
Facing a West Chester defense that had conceded just five times in 11 games, the Shockers had a sizable task ahead of them conceding so early. But they got just the response they needed less than 15 minutes later when Yusif Okine cleaned up a rebound on a long-range knuckling shot to even things up 1-1.
“We knew it was going to be a big challenge; they’re a great team,” said Wisdom Ishaya, who played a big role in getting his team back into the game after the early letdown. “We just took it step by step and were able to get the goal back. I’m just so proud of this team. We want to keep winning and make our fans and Albany proud.”
The Shockers swarming attack, switch of play, and aggressiveness in 50-50 balls challenged the stingy West Chester defense but a weather delay threatened to throw the visitors off course again.
The delay was whistled just before halftime with West Chester lining up for a dangerous free kick. Yassine Elkahloun used the hour-long delay wisely knowing the chance he had to put his team back in front. Coming out of the break he fired them ahead with a great strike.
Down once again, the Shockers returned from the brief halftime undeterred with Jackson Leon leading the attack down the left flank. Running at the defense with the ball, he was able to create some chances and bury an equalizer just five minutes after halftime. The game was back on.
Trading blows, the two teams tussled for the next 20-plus minutes with substitutes entering the fray looking for a magical moment. Elkahloun had another free kick attempt from a dangerous spot but rather than repeating his earlier success his near miss proved an omen for teenager Dren Dobruna, who fired in the game-winning goal, hitting nearly the same spot of the back of the net where Elkahloun’s goal had gone in.
“After traveling four and a half hours and going behind in the first five minutes of the game, we came back and just played with a big heart,” said assistant coach Gustavo Da Costa. “We’re missing a lot of players and a lot of starters couldn’t make it today but I said listen, we’re going to go out and there and play our best. I’m really proud of these guys.”
West Chester did make things interesting in the final 11 minutes of regulation and through four minutes of extra time. Though it didn’t show on the scoreboard, their attack was able to create a number of chances off combination play in the final third and was so close to finding an equalizer late with a ball cleared off the line and a goal called off for offside.
“To their credit, they came back twice,” West Chester head coach Blaise Santangelo said. “We made a mistake on the first goal and again on the second goal, and they punished us for it.”
The Shockers will visit FC Motown, 1-0 winners over Virginia Dream FC in the other East Region semifinal, with a chance to represent the East in the national semifinals on July 27. That was the spot West Chester United was hoping to get back to after losing the national semifinal in 2023.
Photo Credit: Matt Ralph/NPSL.com
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