The regular season kicked off on a dry, sunny Saturday morning with an away match against the Ukies. The Maroon men faced Karpaty in the Perlini tournament Labor Day weekend and won that matchup 3-0. A week later, the teams looked more evenly matched. ACU drew first blood with a Jimmy G goal (5') assisted by Harry H on a setup from Nick S. Maroon launched 8 attacks in the first 10 minutes, at least two of them thanks to strong play on the right side from Brad T. Karpaty answered in the 13th with a beautiful top-left goal that not even Kyle M could block. Kyle, who played keeper for both halves, would go on to make key saves in the 18th and 24th minutes. The momentum of the game swung in the Ukies' direction after the first 10 minutes, but ACU held the Ukies to only five total shots in the half. The match was tied 1:1 at halftime.
AC United came out swinging again to start the second half, with six shots on goal in the first nine minutes, culminating in an unassisted Jimmy G goal (44') from the top of the box. Once again, though, the Ukies responded quickly, this time with a ground-ball goal (48') that caught the Maroon defense off guard. And this time, ACU suffered a major setback, as defenseman Ricky C suffered a concussion after going up for a ball in midair.
When play resumed, the Ukies kept up the pressure for several minutes, taking four more shots before the 60th minute. ACU found its way back to the other half of the field, though, and Jimmy G secured a hat trick (66') with an assist from Nick S. The Ukies made a few more runs at the goal in the closing minutes of the match, but the damage was done. Final score Karpaty 2:3 AC United.
Next Match
Home vs. Hunter Tornadoes (0-1-0), Saturday, September 18th. Hunter lost 5-2 to the Plymouth Fire in their opener.
Notes and Stats
Shots on goal, 1st half: 5 Karpaty / 3 ACU
Shots on goal, 2nd half: 6 Karpaty / 10 ACU
Corner kicks allowed: 8 Karpaty / 0 ACU
Cards: Michael P (40', yellow)
Attacks and Shots
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