Sports
Allentown’s travel soccer season kicks off with bang

The Allentown United U12 travel soccer team kicked off its fall campaign with a 2-1 victory over a tough Pinelands Dragons squad.

Allentown pressed the attack right from the start but was continually thwarted by a strong showing from the Dragons’ talented goalkeeper.

Pinelands got out in front 1-0, putting in the all important first goal off a scramble in front of the net.

The United kept up the pressure and got on the scoreboard when Haley Wilhelm drove a shot through the hands of the Dragons’ keeper. The United continued to press the attack and Matt Frein put in the game winner in the second half to pull out a victory for Allentown.

The United’s defense played superb in holding the Dragons to only one score. The defense was led by Bryan Pope, Danny Bailey, Kevin Bux and Danny Santos, who shut down the Dragons’ most explosive player for the entire second half. The United’s midfield, led by Dean Search, Connor Darrell and Brandon Bush, controlled the flow of the game, continually creating scoring opportunities for the offense. The United got strong performances from Chris Wittholt and Mic Sowa up front. Hayley Odell, Kelsey Glover and Charlie Nicholls provided strong midfield play. Alex Fortsch manned the nets and made the key saves when called upon to ensure the victory. The United will play its first home game of the season this Saturday at 1:15 p.m. against defending champion the Lakewood Lazers at Allentown’s brand-new Mark Harbourt Soccer Complex.

Allentown United U14 kicks off

fall 2002 season victoriously

The Allentown United U14 travel soccer team truly played like a team on Saturday against the Lacey Fireballs.

With a series of coordinated offensive plays, Allentown was able to generate a 3-1 lead by the end of the first half. The Fireballs’ goalkeeper played an outstanding first half.

Allentown’s defense would not allow another goal for the balance of the game.

The offensive strike was driven by Jimmy Search, Andrew McGovern, Brandon Smith, Matt Wilhelm, William Morris, and Taylor Lefebrue. An outstanding effort, on both sides of the ball was conducted by Matthew Sergeant, Andrew Rauth, Sam Florio, Natalie Howell, Joey Cook, Amber Hoffman, Brian Corcodilos, Kyle Ondy, Saskia Hesselein and Jackie Turner.

The Allentown United’s next game will be at home at the Mark Harbourt fields against the Howell Sports Academy on Saturday at 1:15 p.m.

Allentown Cardinals fall

to Beachwood

The Allentown Cardinals lost to the Beachwood Panthers by a score of 6-0. Although it was apparent from the start that the Cardinals were much younger and smaller than their U14 competition, after the game the Cardinals received acclaim from officials present due to the hard-nosed, tenacious manner in which they battled right up to the last moment.

Joey Warner, in his first-ever game as starting goalkeeper, made several outstanding saves. The Cardinals’ hustling offense was manned by Ethan Dale, John DePinto, Jarrett Kunze, Ben Lawrence, Stevie Monticello, Robert Scheuerman and Eddy Tantillo. Alex Berwick, Karan Madan, Sean Miller, Pace Nalbone and Nicky SaLemme played their best against a stronger foe.

The Cardinals play their next game at the Mark Harbourt complex against the Toms River Youth Steamrollers Saturday at 11:30 a.m.

Steam Rollers nip Allentown

Red Devils, 4-3

The Allentown Red Devils U14 coed team was on the losing end of a hard-fought, evenly matched game against the Toms River Steam Rollers.

Halftime saw the team down 1-0, before Steven Black pulled back the equalizer just after the restart, beating the goalie with a fine solo effort. The next 15 minutes were pretty tough going as the Red Devils conceded three more goals before making a tremendous come back with goals from Thomas Barkley and a 30-yard line drive from Jackson Hoover to pull within one. Unfortunately they ran out of time and came away without the winning point. In addition to the scorers, Johnny Falconio worked hard in goal. The defense had a busy afternoon keeping the opponents at bay, and the two wingers, Nate Cornell and Brian Kennedy, never stopped running. Next Saturday the Red Devils will play at home against the Pinelands Red Hots at 11:30 a.m. at the Mark Harbourt Soccer Complex.

Allentown Cardinals fall

to Alliance FC Dragons

The newly created Allentown United U11 soccer team lost its opening game to the Alliance FC Dragons by a score of 7-1. Jacob Lemanski scored the only goal for the United. Despite the low score, all the United players played a good game, with Michael Shumacher doing a tremendous job as goalkeeper. Vincent Estelle, Alexa Chiafullo, Leigh Chiafullo and Jacob Lemanski also made some outstanding plays. The United plays this Saturday at noon in Howell against the Royals.