Polonia SC players defend against an attacking Manhattan Kickers player during Week 6 (Credit: Manhattan Kickers)


Sunday, October 24
Manhattan Kickers vs Polonia SC (1-5)
No goal scorer information provided by Manhattan Kickers.
Polonia SC won their second game this month with a 5-1 win over Manhattan Kickers.

Despite being a close game for a majority, Kickers’ head coach Bryan Baracaldo continues to be disappointed by his group’s tendency to fall behind early. Two goals put them in a hole and that has an effect on the group. Those were scored by Jakub “Kuba” Madej and Nate Merchant, with Marcin Januszko assisting on Madej’s opener. Despite heading into the 65th minute only trailing by one, Polonia caught Manhattan on a counter which led to a successful penalty kick by Conrad Nowowiejski making it 3-1.

From there pushing up, moving to a 3-5-2, to try and rekindle the comeback momentum but just allowed more counters and two more goals before the final whistle. Myles Pindus and Madej both added those final tallies to the score sheet.

“Point is that we need our defenders available,” Baracaldo said afterwards. “It's very hard to lose games in any league if we don't allow goals. However in my opinion there were only two true defenders yesterday (Jean Baptiste Leloup and Khris Wallace). We really need guys like Drew Stern, Tristan Stowell, Rashid Allah-Morad, Kieran Arrigan, and Sharif Mayan to be a competitive team.”

A Halloween afternoon clash against New York Shamrock SC will be the Kickers next chance to try and be that team. Polonia will host Richmond County FC earlier in the day.


New York Athletic Club vs FC Sandžak (2-3)
A fast start and late game winner lifted FC Sandzak over New York Athletic Club, 3-2, on Travers Island. The loss halts NYAC’s momentum in chasing the top spot in the division while the win is a serious gain for the newly promoted club.

Two early goals from Mirza Sabovic and Dion Ahmetaj, both assisted by winger Alem Kolenovic, put the visitors up early against the CSL institution. The team continued to create chances but couldn’t find the net again until late in the game. Ahmetaj found Fero Sabovic after dribbling along the right side, with the ball finishing into the back netting in the 88th minute.

For Athletic Club a goal from Stephen Chapman just before half cut the deficit in half. Midway through the second Jake Mann’s corner kick found the head of Nico Pascual-Leone who tied the game up. Close chances throughout kept both teams on their toes and in the final twenty minutes NYAC was inches away from taking the lead.


Hoboken FC 1912 vs Borgetto FC (7-0)
In what was looking like a battle between the two early powers of the CSL D1 season, Hoboken FC 1912 showed newcomers Borgetto FC who deserved to be the top team. The short handed visitors were left goalless, losing 7-0 and giving up the top spot to Hoboken in the process.

The visitors, with only six first team players and reserves weary from just playing, were unable to have this game postponed ahead of time. Team manager Benny DiPasquale is hopeful the next time the two teams meet in the Spring will be a more competitive contest.

Hoboken came into the contest believing it was going to be the biggest of the season thus far and James Reed performed like it. A hat-trick and assist to his name during the 90 minutes along was enough to earn him MVP honors but head coach Steve Korfiatis knows mentaly all of his guys were prepared.

“The players came into the match with the right attitude and mentality to take the three points,” he said.

Reed’s opening goal, assisted by Dimitri Mataras, came in the first ten minutes. About twenty minutes later Reed again stepped up and found Kevin Halliday who finished in the box to make it 2-0. Eight minutes later a foul in the box against Aitor Hernandez sent Hoboken to the spot, where Reed converted. Not long after Jake Longo recovered a corner kick and fed Teddy Sisco to make it four unanswered.

Korfiatis shifted the game in the second half to playing more possession based, limiting the visitors and focusing on keeping the clean sheet. Peter Luther and Hernandez both scored in the final 45, assisted by Sean Fahy and Sisco, while Reed picked up the hat-trick with help again from Mataras.


Stal Mielec NY vs Zum Schneider FC 03 II (1-2)
No goal scorer information provided by Stal Mielec NY
Zum Schneider FC 03 II won its first game of the season on Sunday, defeating Stal Mielec NY, 2-1, in an even match.

Stal took advantage of the narrow field at McCarren Park often. The group played long plays forward and created multiple one on one chances but failed to capitalize on most. The only success came in the second half with their lone goal of the match.

After seeing his team getting challenged like this, assistant coach Lucas Doucette decided to mix things up. Zum moved to a 3-5-2 formation and soon dominated the midfield. Eventually Josh Ulane played a through ball to Sunny Epochi who used his speed to beat defenders and slot it into the back post. Reserve team player Yanki Hancioglu scored the game winner off a corner not long after when Doucette crossed it into the back post. Christian de Abreau headed it back to Hancioglu who hit it in for the win.

Zum II will host New York Athletic Club on Sunday night and try to keep the treats coming. Stal will visit Borgetto FC on Randalls Island at the same time.


Richmond County FC vs Beyond FC (9-0)
Richmond County FC’s performance against Beyond FC demonstrated that the Staten Island side is truly contending for the top spot in this season’s Division 1 table. Nine unanswered goals with offensive performances from multiple players demonstrated just how rounded out the group’s XI can be.

Bljedi Bardic pulled out an outstanding performance by scoring two goals and earning five assists during the match. His MVP status was only challenged by Mark Shnadshteyn who earned his team’s only hat-trick. Ady Gaye scored two more goals while Dardan Gjonbalaj and Albert Ruci rounded out the night with one goal each. James Haddad also earned an assist.

Richmond visits Polonia SC on the morning of Halloween to try and keep this momentum going. Beyond will host fellow New Jersey side Hoboken FC 1912 later that same day in the early afternoon.


Kelmendi FC NY vs New York Shamrock SC (0-5)
No goal scorer information provided by New York Shamrock SC
New York Shamrock SC tapped into the style of play that helped them win the Division 1 title last season. They defeated Kelmendi FC NY, 5-0, on the road in a Sunday nightcap last weekend.

Multiple red cards were shown during the highly contentious match that left Kelmendi down players and allowed the Rocks to dominate. New York will have a chance to try and make it two in-a-row against Manhattan Kickers on Sunday afternoon. Kelmendi meanwhile has a Saturday night clash against FC Sandzak earlier in the weekend.