Moussa Sy scored two goals as the visiting Long Island Rough Riders defeated the Connecticut Wolves in a Northern Division A-League matchup on Saturday evening at Willow Brook Park in New Britain, Connecticut.
Connecticut, coming off two crucial road victories over Montreal and Toronto in the past week, started on the attack quickly and controlled the early passages of play. Paul Oyuga drew an early foul 25 yards from goal to set up a Temoc Suarez free kick. Suarez, who scored the winner against Toronto on Tuesday from a free kick, curled a shot around the Long Island wall and forced a fine save out of Rough Riders goalkeeper Oscar Mejia, who dove to his left to get his fingertips on the ball and parry it past the right post by only a few inches.
As the Wolves continued to carry the early play, Fabio Zuniga unleashed a long drive that forced Mejia to make another big save, as this time the Long Island keeper dove to his right to make the stop. Connecticut had the better of the territory and possession battles for the first quarter of the match, but failed to convert on numerous scoring opportunities. Mejia's early heroics helped keep the match scoreless, but the Wolves also sqaundered excellent scoring chances. Winston Griffiths had one of the best chances, shooting wide right from close range with only the keeper to beat.
Long Island then took the lead in the 30th minute on a miscue by the Connecticut defense. Wolves defender Max Zeiky attempted to head the ball back to Adam Throop in the Connecticut goal. The ball landed well short of Throop and Rough Riders forward Moussa Sy raced past the defense to latch onto the mistake. Sy calmly buried his shot into the right side of the net in a one-on-one against Throop, putting Long Island on top 1-0.
The Wolves responded well from this letdown, however. Four minutes later, Connecticut drew level on a goal by Oyuga. Suarez played a long ball forward, finding Oyuga just outside of the area. Oyuga dribbled into space, switching the ball from his right foot to his left, before shooting low into the left corner past Mejia. This moment of inspired play allowed Connecticut to go into halftime with the score tied at 1-1.
In the second half, Long Island began to find gaps in the Connecticut defense, counterattacking effectively against a Wolves defense that looked disorganized at times. Connecticut had the early chances again, with Irasto Knights squandering a breakaway opportunity and Dean Sewell missing twice from close range. But the Rough Riders regained the lead in the 59th minute with a classic counterattack. Fausto Klinger, the dangerous right halfback for Long Island, was left uncovered twenty yards from goal. Klinger latched onto a pass from the far left and blasted a shot past Throop to make it 2-1 for the Rough Riders.
Moments later, the Wolves defense nearly fell apart again, as Zeiky was forced to clear off the line after Long Island forward Michael Butler lofted a shot past a charging Throop and towards the Wolves' net. After this passage, Long Island began to gain the better scoring chances. Fifteen minutes after Klinger's goal, the Rough Riders put the game away after a long and ugly scramble in the box. Moussa Sy eventually scored from close range for his second of the night after Connecticut had denied two prior efforts in the area. The game ended 3-1 for the Rough Riders, with the Wolves generating little offense in the closing stages. The loss was the first of the season for the Wolves, while Long Island gains five vital points in the A-League standings. Connecticut is back in action on Wednesday at home against the defending league champions, the Rochester Rhinos.
Goals: Long Island- Moussa Sy, 30th minute
Connecticut- Paul Oyuga, 34th minute
Long Island- Fausto Klinger, 59th minute
Long Island- Moussa Sy, 73rd minute
Cautions: Connecticut- Fabio Zuniga, 17th minute
Long Island- Carlyle Myrie, 74th minute
Lineups: Long Island Rough Riders: Oscar Mejia, Mersim Beskovic, Stephen Danbusky, Carlyle Myrie, Laurence Piturro (Cordt Weinstein 80), Fernando Fernandes, Joseph Ragusa, Fausto Klinger (Michael McDermott 68), Ronan Wiseman, Michael Butler (Aboubacar Camara 70), Moussa Sy (Ben Diallo 80)
Connecticut Wolves: Adam Throop, Max Zeiky, Sean Nealis (Adam Eyre 46), Dean Sewell, David Vaudreuil (Erik Barbieri 71), Winston Griffiths, Mobi Oparaku, Paul Oyuga, Irasto Knights (Dan Rudolph 84), Temoc Suarez, Fabio Zuniga
