Western Mass Pioneers News Release - www.wmpioneers.com

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

LUDLOW, MA -- Lusitano Stadium hosted the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup’s first round match-up between the Western Mass Pioneers and the visiting Emigrantes Das Ilhas out of Brockton, MA. The Pioneers showed no signs of fatigue in their third game in just five days although it took 120 minutes of action-packed soccer on slippery field conditions to decide the victor in the 3-2 thriller in favor of the hosts.

All in all, a very fast-paced and physical game was taken in by fans from both ends of Massachusetts.

Emigrantes Das Ilhas, whose roster holds a sizeable collection of Cape Verdean players, struck first when Zico Veiga scored on Luis Landim’s assist at the 15th minute. After a four minute span that drew three yellow cards on Das Ilhas (Carlos Fernandes, Carlos Semedo, and Jairson Jesus), Western Mass had started to grow intolerant of the foul play demonstrated by their opponents.

They answered back with a momentum-building 45th minute header by Jay Willis. The team captain scored off a deflection that would even the score, 1-1, at the half.

For the Pioneers, some key scoring opportunities in the first half were disallowed by simple missed shots, when all was said and done. They were able to work the ball down the field, and exhibited tremendous footwork, but just lacked the final execution of putting the ball in the net. This would come back to haunt them in the second half.

It didn’t take long for the second half to become a physical US Open Cup match, when Mark Nerkowski drew a yellow card at 56th minute, and Ben Clark picked up his at the 59th. The intensity was growing, and at the 62nd minute, a penalty kick would allow Emigrantes Das Ilhas’ Carlos Fernandes to redeem himself with a goal, giving the visitors a 2-1 lead.

The tension grew thicker as another yellow card was issued to the Pioneers’ Gabriel Mercier.

Western Mass needed to regain their composure. They did so in a beautifully drawn-up scoring drive that Coach Leszek Wrona devised. In the 73rd minute, the Pioneers rallied back when Neil Krause scored on Adam Wallace’s assist. This evened the duel at 2-2.

If it weren’t for goalkeeper Matt Jones’ alertness and effort, this game could have slipped away from the Pioneers, thus leaving them with another disappointing early exit from the tournament.

At the 80th minute, his finger-tip save on a would-be score by Zico Viego proved to be a game-deciding factor. A never-say-die effort at tending to net kept the Pioneers’ hopes for advancement alive.

At the 84th minute, another turn in events occurred when Joao Fidalgo was red-carded, and immediately ejected for demonstrating more foul play for a two-footed tackle on Dan McGarry. This play would leave Emigrantes Das Ilhas one player short for the remainder of the game.

It only took two minutes into overtime for the Pioneers to capitalize on a frustrated and worn out Das Ilhas. Almir Barbosa scored, and Matt Jones showed that his vision extends far beyond goalkeeping traffic, as he provided the game-winning assist.

The goal would be the final dagger that needed to be dealt to a feisty group of soccer players from Eastern Mass. A couple of late cards on Western Mass in the second half of overtime (yellow to David Tyrie, and red to Dan McGarry) wouldn’t factor into the outcome, a 3-2 Pioneer victory – their third straight.

The Pioneers displayed a strong defense throughout the game, worked together, and showed they weren’t afraid to attack the ball. The victory earned them a meeting with the Harrisburg City Islanders in Pennsylvania next Tuesday (6/16) for The US Open Cup’s second-round action.

If June is any indication of all the hard work this team has been undergoing throughout the season, then the Western Mass Pioneers are looking incredibly fit for a makeover and rise to the top. They are on an upswing, and have gained a tremendous amount of momentum during their home stand.