Clarkstown jumps back on a winning note with a 5-2 win over Junior Lone

Midfielder Josue Ortiz on the ball during Clarkstown Eagles' 3-1 win over Junior Lone Star FC on Jul. 3rd, 2016.

Game Report

Clarkstown Eagles powered past Junior Lone Star FC 5-2 on a rainy Sunday afternoon home at Ramapo College.

Although Clarkstown walked out of the park victorious, they gave up the first gal of the encounter as Bill Walleekendeh netted for Junior Lone in the 11th minute. Emerson Lawrence equalized for the Eagles just two minutes later with a voluptuous strike from about 25 yards out.

Andres Berriel doubled the home team's lead in the 31st minute before Phillip Costa made it three with a one-touch finish in the box six minutes before the break. Samuel Gehman closed the first half in grand fashion for Clarkstown, curling a magnificent shot from a tight angle in the net.

Lone Star scored a second goal in the last minute before added time despite playing down a man after Anthony Allison picked up a red card at the hour mark. The Eagles ended their scoring display in added time through Martin Lukaschik.

Clarkstown hops from fourth to third place after this win. JLSFC on the other hand drops from fifth to sixth place.

The Keystone Conference champions dominated the opening minutes but Junior Lone stunned them with an 11th minute opener. Allison fired a low shot from outside the box, which keeper Andrew Tartara dove on his left to block. Tartara failed to hold on to the ball on the wet weather. Walleenedeh took full advantage of the keeper's rebound, pouncing the ball in the net.

Emerson drew the Eagles leveled in the 13th minute as he curled an exquisite shot from a Junior Lone clearance from about 25 yards out to the left upper 90. Clarkstown took the lead in the 28th minute when Jonathan Okafor dribbled diagonally in the box before hitting a neat pass to Berriel, who one-touched the ball in the net.

Costa extended Clarkstown's lead to two goals as he tapped Lucaschik's corner in the net from the goal area after the ball took a slight deflection of a Junior Lone defender.

The Eagles went two goals ahead two minutes before halftime when Gehman curved a shot from the right wing to the far post from Lukaschik's pass. Clarkstown led their guard down in the last minute of the regular 90, allowing Kouassi N'Guessan to rise and head Vlandy Slueue's free kick away from keeper Marco Luna.

However the home team did finish the match with a three-goal lead as Lukaschik controlled substitute Jonathan Yazo's pass before whipping a pacy low shot to the bottom right corner at the stroke of the game.

Man of the Match:

Martin Lukaschik (midfielder): 1 goal, 1 assist.

Players' afterthoughts: Emerson Lawrence

Clarkstown fell to New Jersey Copa FC 1-0 in their previous game on Wednesday. Midfielder Emerson Lawrence was pleased that his side bounced back from this loss with a win.

"It feels great to go back to winning ways," Lawrence said. "I know last week we had an unfortunate loss but, you know, that's football. Coming back here and getting back to winning ways, getting a W, is a great thing for our team. We're looking forward to getting more Ws and finishing the season strong."

The Eagles had to come back from a goal down to win the game. A goal in which keeper Andrew Tartara spilled the ball due the wet weather. Emerson shared that their resiliency led them to the victory.

"I guess with the weather, it was kind of unfortunate circumstances but we made the best of it, we didn't get down on each other," the midfielder said. "We were resilient to fight back and get that first goal, luckily I got that first goal to put us back in a good position."

Lawrence's goal was an alluring upper-90 strike from outside the box. "I don't really remember much from before it [my goal]," Lawrence said laughing. "I think it was a clearance on the left side of the 18, got one bounce down and I thought I was going to pass it square but I was like 'Might as well hit it,' took a chance and upper 90. I'm happy with it."

Three key notes

Best scoring team in the Northeast Conference: Clarkstown's five-goal display boosted them to the best goal per game ratio in their conference, scoring 3.33 goals per game with nine different scorers.

Everybody plays: head coach Oliver Papraniku made six substitutes--keeper Andrew Tartara was subbed out for Marco Luna in the 65th minute.

First corner kick goal: Costa's goal from Lukaschik's corner was the Eagles first goal of a corner kick this season.

Statistics

Clarkstown Eagles:
Shots (on target): 16 (8)
Saves: 4
Fouls: 7
Corners: 8
Yellow cards: 0
Red cards: 0
Offsides: 2


Junior Lone Star FC:
Shots (on target): 11 (6)
Saves: 3
Fouls: 8
Corners: 2
Yellow cards: 1 (Anthony Allison)
Red cards: 1 (Anthony Allison)
Offsides: 3