Crusaders narrowly beat Middletown in close match
Central Valley. Tight defense on both sides left few chances to score.
| 18 Sep 2023 | 12:24
Luka Tatanashvili celebrates his game-winning goal in the second half. (
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Crusader Ibrahim Cela keeps the ball away from the Middie player. (
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Crusader Siddharth Ranganathan #15, moves the ball up the field in the first half. (
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On Wednesday, September 13, the Monroe-Woodbury Crusaders traveled to Middletown to face the Middies in an important early season league game. The Crusaders entered the game with a 3-0-1 record after beating Warwick in their last game 1-0.
Middletown came into the game with a 2-0 record after beating Goshen 1-0 in their last game.
In first half, the two teams’ defenses shut down everything and kept both teams off the board. As things became heated half way through the first half, a scuffle broke out on the side line resulting in a red card for the Middies and a yellow card for the Crusaders. But the defense kept control and the teams went into the half with the score tied at 0.
In the second half the Crusaders began to push the tempo on offense and started to get some scoring chances. Finally, with 26:42 left in the game, a Crusader free kick created a scramble in front of the Middies’ net. From there Derek Hopkins hit Luka Tatanashvili with a quick pass and he buried it into the Middies’ net to put the Crusaders up 1-0.
From there the Crusaders’ defense closed the door on the Middies as goalie Parker Giles recorded his fourth shutout of the season. The Crusaders 1-0 victory brings the team’s record to 4-0-1 for the season. Their next game will be on Thursday, September 21, when they host the Kingston Tigers.
Final score:
Monroe-Woodbury Crusaders: 1
Middletown Middie Bears: 0