Silver Knights Cruise in Home Opener against Fury
November 21, 2014 - Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
Syracuse Silver Knights News Release
SYRACUSE, New York - The Syracuse Silver Knights (1-1, Eastern Division #4) opened its home slate of the season with an 18-2 win against the Ontario Fury (1-3,Pacific Division #1) at the Oncenter War Memorial Arena.
Kenardo Forbes started his season on the right foot, notching a hat trick with an assist in his first match with the team.
"I loved the experience that I got last season, and it's so much easier for me this year," the 2013-2014 First Team All-MISL selection said. "I just need to play simple and the goals will come."
The Fury were held scoreless for the final 34:04.
Forbes knew it was his night from the start, as he finished a chance :24 into the game. The Jamaican clipped in a pass to Neto off of the boards. The Brazilian back heeled the ball against-the-grain to the top of the arc inside of the three point line. Forbes made no mistake in scoring his first goal of the season, powering it past Ontario's Alexis Apodaca.
The Orange, Silver and Black continued to pepper the Fury goalkeeper and broke through at the 9:50 mark in the first quarter to go up 4-0. After an intentional clear by Ontario, Syracuse had a restart at the top of the D. Nelson Santana spotted a wide open Forbes five feet away, and the forward launched the ball into the top shelf.
Less than a minute later, Ontario was picking the ball up out of its own goal again. With 8:58 to go in the opening frame, Fury defender Stephen Basso turned it over near the yellow line. Cory Elenio pounced on the giveaway and drove down the left side of the field. As a defender closed down on his angle, Elenio slotted a pass back to Anthony Grant. The former Bowling Green star tucked it away calmly and put the Knights ahead 6-0. The strike was Grant's first in the Orange, Silver and Black.
Slavisa Ubiparipovic made it a dream start for the hosts as the Bosnian scored the first of his two goals on the night with :22 left in the quarter. Santana collected his third assist of the game on the play.
"Our plan was to jump on them early," Coach Tommy Tanner explained. "They've never seen us play before, but we still have a lot to learn."
It was a back-and-forth second quarter as Coach Bernie Lilavois's squad battled for opportunities. After mounting pressure, the Knights finally conceded, albeit through their own feet. Christian Saray sent a ball into the center that was blocked by Bo Jelovac. As the Serbian tried a clearance it banged off of Marcos Chantel and flew into the Syracuse goal. Still, Tommy Tanner's team went into halftime up 8-2.
To open the second half, Kenardo Forbes finished his hat trick. After a long clearance, Bryan O'Quinn reloaded the offense and found Slavisa Ubiparipovic. Slav dribbled to the middle of the field from the far boards and drew two defenders. As the Fury collapsed on him, the midfielder slipped the ball to Forbes near the three point line for a rocket into the back of the net. The laser gave the Knights a commanding 10-2 advantage with 10:23 left in the third quarter.
Scoring died down momentarily, but tempers flared on the turf late in the period. Israel Sesay took down Neto against the boards with 1:23 to go. After arguing the play, the ex-LA Galaxy striker was sent off for foul language. Syracuse went up a man and converted the power play in the fourth quarter.
Fittingly, Neto scored a tap-in on a beautiful Cory Elenio feed. The man-advantage goal put the Salt City club up 12-2 :08 into the final frame.
Nate Bourdeau and LJ Papaleo each netted their firsts of the season later in the period.
Nelson Santana finished with a spectacular 5 assists on the night.
The Syracuse Silver Knights are back in action next Saturday against the Eastern Division rival Baltimore Blast in a rematch of the season opener. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. EST at the War Memorial on November 29. Tickets to all Silver Knights home games will be available at the CNY Family Sports Centre, online at www.syracusesilverknights.com or over the phone at 315-303-7261.
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