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Moussa Sy sinks Royals on KeySpan Night

June 27, 2005 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Long Island Rough Riders News Release


LaValle Stadium Stony Brook- June-25 -05 The Long Island Rough Riders bounced back from their recent setbacks emphatically on KeySpan night this weekend. With a bumper crowd and exciting performance the President of the Long Island Junior Soccer League Addie Mattei Iaia who attended as the guest of honor will be pleased to have seen the professional side of the game is in rude health.

It will have also brought a smile to her face to have seen MLS stars and former Long Island Junior Soccer league players such as Matthew Chulis, Gary Sullivan and Paul Grafer still enjoying the game. However, the lasting impression of the first Rough Riders double header in 9 years will be the stellar performance of 4 goal hero Moussa Sy.

The pedigree of Sy's goal scoring clinic was enhanced by the fact that the Royals recently beat the 3rd placed Wilmington Hammerheads.

The Rough Riders started confidently pushing the Royals deep into their own half from the kick off. It was clear that Long Island were intent on putting the disappointment of Wednesday behind them. The first 5 minutes brought a flurry of activity in the Royals penalty box. Long Island could have justifiably had two penalties, one for a trip on Etienne and the second for a handball inside the area but both were turned down by the consistent Jorge Gonzalez.

Etienne created the first real opportunity for the Riders in the 10th minute. He did well to bring down a James Hunt pass 30 yards from goal; he turned to create the space but mistimed his shot low past the left hand post. The Rough Riders habit of allowing opposition player space 30 yards from goal reared its head again in the 19th minute, fortunately for the Rough Riders Matthew Osborne did not connect properly with the shot ensuring no repeat of the recent goals by Wilmington and Western Mass.

The Royals went close again 3 minutes later when Francisco Guaita-Munoz cleverly opened up the Riders defense putting Andrade clean through. However, Josh Allen recovered brilliantly to deny the Royals 8 yards from goal. Matthew Chulis responded for the Rough Long Island in the 21st minute. Playing a great wall pass with the excellent Shaun Higgins he found space to curl a cute shot to the far post. On this occasion Alex Hall was equal to the challenge.

Wilmer Cabrera sporting Full 90 protective gear was brought back into the line up after his horrific head injury two weeks ago. He brought an assurance and confidence to the Rough Rider midfield. The measure of his influence was epitomized after 25 min when Foday Kamara was booked for cynically fouling in order to break up the Rough Riders game.

After 28 minutes Moussa Sy started to indicate the goal scoring mood he was in. Having turned his man to win a corner he found himself on the end of the resultant play but on this occasion he could not get the required direction.

The Northern Virginia Royals opened the scoring in the 31st minute. Guaita-Munoz delivered a great ball into Andrade. The shot was from an acute angle and lacked any real conviction but found its way past a visibly disappointed Paul Grafer.

The Royals then hit the post twice in quick succession Osborne headed onto the post in the 40th min and were desperately unlucky when Roseway hit the post 2 minutes later after a sumptuous pass from Andrade. Had either of these gone in it was difficult to see how Long Island could have got back into the game. Higgins then went close from a kick free kick 20 yards from goal in the last play of the half. The Royals one goal advantage reflected well on their performance.

Half Time Score 1-0 Northern Virginia Royals

Clearly the Rough Riders must have taken on board what must have been a stern message from Head Coach Wiseman. Within seven minutes of the restart Long Island were back on level terms. Higgins broke down the left and shot across the goal Moussa Sy did well to control his shot and steer it into the goal in one touch. Confidence flooded back into the Long Island side. Sullivan then had a header cleared off the line in the 54th minutes and from the subsequent corner Sy doubled his tally from a Wilmer Cabrera corner that left the goal keeper with no chance.

Moussa then crossed brilliantly to Higgins in the 63rd minutes but he just failed to make the right connection. Gary Sullivan, who was dominant in the air all night, then saw another header from a Cabrera corner cleared off the line in the 63rd minute. Royals goal keeper Alexander Hall did well to get down and make the save. Josh Allen, who is growing in confidence with every performance, clearly did not want to miss out of the act. He showed great skill in the 73rd minutes to create space for a 25 yard shot that just missed the right hand post. The tireless Derrick Etienne then had two chances in quick succession. The first, a header (in the 79th minute) hit the post from a James Hut cross. He then just squeezed the ball wide of the upright from 7 yards after Higgins had unlocked the Virginia defense.

The Rough Riders finished the game off in the 82nd minute. In a quality move started on the half way line Moussa Sy completed his hat trick firing into the top left corner after self less work by Etienne and Cabrera to create the opportunity around the edge of the area.

Amazingly, Sy wasn't finished yet. With 3 minutes left he rounded off a fine performance with is fourth goal in the game. Derrick Etienne turned his marker on the half way line with a move that was worth the entrance fee alone. He cut the ball back to Sy from twelve yards to give him the simplest of tap-ins. In all it was an excellent performance from the Rough Riders. With the return of Cabrera, the midfield looked like it could compete with anyone in the division once again. Also Moussa Sy and Derrick Etienne even if not given the right service can terrorize any defense.

Former US Open Cup Winner and Head Coach of The Long Island Rough Riders Ronan Wiseman will now be eagerly anticipating his team's clash against the Ocean City Barons. Final Score: 4-1 to the Long Island Rough Riders



United Soccer League Championship Stories from June 27, 2005


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