Phantoms Shutout New England
July 25, 2007 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
New Hampshire Phantoms News Release
KEENE, NH - (July 25, 2007) - The New Hampshire Phantoms turned back the clock tonight at Keene State College when it returned to its old home field stomping grounds to defeat the New England LUSO American Soccer Association All-Stars, 2-0, scoring a pair of first half goals. NH played on the turf field at Owl Stadium from 1998-2000 before moving to Singer Family Park in Manchester in the early 2000's.
Phantoms' midfielder Tom McNeil scored what proved to be the game-winning goal at 34:00 when he stole a pass at midfield and caught LUSO goalkeeper Itolino Itauss out of his box. McNeil's 45-yard driven shot vaulted over the entire defensive unit for LUSO before tucking just underneath the crossbar.
NH added an insurance goal at the 38-minute mark when Val Teixeira was taken down from behind in the penalty box on a breakaway. Teixeira converted the PK with a blast to the right side netting past a sprawling Itauss.
A crowd of 781, many of whom were campers participating in the 30th annual KSC Summer Soccer Camps, witnessed the exhibition match that featured a select group of all-star players from the Fall River-based NELUSO. LUSO is a proud organization with a rich influence of Portuguese-Americans and Portuguese-speaking Brazilians. Most of LUSO's current teams have ethnic roots in Cape Verde, the Portuguese colony that is now an independent African nation.
Michael Murphy (American International College) and Sergio Saccoccio (Northeastern University) combined to make six saves to preserve the shutout with Murphy playing the first half and Saccoccio the second frame. With LUSO pressuring heavily throughout the second period, Saccoccio came up big when he took a point-blank shot to the chest in front of his own goal at 80 minutes to preserve the shutout. LUSO had a restart on the corner of the six-yard goal box that was re-directed to the penalty spot where Pauls Valdano's shot found a charging Saccoccio.
The Phantoms return to United Soccer Leagues Second Division action this Saturday night when it entertains the Wilmington Hammerheads with a 7:30 PM kickoff at Manchester's Chabot-McDonough Stadium at Manchester Memorial High School.
The Phantoms then conclude the season with home games versus Bermuda and Cincinnati on August 4 and 11, respectively.
Tickets may be reserved by calling the Phantoms ticket office at 603-329-4422 or by emailing nhphantoms@gmail.com
United Soccer League Championship Stories from July 25, 2007
- Phantoms Shutout New England - New Hampshire Phantoms
- Islanders Shutout Crystal Palace 2-0 - Penn FC
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
