One Up In A Downpour
Knights win opener, amid Nor’easter
by Gary Tim

Brooklyn Knights Press Release - www.bksoccer.com

Friday, May 9 

BROOKLYN, NY - The rain gods came to Brooklyn for an all-day stay on Friday, May 9th. And, the Westchester Flames also paid a visit for their 2008 PDL match-up against the Brooklyn Knights.

In the end, it seemed like the Knights used the conditions brought by the unsolicited all-day visit to drench the blaze of their latter guest, dousing them with a one goal to nil triumph on a sodden Aviator Field.

The homesters coated the win with a Jeff Matteo free-kick in the 23rd minute that sailed over a ‘tight wall’ and found the right ‘V’ of the Flames’ net. The kick by the diminutive Knights’ midfielder from just outside the box, brought reminders of ‘bend it like Beckham’ to the fans who brave the persistent Nor’easter rain.

The Knights, in all-white gear, shared possession with their flame-blue clad opponents in the first half, until their captain struck. The spot-on blast came after Knights’ target striker Tarik Smith was fouled from behind by Richard Martinez. Afterwards, several raids by both teams went a-begging with a particular shot in the run of play from 18yds out by the Flames’ Kevin Meyer going ominously close to matching Matteo’s strike.

Though the outfield got increasingly soggy with the impenitent rain, the in-state rivals showed an impressive brand of soccer, only tarnished by 3 yellow cards for fouls acerbated by wet-weather misjudgment, rather than anything intentional on the players’ part. At halftime, the score remained unchanged in Knights’ favor.

On the resumption, a seemingly rekindled Flames squad got close to equalizing on many occasions, only to be thwarted by the top-brand goalkeeping of Knights’ custodian, Chris Antonino. They finished in a flurry, burning the Knights’ defense in back-to-back plays from the midfield, as well as with two corners, but never quite scorching past Antonino who would eventually open-up to bag the Player-of-the-game (MVP) award.

Antonino’s honor was agreed upon by head coaches Joe Balsamo (Knights) and Gus Skoufis (Flames), after the clash. Skoufis who is also his team’s General Manager labeled the match-up as “a very, very nice game with both teams coming in and giving everything.” At the half he had admonish his players “to be more careful with better concentration” that resulted in them pressing for the equalizer. He rated his team as a six on the 10-scale and said “the Knights looked better than us.”

Friday’s game featured several players who have donned shirts for both clubhouses. Flames’ midfielder Christian Camacho whose ruby-colored Mohawk hairstyle withstood the downpour, returned as a torn in the sides of the Knights. So was Chris Alesci whose brother is Knights’ freshman midfielder, Frank. Though not getting a sibling ‘one-on-one’ in the game, Frank said “he’s my brother, and on the field it’s the jersey you wear that counts.” That, too, was obvious for Matteo who admirably marshaled the Knights crew against his former club. “Flames is a great team, always played well, those guys run a good ship over there.” On the goal, Matteo recalled that his intention was to put it in the exact place and force the goalie to make a save. “Hey, from about 20-plus yards away you want to put that in, score for sure and contribute to a victory.”

Knights’ Chairman Chuck Jacob was on hand and remained to the end to see his team hold onto the win, and though he stopped short of giving a measure to the early performance, he felt good about getting the “first one under the belt”. He shared those sentiments with Balsamo while congratulating the team. Jacob who is also integral to the Knights’ next opponents – Long Island Rough Riders on May 13th – was enthused over the composition and prospects for the Brooklyn franchise in 2008, saying “we want to consistently play good soccer to not only get the accolades, but also satisfy our fans and supporters.

Balsamo was delighted over the result, saying that it was not easy to play their technical game, and control the ball in such conditions. “Tonight, the players gave us 100%. There are a few things to fix and we will fix in practice,” he asserted

The small margin of victory does not worry Balsamo for his return game away to Westchester later in the season. “What I am worried about is the first 2, 3 games, after then I’ll know the potential I have, so I’m not thinking about then, I’m thinking about the next game against Long Island.” Balsamo rated his squad, the Flames and the Rough Riders as the three ‘teams to watch’ in the league.