(Central Jersey) - The Real Central NJ Soccer (RCNJ) men’s USL League Two team fought hard and secured a 0-0 draw against Pennsylvania’s Reading United on Friday, May 27th. The team’s performance yielded a point in season standings, securing a third position on the table, after a trying loss away last Tuesday to West Chester United.
The impending thunderstorm warnings made for an apprehensive start to Memorial Day Weekend. Nonetheless, both teams put their all into last night’s match. Real Central NJ and fans recognized military, veterans, and first responders after the first half, in honor of Military and First Responder Appreciation Night.
The wet field from the heavy rainfall prior to the match led to quite a few slips and falls for both teams, however, some took that as an opportunity to incorporate some great slide tackles into the game.
“Player of the Match,” Eric Wnorowski contributed to the team’s success with eight impressive saves, pushing forward after a hard hit to the head during the first period of the match. Wnorowski was constantly heard from the field communicating to his fellow teammates on the defensive line, making sure no one from Reading United had the chance to sneak in for a shot on goal.
After being taken down by a defender in the 25th minute, attacker Wesley Legget approached a high pass from defender Justin Scharf, with a header in hopes of scoring the first goal of the game. Unluckily, the ball skipped over the top of the goal post, giving Reading United a goal kick. The remainder of the first period was defense-heavy for Real Central NJ as Reading United made repeated attempts on goal but still came up short.
The second period began with an energized offensive line from RCNJ, hoping to break the deadlock. “We talked at halftime and we talked about what we could do to change it up so that we were a little bit more on the front foot. You know we’ve always tried to play that way this season,” said goalkeeper Eric Wnorowski when asked about RCNJ’s change of pace in the second half.
The ball was pushed up the field into Reading United’s territory frequently with cleaner and concise passes from RCNJ. After a lot of back and forth with no goals in sight, an additional 3 minutes were added to the period in the 90th minute. “We had some help from the substitutes as well, they gave us rush energy which helped Jordan out on the left-wing,” Wnorowski commented. After 2 intense periods of devotion and eagerness from both teams, the match ended 0-0 in the 93rd minute.
The Real Central NJ Soccer men’s team will be playing at home on Wednesday, June 8th at 7 pm against Philadelphia Lone Star, beginning June matches for the season. RCNJ’s WPSL women’s team will return home on Sunday, June 12th at 6 pm against the PA Classics after playing away against Torch on June 2nd.