FC Monmouth Win Big in First Game of TLFC Season
Written by Chris Dailey
RED BANK, NJ - Fresh off the best year in the club's history, FC Monmouth has somehow raised the bar even higher. The Blue and Gold thrashed Kensington Soccer Club 7-0 on Saturday night, powered by a man of the match performance from Rumson native Ronan Hogg.
If the scoreline was read out after the first ten minutes of the match, you’d probably be shocked. Kensington had the better of possession and moved the ball around nicely in their attacking half, however nothing came of it.
The dynamic of the game completely flipped in the 15th minute as Hogg was tripped inside the box following a fancy display of footwork. Captain Lenny Aviles, who notched a team-high seven goals in his debut season last summer, buried the penalty to open the floodgates and set the tone for the rest of the match.
Four minutes later, Hogg played a perfect ball to Pat Shaw in behind the Kensington defense. Shaw, who was in on net with about 25 yards to net, was subsequently tripped by Kensington’s goalkeeper Johan Morales. Morales was shown a straight red card, completely changing the tempo of the game for both sides as Kensington were forced to put a field player in net with no backup on the bench.
FC Monmouth’s second goal wouldn’t come until the final seconds of the first half. Fellow captain Erich Sadlocha re-directed a cross from Stepan Kapranov to double the lead.
In the second half, FC Monmouth’s attacking prowess was on full display. The team’s flurry of goals started in the 55th minute as second-year player Pat Shaw tucked a well-hit shot into the bottom right corner. A mere three minutes later, Jake Homowitz’s cross slipped through the hands of the Kensington goalkeeper for FC Monmouth’s fourth goal of the night.
Not long after, Hogg scored his first goal in an FC Monmouth uniform off a nice feed from Shaw. Following several changes by Head Coach Hugh MacDonald, FC Monmouth put an exclamation point on a perfect night, with Jack Guerin netting a late brace to cap off the 7–0 rout.
The win is FC Monmouth’s largest since their 11-1 performance against Torch FC on Saturday, May 29, 2021. In that game, the legendary Walter Calderon scored six goals. Calderon sits atop the club's all-time goalscoring list with 18 goals.
“It was a fun one for sure. The guys showed up and met expectations. There’s certainly a long season to go and a lot of story to write, we’ll see how things truly stand after a tough game stretch upcoming.” Says general manager James Davis
With his 8th all-time on Saturday night, Aviles finds himself in third place. Davide Caputo, meanwhile, is first all-time with 13 assists and one game away from tying Jack Longo’s all-time appearance record of 29.
FC Monmouth looks to keep on rolling as they travel to First State FC on Friday night. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. The blue and gold will be back at home on June 6th for a 7PM kickoff.
To keep up with all things FC Monmouth make sure to follow the club @WeAreMonmouth
