Ulster Scores Early and Holds on for 1-0 Victory in Top Ten Battle

Joseph Barshow scored five minutes into the game as #10 Ulster County CC held on to beat #3 Manchester CC 1-0 in Manchester Tuesday afternoon. Hami Kara (Wethersfield) had 19 saves for previously unbeaten MCC (7-1) while Gustavo Cifuentes made 20 saves for Ulster (6-3-1).

“We certainly had our opportunities,” MCC Head Coach Jim Insinga said. “Today they were the best team and won the game even though we had more ball possession.”

Ulster, who made the three hour trip from Stone Ridge, NY in two vans, played its third game in four days.

“The goalkeeper battle was obvious and our counter attacks were very dangerous,” Ulster Head Coach George Vizvary said. “Our guys were very tired and I would say Manchester had possession (advantage) 60-40.”

Manchester had several very good scoring opportunities late in the first half and early in the second, but some balls went wide and Cifuentes came up big on others. Kara made a save on a point blank shot eight minutes into the second half to keep the Cougars within striking distance.

Vizvary has won over 500 NJCAA soccer games, more than any coach in the sport, and was elected to the NJCAA Hall of Fame in 2008.

“This was a great game,” Insinga said. “It’s hard to go through a season and play great teams like this. When you are winning games 1-0 and 2-1, it’s going to go the other way once in a while.”

The loss ended MCC’s winning streak at seven and home unbeaten streak at 16. The Cougars last home loss was on October 31st, 2007 against Springfield Tech. It won’t get much easier on Thursday for MCC who hosts NJCAA Division I CCRI on Thursday at 4pm.