Life Center soccer team states its case for inclusion among South Jersey's elite
OCEAN CITY – The chance came to prove themselves and they seized it.
They seized it, ironically, by demonstrating the cost of not converting opportunities. That's what the Life Center boys soccer team does: one minute, you're in their end and things look promising. The next, you're fishing the ball out of your own net, marveling at the speed of the Warriors' counterattack.
That was Ocean City's experience twice on Monday as the Red Raiders, ranked seventh in the South Jersey Mean 15, suffered a 2-1 nonleague loss.
Senior Ever Maradiaga scored both goals. Luiz Recchimuzzi provided both assists.
A Red Raiders' misfire served twice as foreshadowing.
“That's been our strategy all season,” Life Center coach Joe Vianna said. “We counter with those front four, with speed, and that's how we got them. Luiz to Maradiaga. That's an often-heard combination this year.”
A header by Jon Leap off an Ocean City throw-in found Dan Leiser wide open at the far post, but the ball short-hopped Leiser in front of the net. He lifted his leg and hit it waist high – just over the crossbar.
Less than two minutes later, Life Center led. Recchimuzzi brought the ball up the right side and threaded a through pass to Maradiaga, who took a control touch, then drilled the ball home at the right post.
“It was a great counter on our side,” Maradiaga said. “We had a great ball in and I just had the finishing touch in the middle. Once I see my teammate going in on the wing, I like to drop back a little bit and find my space. I had enough space that I created by dropping back to finish in the bottom right corner.”
The Red Raiders' best chance to tie the game came in the 48th minute. It started with a negative play by the Warriors that goalkeeper Gamaliel Olarte mis-hit, as he attempted to clear it.
The ball was chested down by Kai Lindsay, who hit a venomous shot from the corner of the box – right back into Olarte's hands.
Less than a minute later, Maradiaga was celebrating again.
“It was a great pass from my teammate, Luiz Recchimucci,” Maradiaga said. “I had a great scissor. I didn't expect (another defender) to come, but my instinct told me he was there, and I finished, bottom-left corner. And that was it. It went in. Thank the Lord.”
Ocean City pulled a goal back on a penalty kick by Lindsay after a handball called in the Life Center box with 23:12 left.
Lindsay got another opportunity after a foul just beyond the corner of the box with about a minute left. His restart curled just wide of a three-man wall, bounced through the scrum in front of Olarte – then bounced away off the far post.
“This is a really good team we played today,” Ocean City coach Aaron Bogushefsky said. “They had a lot of individually skilled players. Four seniors: really top quality, I thought. We let up two goals that probably we shouldn't have – they were fixable mistakes. But I'm proud of our team's fight. We never gave up, down 2-0, and had our chances – just didn't put them away.”
What it means
First and foremost, Life Center deserves consideration for the South Jersey Mean 15 and probably should have been considered for inclusion in the South Jersey Coaches Tournament. The Warriors probably lack the depth to compete day-in and day-out in the Olympic Conference, but in a tournament situation there isn't a single team in that conference that they couldn't put a good scare in.
It's ironic that the release of the Coaches Tournament field included an appeal for coaches to pay their dues – Vianna's were paid up, but the Warriors lacked the votes, because few coaches in South Jersey have seen them.
Pick up your phones, folks.
Key play
A clearance by Ocean City's Paul Tjomakaris off the back line after a Life Center corner. The ball came down in a scrum at the far post and bounced straight up. The Warriors' Kaua Freitas tried to finish it with a bicycle kick, but he didn't quite get enough of it; it got over the hands of Ocean City keeper Eddie Fuller, but Tjomakaris cleared it on the volley. The score stayed 2-1 and the crowd was treated to some real drama down the stretch.
By the numbers
Life Center's front four – Recchimuzzi, Maradiaga, Brayan DeQuadros and Pedro Ribeiro – have combined for 51 goals this season. … Maradiaga's first goal ended a string of three straight shutouts by Ocean City, which has seven clean sheets to its credit.
They said it
Bogushefsky, on being the only Mean 15 team willing to give Life Center a game:
“I didn't know anything about them. We were looking to get more games early in the season, and they were like, hey, we'll play you. I said well, they look pretty good, and I want to play the best teams we can right now. We have to play our schedule, so I can't make all the games. But we haven't been challenged a lot this year. That's no disrespect to any other team, but we want to play tough teams. The games we have left are going to be pretty challenging for us, so I'm excited that we got to see them. It's good to see a different style, different coaching techniques and a different pace of play.”
Recchimuzzi, on the Warriors' counterattack:
“Our front four is one of the best in New Jersey, in my opinion. If you lose the ball up front, we'll finish the play. We're very good at that.”
Recchimuzzi on seeing the final shot hit the post:
“My heart just dropped. We needed this win to be recognized. We're a small school and we're not recognized. But we proved today that we're up there.”
What's next
Life Center will finish its regular-season schedule at home Monday against St. Benedict's, the top-ranked team in the nation, according to United Soccer Coaches. The Gray Bees have yet to concede a goal this season. … Ocean City will host St. Augustine Tuesday in a Cape-Atlantic League Tournament quarterfinal and host Williamstown on Friday. Middle Township, currently the top-ranked team in South Jersey, is on the Red Raiders' slate for next week.
John A. Lewis is a sports writer for the Burlington County Times, the Courier Post and the Vineland Daily Journal. E-mail him at jlewis@thebct.com. Please consider supporting local journalism with a subscription.
This article originally appeared on Burlington County Times: You can't deny Life Center after breakthrough win over Ocean City
