CRUSHING DEFEAT AT HOME FOR THE EXPRESS, FALL 2-0 TO NEW JERSEY IN DERBY MATCH
NEWARK, N.J. --- The Ironbound Express found themselves on the other side of the fence on Wednesday evening as they dropped their second game of the season and split the season series with the New Jersey Rangers, falling 2-0 at Lubetkin Field in a Mid-Atlantic Division derby match.
The Express were slow out of the gates, as the Rangers took a 1-0 lead in the middle of the first half, as Jason Goreski found the back of the net past Ironbound goalie Michael Drozd, who made his second consecutive home start.
The game got chippy as two yellow cards were given to the Rangers in the first stanza to Goreski in the 30th minute and Nick Whipple nine minutes later. The visiting team finished with five shots after 45 minutes, as the home team was looking for answers.
Ironbound Express head coach George Vichniakov made a substitution to begin the second half, as Mike Konicoff replaced Hamir Niebles and moved Jerrod Laventure back to forward with the anticipation that the team’s top scorer would get the team back in the game. However, the Express picked up three cards in the latter portion of the contest and allowed a goal by the Rangers reserve forward Samuel Petrone in the final seconds of the contest.
Drozd finished the contest with five saves as he faced nine shots. For the Rangers, Ryszard Gorski made five saves on 11 shots faced for the shutout. The rangers finished with an 11-9 edge in the shots total as the Express keeps their lead in the Mid-Atlantic Division but allow the Rangers three crucial points.
The Ironbound Express will have the remainder of the week off before heading to Bermuda for a pair of games next Friday and Sunday against the Hogges at the Bermuda Athletic Association Field. The Express will return home to close out the month of June with a derby match against Central Jersey on the 30th at 8 p.m. at Lubetkin Field.
Remember fans, all Express home games will feature match tracker from the Ironbound Express PDL site.
