Brenden French (Wooster, OH/Univ. of Indianapolis) released the reigning Great Lakes Conference MVP Amir Spratt (Kent, OH/Univ. of Mount Union) with a first-time cross in the 12th minute that Spratt easily placed away to put AFC Ohio up to stay en route to a 2-0 NPSL victory over RNY FC on a hot afternoon in West Henrietta, NY to keep pace with the conference leaders.
Following their loss at Cleveland SC ten days ago, and a frustrating mid-week abandoned match in Canton, OH due to persistent lightening and thunder, Ambassadors hit the road to Rochester with their sites set on regaining their form that saw them start the season with four wins and set the pace in the conference as well as nationally.
“Today was an opportunity to go back to our foundations and focus on us, our ethos, and our willingness to suffer and sacrifice for one another,” said Head Coach & Technical Director Ryan Dean following the match. “I could not be more please with the group because this was a true team victory with deep contributions from everyone. We had to be solidly organized and committed to being united when out of possession.”
From the opening kickoff, it was clear that AFC Ohio was bringing renewed energy to the match as they mixed a pressing and counterpressing mentality with a solid mid-block, allowing RNY FC to gain comfort possessing in front of the Ambassadors organization.
In the 12th minute, the organization paid off when a deflected through pass from RNY FC attempted to break the AFC Ohio lines. The deflection fell to the feet of Brenden French ten yards inside his own half. French accelerated and carried the ball nearly 60 yards streaking past two RNY players on the flanks to slice a sublime cross through the penalty area from the left flank finding a streaking Spratt inside the six yard box to put AFC Ohio on top 1-0 in the 12th minute.
“I think the goal actually didn’t do us any favors,” said Spratt, who started the match wearing the captain’s band as club captain Omar Najjar (Akron, OH/Univ. of Mount Union) started the match on the bench while coming back from a small knock picked up last week in training. “We took our foot off the gas a bit and lost our focus for the next segment of the match. But, our guys eventually just locked in and took care of the business that we set out to do this weekend.”
Following a stretch of disciplined defending in the midblock and a couple of counterpressing moments, Ambassadors gained their footing again and started to open up the match up switching the point of attack between wing backs Tyler Harsch (Aliquippa, PA/Univ. of Mount Union) and French. In the 38th minute, that openness led to an AFC Ohio corner, their 4th of the first half.
The inswinging corner was contested and only partially cleared, landing near the top of the arc outside the center of the penalty area where Nate Werthmuller (Medina, OH/Otterbein Univ.) was waiting. Werthmuller took a settling touch and then rocketed a knuckling strike into the upper left hand corner of the net past the RNY keeper who never had the opportunity to react.
“To have a guy who has that in his locker is an exceptional gift,” said Dean. “All credit to Nate who played an extremely different role for us and made it look easy all day.”
Ambassadors took the 2-0 lead into the break but were not completely satisfied with their organization and execution. “It was not really a matter of fine tuning things at the half,” said Dean. “It was much more of a reminder of our principles of play and to focus on the elements that we could control and influence. We knew that Rory and RNY would try to change things up and we needed to lock in.”
Amir Spratt opened the scoring for Ambassadors in the 12th minute assisted by a sublime pass from Brenden French in West Henrietta, NY
Even with the tactical adjustment that RNY FC made, it was the discipline of defensive shape and commitment that set the tone as Ambassadors FC continued to stymie almost all of the attacking decisions that RNY made and truly eliminated their chances of getting back into the match. Some of the best counter attacks came in the 2nd 45 minutes as Ambassadors could have easily taken advantage but could not expand their lead.
The best chances came in the 70th minute when Spratt got in behind the RNY backline with a great display of strength, balance, and pace only to chip the ball over the onrushing keeper but also over the goal as well.
Ambassadors return home to host traditional rival Cleveland SC on Wednesday, June 17 at 7:00 p.m. at Dr. David & Winnie King Field on the campus of Malone University in Canton, Ohio.
