Atlantic City FC secured one-point Sunday afternoon in the Keystone Conference of the NPSL when they tied Hershey FC 2-2 after almost two hours of play.
The first half began with the Aces showing disciplined play by midfielders Joao Brum and Ryan Nigro who directed traffic in the midfield for long stretches of good play. The ball was played into Forward Walter Calderon who bypassed the defense for a shot that landed just wide left.
The Aces had several chances early on in the first half when a couple of corner kicks were taken followed by headers that missed the goal wide to either side.
Another chance came for the Aces came when Jacques Francois would have his attack end early by an offsides call after receiving a setup pass from Calderon. Hershey would then penetrate the midfield as the Aces’ play was disorganized.
This led to frustration on the parts of both teams and tactical errors. Tangled feet led to hacking players down by both sides which led to the referee issuing three yellow cards in the first half for unsportsmanlike behavior.
The Aces lost sight of the ball in the 42nd minute when Hershey FC would strike when Christian Coridon passed to John Woodhead split the Aces’ defense and zipped one past goalkeeper Matt Perrella to take the lead 1-0 heading into halftime. The Aces then orchestrated a short charge, but it ended with the whistle for halftime.
In the second half, Atlantic City FC covered ground looking to create chances. That chance came in the 54th minute when they were awarded a penalty kick. Midfielder Joao Brum took the shot and put one past goalkeeper Clement May to level the score 1-1.
The Aces would then take the lead when Joao Brum lifted one over the goalkeeper’s head and into the back of the net to give the Aces a 2-1 lead in the 63rd minute. With these two goals, Brum now has three for the season.
The Aces’ defense came up with a huge save when Giuseppe Barone prevented Hershey FC from scoring on an empty net by heading the ball out of bounds. Hershey FC did tie the game up in the 71st minute when Christian Coridon put one past Matt Perrella to even the game at 2-2.
The second half also had its share of fouls with more yellow cards issued on both teams for defensive tackles and pass interference. Two cards were issued to the Aces, and one to Hershey. The play would continue with both teams going toe to toe before the whistle would blow ending the game in a 2-2 tie.
The Aces now find themselves in a five-way tie for first place. Friday begins their road trip as they travel to Ocean City to face the Nor’easters at Carey Stadium for a 7 pm exhibition game. They then travel to Peraskie, Pa for a regular season against the Torch FC at 7 pm from Pennridge High School.
