West Pines tops Ironbound in 5-4 thriller
Florida side fights back for win in U13 Boys Championship

USL News Release

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

TAMPA, FL -- In what was arguably the most entertaining match of the day, the only meeting between two unbeaten teams for the season on Championship Tuesday did not disappoint as Ironbound and West Pines United dueled in nine-goal affair that finished 5-4 in favor of the Florida-based West Pines.

Ironbound got the scoring under way early with a goal in the second minute of action. Team captain Christopher Salazar worked around a defender on the left flank with some good footwork and beat the keeper from a narrow angle for the initial lead.

Six minutes later, however, Bebeto Bernard leveled terms with a fantastic shot from 26 yards out that went just inside the right post.

Ironbound reclaimed the advantage in the 15th minute on a corner. Gareth Esteves found Jason Neves inside the box for a header from 10 yards out and a 2-1 lead.

But another six minutes later, a West Pines equalizer tied the match once more. On a nice exchange on the left flank, Bryan Gonzalez slipped the ball off to Darren Rios as the two overlapped as they headed into the area. Rios struck the ball nicely high inside the near post.

In the 25th, Ironbound took the lead yet again with Dylan Santos finding the back of the net on a header.

In the 31st minute, a dangerous Ironbound corner was handled well by the diminutive goalkeeper Kenny Felix of West Pines, who was in the match for suspended Joseph Ghitis.

A free kick in the 49th minute gave West Pines their third equalizer of the match as the scoreline hit 3-3. Kevin Paz struck 23 yarder that skipped through the box and into the goal.

Six minutes later, West Pines finally claimed their first lead of the game when Walker Dawkins scored from close range on the right side of the box.

Then Ironbound tallied an equalizer of their own in the back-and-forth contest in the 58th minute on a penalty kick from Travis Nitti, who earned the spot kick when he was tackled in the box by Paz.

Just past the hour mark, Ironbound nearly took the lead again when Salazar sent a shot just outside the left post.

The two battled to a stalemate the remaining 10 minutes, sending the affair into overtime. Three minutes into extra time, Sam Vinson buried a shot from 13 yards out off a free kick from Dawkins.

The two sides came into the contest as the only two perfect teams in the entire boys half of the tournament consisting of 60 teams. Ironbound entered with a 14-0-0 mark and West Pines were 12-0-0. Each also swept group play before posting semifinal victories.