The Jersey Express continues to blank their foes, this time steamrolling Bermuda Hogges to a quartet of goals last Sunday, June 12th. But, the club’s superb shutout streak became a side story to their captain Jared Laventure’s soccer showmanship to those on, near to and off the NJIT Stadium playing field.
Laventure traversed the turf, from defense to frontline where his supreme skills scored half of Jersey’s goals and assisted on another, giving his team and rivals, as well as fans and a group of ballgirls another taste of Jersey’s stifling defensive play.
“I think our play is a reflection of the one undeniable constant in all of sports: ‘you can’t lose if you don’t let the other team score’,” noted the senior Express player who now leads his team with three goals and assists, apiece, for 8 points. It is the sixth time Jersey’s opponents have failed to upgrade the zero in their score box. Amazingly, the shutouts characterize all of Jersey’s wins from the seven games played so far.
It was l‘adventure dans tissage de boule (the adventure in ball weaving) that Laventure had promised the group of jeunes dames from Arsenal Soccer Club when he met them just before the game, while they prepped for their roles as ballgirls. The skipper’s spectacle was special for the girls whom he trains in northern New Jersey. “We got to see coach do the things that he teaches us. It was so, like, awesome how he played,” said an excited Eleny who twinned as balllgirls with teammate Sarah behind the Hogges’ goal.
But Laventure’s heroics didn’t come at a flash. After toughing it out with his defense teammates to barricade Hogges’ runs during attacking exchanges in the early stages, Laventure stepped up to swell Jersey’s presence in Hogges’ box for midfielder Abdou Coulibaly’s cornerkick.
Lurking nonchalantly and faking some adjustments to his uniform, the overlapping defender seemed inconsequential to the Hogges’ defense. As the kick came, he sped from the penalty box line to the goal box line to butt home the sphere from a Joseph Ovenseri headed pass. It was a spectacular start to another encore of the Express’ ‘leather on nylon’ symphony of sounds in the 26th minute.
Before the sonata movement could fade, though, Jersey was back for another composition as they won the ball from the still dazed Hogges. Coulibaly sent a cross to midfielder Ansger Otto on the left who dazzled the sluggish Bermuda defense to get into the box. The dumpy Otto put the ball through for fellow midfielder Lebogang Pila who ran in unchallenged. Pila slid the ball to striker Overseri at the penalty spot where the tall Nigerian swept it to the right of Hogges’ goalie Mikkail Crockwell.
In a wink, Jersey were two up in the 27th minute, and the African continent was well represented in the North American team’s build-up to goal against the Caribbean side. The score would remain at the deuce for the white clad Express going into the break. But, before that the red-attired Bermuda gave Jersey some moments of danger as they came close to illuminating the center strip on the scoreboard’s ‘visitors’ LEDs.
As early as the 6th minute on a counter attack, Jersey’s keeper Ryan Meara was drawn out of goal for a save off a good shot which ricocheted of his leg. Then in the 33rd, Meara got a tip to a Hogges’ header from a long pass, but the deflection was retrieved just in time by a retreating Shawn Foster for a clearance. 
Jersey, too, had unlucky moments in the half. An assortment of fine build-ups and shots were stopped by the Hogges goalie to the dismay of the excitedly expectant fans. The branding came when Otto took an Andrew Konopelsky long pass in the box. Surrounded by three Hogges defenders, Otto delivered a splendid bicycle kick, only to see the goalie leap to miraculously cuff it over the bar, and rob him (Otto) of what could have been the ‘goal of the season’.
Spirited exchanges marked the start of the last half as Jersey demonstrated crisp passing using the ‘thirds’ to get to their target again, while Bermuda resolved to get most of their numbers patrol the field to defend and then attack in a tangled bunch of misplaced players.
Jersey brought on Joseph Ruesgen, Josh Trott and Robert Youhill for Otto, Ovenseri and Anthony Assante to assert their control. Later, Coulibaly, Pila and Joseph Niouki were replaced, at different times, by Michael Mazzullo, Idris Mashriqi and Kadeem Dacres joining the fray to sustain the shutout showcase.
It was Dacres who gave Pila a fine send-off when he netted Jersey’s third goal, giving his teammate a pair of assists for the game. In the 60th minute, the nippy forward got to a skidding, low pass before Trott and Laventure, to pat it in after Pila distributed from the right to a Ruesgen long pass from the half line.
Before that, Meara and Crockwell shared the spoils in pulling off superb saves, with the Jersey keeper standing out for advancing stop to a shot after a Hogges’ striker had split defenders Michael Konicoff and Ruesgen on his run into the box.
Meanwhile, Laventure was up front creating harrowing overtime work for Hogges defense. Two stunning shots were stopped by the keeper who was literally in the right place at the right time for the visitors, or conversely for Laventure’s efforts. A well timed header hit the right upright, then a close range drive deflected of the goalie’s hands which were seemingly going up to protect his face. That made a dejected Laventure continue his trot onto the net to voluntarily tangle in it.
That may have been the casting of a spell by the soccer wizard. Soon after a perfect cross from Trott took one bounce in front of his box-dwelling captain who took the ball on his thigh. With his left side to the keeper, Laventure spun his legs around the ball instead of his body, and hit a right-footed bullet volley to shave the crown off the keeper on its way to the ole onion bag, exactly where the skipper kinked, earlier.
The 80th minute goal wrapped Jersey’s gift to the fans, and especially their captain’s bequest to the ecstatic ballgirls – his protégés, and cementing the fact that the only goal-scoring celebrations the stadium has seen this season are the home team’s. Express have the amazing feat of 14 unanswered goals in four home games, and apart from the away loss in Week 2, they have tallied 17 unrequited from six matches.
“Maybe, just maybe it might be useful,” responded Hannah, a first time ballgirl and Grade 2 honor student when asked if the protracted perfect performances are prime precursors for a plead to rename the NJIT facility (Lubetkin field), Shutout Stadium.
Now, like four teams have learned; it is increasingly difficult to score against Jersey at home. Be warned, others. Be warned!
