Despite the very heavy rainfall over the weekend, the fields at Mark Harbourt complex were in great condition for a full slate of travel games on Sunday. An unbeaten Allentown United U14 girls team would attempt to continue that streak against a team from Wall. United came out of the gate at full speed and looked as if they would soon get the go-ahead goal. They dominated the first 20 minutes of play, and had numerous chances to take the lead. Instead it would be Wall who, against the run of play, went a goal up after the right winger crossed a ball into the box, where it took a deflection off an Allentown defender and into the net. To make things worse, just before the half, they would come right back again and score a second goal after Allentown failed to clear the ball cleanly out of their area. The second-half team talk seemed to wake up the home side, and they took charge of the game, fighting for every ball, with Dawn Taylor, Chelsea Donnigan and Kelly Bailey all coming close. It would eventually fall to Shelby Doll; just outside the 18-yard box, she controlled a ball pumped into the area by Shannon Buckley, turned past a defender before firing her shot into the top right hand corner to put United back in the match. They would continue to battle down to the final whistle, keeping the Wall team on their back foot for the last 15 minutes, all to no avail. This would go into the books as a loss, but United must ask themselves why, after controlling play for most of the match, they could not get the ball into their opponents' net. This Saturday they are in a one-day tournament in Monroe, followed on Sunday with an away game at Colts Neck.

The Allentown Charge U11 girls soccer team took on the unbeaten Hazlet Finesse on Sunday. Though the day showed weather from wet, cold, then hot, the Charge played up to the challenge they faced. The first half provided few opportunities for either team to score as the midfielders (Kelly Rocklein, Jillian Frein, and Jamie Perritt) controlled much of the game. The defense led by Taylor Bachik, Kelly Tohill, Bianca Covitz and Stephanie Falsetti continually thwarted the Finesse and frustrated their highly potent offense. Charge goalkeeper Shannon Abbott aided in their efforts. The first half ended scoreless.

After the break, the Charge came out and dominated the second half of the game. The offense (Krysta Plummer, Lena Campbell, Kimberly Wilson, and Sarah Mottram) put together some timely passes. It didn't take too long for Sarah Mottram to get by the Finesse defense, shrugging off a bump in the box by a defender and placing the ball neatly by the goalkeeper for a 1-0 Charge lead. The offense continued to press, and 10 minutes later, from deep in the Finesse goal area, Kimberly Wilson placed a beautiful cross past the Finesse goalie and defenders to a wide open Sarah Mottram, who put the ball in the back of the net for her second goal of the game. The final whistle sounded and an excited team of girls had secured a 2-0 win in probably the best game they have played together as a team. They hope to continue their winning ways; they next take on the Toms River Wildcats in Toms River.

The Allentown Attack U-11 boys travel soccer team resumed their MOSA campaign this past Sunday. The pitch was in good shape despite the heavy rains. The Attack faced off against the Freehold Lightning. Allentown's coaching staff shuffled the line-up and moved some players around in an attempt to jump start the offense. The move paid off as the Attack got off to a fast start. Allentown's front line was firing on all cylinders with Steven Hensley and Alec Scarano generating numerous scoring opportunities from their wing positions.

They were continually feeding Anthony Derisi, who was moved up to the striker position for this important match. Derisi took advantage of the opportunity as he drilled in a hard, high shot while going to his left to break the ice and give the Attack the lead. The Attack's midfield controlled the play with David Cohen playing a superb two-way game at the center mid-field position. Cameron Mory and Brady Koontz manned the flanks and moved the ball with precision in support of Allentown's front line. Allentown didn't lose a beat as Kevin Gallagher and Nicholas Miles stepped right in at the mid-field when called upon for the Attack.

Once again, Allentown's back line held the opposition at bay. Jake Calvitti and Patrick Dawes held the Lightning's wings in check. Evan Byrnes and Ryan Darrell anchored the center of the defense for the Attack and covered for each other repeatedly. Darrell initiated a clear to David Cohen, who masterfully sprung Derisi in solo against the Lightning goalie. Derisi deftly waited for the goalie to commit and tapped the ball into the far corner for his second goal of the match.

Freehold refused to fold and came on strong. The Lightning got on the board to cut the lead in half. Freehold continued to pour on the pressure. Nathaniel Marquez, manning the nets for Allentown, played a strong game, shutting down Freehold's offense from that point on. Justin Patrylow, Alexander Valentino and Patrick McCarthy revitalized Allentown's offense and the Attack went back to work. Patrick McCarthy jumped on a loose ball in front of the net and drove it home off the far post to give Allentown the all-important insurance goal to ice the game for the Attack. The Attack will participate in the Monroe tournament this Saturday before resuming their MOSA schedule in an important away game at Toms River this coming Sunday.