Month: May 2021

Sean Maruscsak scored Invictus FC’s first ever UPSL goal in an away game against Lonestar Syracuse that turned out to be a disappointing opening day for the Lions.

During a game that saw chances at both ends, Invictus dominated the play for long spells of the game.

Throughout the first half, Invictus created numerous excellent opportunities but failed to capitalize.

Then, on the 32 minute mark, Maruscsak found a way to break the deadlock, with a cool finish inside the box. Following this, Invictus had two clear opportunities to put the game out of sight, but failed to provide the finishing touches.

The second half started similar to the first, and in the 54th minute Joe Spires (who replaced Victor Stasyuk in the forward role) was clearly brought down from behind in the box, but the referee waved play on to the dismay of the traveling fans and Invictus team. Lonestar seconds later, and immediately against the run of play, had a fortunate bounce in the Invictus box and equalized from close range. This naturally gave them a boost after being frustrated for large spells of the game and limited in terms of possession, which led to a wonder strike from long range the clipped the underside of the cross bar and found its way in the back of the Invictus net.

Chasing the game, Invictus threw everything they had, but just couldn’t get the equalizer that they clearly at least deserved, ending in a disappointing end to the day.

Head Coach, Dan Kincaid, summed up the day:

“We were clearly the better team and we should have had the game won in the first half. But you have to take your chances, and we failed to do that today. The penalty decision in the second half that went against us was extremely frustrating and disappointing. It was a game changing moment at a key time in the game. I spoke with the referee after the game to express my view, as we all knew it was a clear penalty when Joey was brought down – if we take that chance and go 2-0 ahead, I think we go on to win the game comfortably. But this is the nature of the game, and we have all been here before. If we take are chances, which I know we will moving forward – we will not have to worry about referee decisions having such an impact. The guys played well and worked very hard, and we will use this as a positive catalyst for our next game and the rest of the season.”

Invictus next play on Wednesday, May 12th @ 7pm against Krajisnik FC in Utica, NY.