FC Monmouth Drops Three Points at Home
Evan McMurtrie
Content/Communications/Social Media
RED BANK, NJ - FC Monmouth closed out their three-match home stint with a 4-2 loss to Atlantic City FC on Wednesday night.
“Their [AC] attack is just very difficult to contain for 90 minutes,” said Head Coach Brian Woods. “Once we scored the second goal… we probably needed another goal to salt the game away.”
FC Monmouth got off to the perfect start, taking the lead twenty minutes into the match. After becoming the club’s all-time assist leader last weekend, forward Brian Hawkins scored his first goal of the season with a rocket from just inside of the box that flew into the top-left corner.
Atlantic City responded quickly with two goals in two minutes to make the score 2-1 before half-time.
“Well we got the first goal and I think we were feeling good, most of the time when we get the first goal we bring it throughout the entire game,” Hawkins said. “I guess we took plays off and they capitalized on it — that was the biggest problem.”
A little over five minutes into the second half, midfielder Bryant Knibbs scored his fourth goal in a row. Knibbs rounded the keeper near the touchline and sent a chipped ball into the back of the empty net from an impossible angle to level the score. Midfielder Sam DeCencio, who played Knibbs into space down the wing, assisted both of FC Monmouth’s goals on Wednesday night.
The goals would come in a flurry once again for the visitors in the second half, as 75th and 76th minute strikes put AC back in the lead and to the eventual final of 4-2.
“They’re a good team, they did well to break us down,” said goalkeeper Jake Leahy. “On another night, I think we would do much better.”
FC Monmouth now faces a scenario that is all-too familiar: win and you’re in. They will be tasked with facing first-place West Chester United SC in Pennsylvania on the final day of the regular season to decide their playoff fate.
“Right now, the biggest thing is to turn the page and get ready for Saturday,” Leahy said. “It’s all hands on deck, everybody’s gotta get ready to go. It’s the most important game of the season now — we’ve dropped a couple points — and now we need to step it up, turn it around, and just make sure we’re ready with our heads straight going into this next game.”