FC Monmouth Defeats Hershey FC 5-3 for a Crucial Three Points

PALMYRA, PA – FC Monmouth (3-3-3) earned its third victory of the season by defeating Hershey FC (0-9-0) 5-3 Wednesday night.

The game, originally scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start, was delayed due to weather in the area. A little after 8:30 p.m., it got underway from an indoor facility next to the original field. It marked the first time in club history FC Monmouth played a game indoors.

FC Monmouth started strong, recording the first 10 shots of the game. They kicked off the scoring in the 6th minute as forward Walter Calderon found the back of the net off a feed from forward Jacob Rubinstein. Calderon doubled FC Monmouth’s lead in the 14th minute, and Rubinstein made the margin 3-0 a little over 60 seconds later. The offensive push continued as Calderon scored his third of the game in the 17th minute.

Hershey FC responded and finished the half strong, scoring two goals and recording five of the last six shots going into the break.

They continued their momentum early on in the second half, recording five of the first six shots while putting two on goal. Hershey FC cut the margin to one in the 81st minute, but Calderon scored his fourth of the game on a header off a corner kick two minutes later to make the score 5-3.

AT THE MICROPHONE

“It was a difficult situation for these guys to be in where we had to wait around for nearly two hours before the match got started due to the weather, and then we had to play in an indoor facility. Credit to Hershey because they never gave up, it was 4-0 and they kept pushing. They did a great job of staying in the match and to push us as far as they could, so I thought it was a great response by them.” – Head Coach Brian Woods

“It was tough coming in with the change of location. We thought we were playing outside, and then the weather happened and we found out we were going to come inside and play. We were able to score some goals and at the end of the day we got the job done.” – Defender Andrew Venezia

NOTES AND NUMBERS

Calderon’s season goal total grew to 12, putting him into a tie for the NPSL lead. He is also the only player in club history to record four or more goals in multiple games.

Rubinstein has scored at least one goal in three of the four games he has played in.

It was the second time this season that FC Monmouth recorded at least 10 shots on target (May 29).

FC Monmouth recorded an assist on four of its five goals, marking the second time this season in which it has tallied at least four assists in a game (May 29). Those two instances are the only times that has happened in club history.

The 17 minutes it took to score four goals was the fastest to begin a game in club history. The previous record was 25, which was set on May 29 against Torch FC. Prior to the 2021 season, the only four-plus goal performance was on June 23, 2018.

With the win, FC Monmouth moved up to fourth in the Keystone Conference with 12 points. Electric City Shock SC is two behind with 10 points, and Torch FC has nine as the race for the conference’s final playoff spot continues.

NEXT ON THE SCHEDULE

FC Monmouth will conclude the regular season schedule on July 8 as the club will travel to face in-state rival Atlantic City FC. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.