Hurl, Fuccello lead Boca U23s over N.J. Rangers

Duo combines four goals and one assist
in 5-1 Boca win

Hurl, Fuccello lead Boca U23s over N.J. Rangers

Duo combines four goals and one assist

in 5-1 Boca win

DENVILLE — The Jersey Shore Boca U23 men’s soccer team traveled North to Denville Saturday afternoon and took on the N.J. Rangers at Morris Catholic High School in a Mid-Atlantic Summer Showcase League (MSSL) regular season game.

Boca started the scoring in 10th minute when Yale University’s Jack Facemyer (Tuckerton) slid a through ball to a streaking Bobby Hurl (Middletown) about 25 yards out on the right side.

Hurl, a four-year starter at Kutztown University (Pa.), ran on to the ball in stride behind the Ranger defenders and buried a low shot to the near post.

After conceding the tying goal in the 15th minute, Boca’s Justin Fuccello (Brick,) won a ball at midfield, turned away from the Rangers midfielders and connected with Will McMaster (Rumson) who was on the left side at the top of the penalty box.

McMaster, who played in all 18 games at Randolph Macon College (Va.) as a freshman last year, finished the attack from that side, and beat the Ranger goalkeeper low and to the right, in the 21st minute that ultimately proved to be the game winner.

Boca scored once more before the half ended when Fuccello found himself with the ball about 10 yards out after a scuffle inside in box. The Rutgers University sophomore collected the ball on his right foot and ripped an unassisted shot past the Ranger keeper to make the score 3-1 in Boca’s favor.

Hurl scored his second goal of the game five minutes into the second half when Christian Pontier (Forked River) found Hurl on the left side about 20 yards out.

Pontier, who will begin his sophomore year at Stephens Institute of Technology in September, played a perfect through ball to Hurl who sped past a Ranger defender and hit a diagonal shot past the Ranger goalkeeper. Fuccello ended the Boca scoring on the day when Jim Coletti (Warren) pushed up from his right-back position and stripped the ball from a Ranger attacker.

The Assumption College (Ma.) sophomore played a long, 40-yard ball over the Ranger defenders and found Fuccello all alone in the middle of the field 15 yards away from the goal. Fuccello beat the keeper to the left for his second goal of the game.

Boca defenders Pat Bulvanoski (Ocean Township; Mount St. Mary’s College), Sean Cahill (Whiting; Kean University), Dan Haydu (Toms River; Monmouth University), John Mortiz (Tuckerton; Caldwell College) and Nick Gkionis (Jackson Township; Stevens Institute of Technology) along with Coletti, kept the Ranger attack at bay for most of the game limiting their scoring opportunities.

Boca goalkeepers Sean Grayson (Plainfield) and Old Dominion University-bound Jon Curry-Edwards (Spring Lake Heights) split time between the pipes, allowing only one goal on the afternoon."We played well today against a quality organization," said Walt Konopka, coach of the Boca U23s. "Their skill and tactical abilities are not indicative of their overall league record. We defended very good and limited their scoring chances. We also kept possession of the ball much better and switched direction of play nicely this afternoon."

With the win, Boca improved to 2-4-1 while the N.J. Rangers fall to 0-6-0.

The Mid-Atlantic Summer Showcase League is a first-year regional adult amateur soccer league specifically designed for collegiate players and is fully sanctioned by the U.S. Adult Soccer Association (USASA), the national governing body for adult amateur soccer.