LUFC's Emmanuel Sarkorh praises his team on a solid overall performance against a very good team, Lazers SC, in Raleigh, NC this past weekend.

LUFC came out with force in the first half of the game, causing Lazers SC some problems in the middle and the defense. LUFC’s M. Salinas, M. Mousa, S.Perez, and A. Lewis did good defensing from the back. They kept things very tight, giving Lazers SC no space to counter. 

The first half was dominated by LUFC. Center Midfielder, E. Ochoa, had an open field run with the ball to Lazers SC’s defensive half were he won a free kick near the 18-yard box. Another LUFC Center Midfielder, O. Espino, took it upon himself to take the free kick which he curved past the keeper for LUFC to go up 1-0 in the first half. 

In the process of the first half performance, LUFC Striker, A. Perez was causing problems for the Lazers SC’s two Center Backs. He played a very fine game. Helping the midfield pressure Lazers SC’s back line. In the defense we had players like M. Salinas, M. Mousa, S. Perez, and A. Lewis who all put in solid individual performance on the pitch. LUFC’s Midfield came with experience with players like O. Espino, U. Ramirez, C. Ochoa, E. Ochoa, and A. Federico. All of these players played very well throughout the night. LUFC was playing a very good all-round game through out the first half giving Lazers SC no time to break apart for a counter. 

Lazers SC team, came out the with a fighting spirit after previously losing their last game. Coach Emmanuel said “We knew this game was a must win for us because we lost two previous games before playing Lazers SC. We wanted to prove that we are the talented team we are. Lazers SC was a very good team and definitely made us fight hard. 

Second half, Lazers SC scored an early goal to even things up. This goal caused LUFC some problems and demanded them to stay focused and to keep fighting. Lazers SC came out focused in the second half but it was no match for LUFC’s steaming attackers to break their high pressure and score a second goal with a beautiful strike from LUFC’s Left Midfielder, U. Ramirez. LUFC closed the game out with a 2-1 victory over Lazers SC. 

After the game coach Emmanuel said “I told the boys to reset and get ready for the next few games. We still have to play both San Lee FC and FC Cardinals away before we play our conference leader, Goldsboro Strike Eagles FC. We will just take every game one at a time. We are new to this stage. I just want us to have a solid season.”

LUFC plays San Lee FC away this weekend in Sanford, NC.