PDL Game Report
Saturday, June 21, 2014
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — The Seacoast United Phantoms' Anthony Grant continued on his scorching pace as he netted another hat trick in a 4-0 victory against Westchester Flames on Saturday at Portsmouth Stadium in the PDL’s Northeast Division.
Grant scored all three of his goals in the first half as he struck in the 15th, 39th, and 43rd minutes. Striker Terrence Carter added to his statistics as well by scoring in the 31st minute, giving him a total of two goals and three assists on the season. Goalkeeper Dominic DiMaggio finished his day with three saves in earning the shutout, his second on the year.
"Strikers who score goals are worth their weight in gold," Phantoms coach Iain Scott said of Grant. "Ben Brewster also played really well on defense and has done an amazing job leading the team.”
Seacoast pressured the Flames early on, and created several chances in the opening minutes. The duo of Carter and Grant produced five shots inside 11 minutes before the Phantoms broke through in the 15th minute with Grant’s first goal of the afternoon as he curled a shot into the upper right corner.
In the 31st minute, Carter streaked down the left side, drawing Westchester goalkeeper Thomas Spenser off his line. Carter dribbled past the goalkeeper, and then a Flames defender before tucking the ball into the back of the net for the 2-0 lead. Grant then took over for two goals in a span of four minutes to give the home team a 4-0 advantage at the half.
The Flames looked to open the second half with a goal quick but DiMaggio scooped up the ball to halt the charging attack. In the 50th minute, the Phantoms looked to extend the lead even further when Abel Perez forced Spenser to commit too early, and passed back to midfielder Ben Havey whose shot hit the crossbar facing a wide open net.
With the victory, the Phantoms improved their record to 5-1-2 to move to 17 points in the PDL’s Northeast Division standings and second place in the division. They are unbeaten in their last six games. Scott attributes some of the success to many players being present at training prior to matches as well as the ability to share minutes and stay fresh throughout the match. He is equally impressed with quality on both sides of the ball.
“Offense wins games but defense wins championships, we have both,” Scott said.
The Phantoms now have a 10-day break and will return to action on Tuesday, July 1st to take on division leader the Western Mass Pioneers and the league’s leading scorer in Alencar Junior. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Portsmouth Stadium.