Continentals Fall in Opener

Morristown 1776 failed to open up the season with any points after falling 4-0 to table-topping Pompton Lakes. Capitalizing on a defensive miscommunication in the 25th minute, a Pompton Lakes forward found space on the left side and beat keeper Ryan Vinton with a bending shot to the far post.

The Continentals kept the game tightly contested until the opposition once capitalized on a defensive error to put the game at 2 nil in the 68th minute.  Desperate for points, 1776 spent the final 20 minutes in full attack, leaving only two at the back, but were unable to capitalize with the men forward and allowed two late goals from counterattacks on the depleted back line.

Midfielder Russell Bauer could have put the boys in maroon up 1-0 in the 8th minute, after latching on to an excellent diagonal ball through the middle of the field, but pulled his left-footed shot wide with only the keeper to beat.

"If I could do it all again, I would probably consider taking the extra touch around the keeper.  Maybe I would have drawn a penalty, at the very least," said Bauer.  "In that instant, I didn't want to try something cheeky and look like a fool doing it, and I'm not exactly used to playing center forward and finding myself in that situation.  However, now that I've dipped my toes in, I'm ready to dive in head first.  That's the last time I fail to capitalize on a great opportunity."

Right fullback Brian Daire was, as always, inspirational to watch with his dazzling pace and tenacious defending.  Although it is harder to record stats for defenders, a glaring and painful fact is the first two goals were scored while Daire was spelled on the bench.

Morristown defended set pieces far better than they have in the past, and created a few chances in the scrum following two late first-half corners.  Midfielder Miguel Lazo made an excellent dribble from deep in the midfield down the right sideline, but a tired Morristown front line was unable to meet the end of his cross in the box.

Peter Luthi, the club's all-time leading goal scorer, made his return without a goal but making a few good chances for himself.  He was on his own for long stretches, as the Continentals were experimenting with a five-man midfield through the first half.  The team is considering moving a midfielder up to play "in the hole" to give Luthi more support up top.

Vinton played well despite a strained quad, and is unhappy to have four goals against him, despite the insignificance of the final two.  Morristown is still in search of their first ever clean sheet.

The team is very optimistic about the season following Monday's loss, and is looking ahead to Wednesday with great anticipation as they take on long-time rivals New Providence at Madison High School.