By Nicholas Gordon
In a hard fought, physical match that appeared to be ending in a stalemate, DC Power FC eked out a 1-0 victory in the 98th minute of stoppage time on a BKFC own goal. It wasn’t the prettiest victory, but DC Power FC got the job done for their first win of the inaugural USL Super League season. In a league of eight clubs, BKFC (3-1-2) is currently in third place, and DC Power FC (1-3-4) is ranked seventh. Approximately 300 hundred fans attended the match on Friday, October 11, at Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium.
The match served a higher purpose as the “Pink Game for Breast Cancer Awareness,” a partnership between Brooklyn Football Club and the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. As stated in the press release, “Making Strides is a nationwide movement that unites communities to end breast cancer by celebrating courage and hope.” BKFC had the signature pink of Making Strides added to their jerseys for the match in a show of solidarity with the breast cancer survivors in attendance who were also wearing the pink t-shirts of the partnership.
“We’re really grateful to be able to honor these women who have survived breast cancer,” said BKFC midfielder Mackenzie “Mack” Pluck. “We want to thank everyone who came out tonight. We’re really blessed to have our fan base here in New York.”
Local breast cancer survivors Charmaine Deshong, Judith Hinds, and Naita Semaj-Williams attended the match together and with their family members.
Hinds said she enjoyed the match and appreciated the cause. “It’s women supporting women,” Hinds said. “We value their support in helping raise awareness in the fight against breast cancer, and it’s great to support a women’s soccer team from Brooklyn.”
Semaj-Williams brought her 7-year old daughter, Adara, who’s also a soccer player, to the match to witness the level of grit and skill in the women’s pro game.
“People are always telling little girls to be nice and gentle, but they can be athletic and tough too. You can see that with this women’s soccer team,” Semaj-Williams said.
If the teams on the pitch had comparable possession of the ball throughout the match, it was BKFC who delivered the more exhilarating goal-scoring chances, particularly in the closing minutes of both halves.
In the 43rd minute, BKFC midfielder Sam Kroeger found forward Isabel Cox on the far post with a cross from the left corner of the box. Cox connected on a volley that went just wide of goal.
A minute later Pluck fed forward Mackenzie George with a nice pass through traffic into the box. George dribbled past her defender and created space for a solid strike that sailed just over the crossbar.
With a new squad and a new coach in a new league, BKFC is still experimenting with player rotations in the young season. BKFC head coach Jessica Silva noted that pre-match plans for player substitutions often shift based on the flow of the game.
“We have a deep squad, and we have a lot of ladies that are capable of stepping in,” Silva said. “We saw it today. Players stepped in and made a difference. Sam Rosette came in on a position she hasn’t trained at once and made a difference there. So I’m very comfortable rotating my players.”
If Rosette was playing a new position up front for BKFC, she did well to position herself for quality scoring opportunities as a substitute in the second half.
In the 88th minute, BKFC full-back Leah Scarpelli lofted a deep cross from the left wing perfectly placed in the box for an on-the-run Rosette who volleyed a shot in mid-stride that got past the keeper but knocked off the far post.
In BKFC’s last best chance, Rosette carried the ball into the box on the right side and faced a 50/50 conundrum that every attacking player confronts at some point: to take the shot one’s self from a good look albeit a reduced angle, or lay the ball off across the box for an oncoming teammate to have the open shot. Rosette opted for the latter on this occasion and the score remained 0-0.
The trouble came for BKFC on a DC Power corner kick, when what appeared to be mixed signals between players on a clearance at the near post led to the own goal.
“That’s just football, sometimes,” Rosette said, on the gut-wrenching loss. “We created some great opportunities, but sometimes that’s just how the game lands. We’re going to regroup for the next match and go in with confidence, knowing that we played well today and just didn’t put the ball in the back of the net.”
Silva said the disappointing loss is salvaged by the strong overall effort she saw from her club.
“I felt like we deserved better today. Our ladies definitely put in quite the performance,” Silva said. “I’m really proud of them, and we’re going to build off of this.” Silva added that it was a great start for the team’s run of seven matches to come.
DC Power FC will also look to build on their first win in what has been a frustrating string of draws and losses to start the season.
“It means everything for us to get our first win tonight,” said Claire Constant, center-back for DC Power FC. “We’ve been working so hard for months and our coach has given us the plan. Now we have the belief that we can win.”
Despite the losing effort, the game meant everything to BKFC too in helping raise awareness for the cause.
“This game was so important to us as women,” said Allison Pantuso, BKFC center-back. “You know so many women that have been through breast cancer and fought against it, so we’re always really proud to be able to wear pink.”
Christian Orellana, the development manager of Making Strides of Brooklyn, said the “Pink Game for Breast Cancer Awareness” was a great lead up to the annual 3-mile walk on the Coney Island boardwalk to honor breast cancer survivors on Sunday, October 27 at 8a.m.
“Every year we get about ten thousand people who come out for the walk to support breast cancer survivors,” Orellana said, noting that Making Strides has a “natural relationship” with BKFC and the local minor league baseball club, the Brooklyn Cyclones, as their post-walk festival area is located in the parking lot of Maimonides Park, the teams’ home field.
“Hearing so many stories of breast cancer survivors over the years inspires me to do what I can to support them,” Orellana said.