Virginia Beach City FC Crushes Northern Virginia United 7-1 to Finish 2018 NPSL Regular Season

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (July 7, 2018) — Virginia Beach City FC ended the 2018 NPSL regular season on a high note on Saturday night, routing Northern Virginia United 7-1 at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex. It was VB City FC’s second straight win and improved VB City FC’s record to 4-4-2 on the season.

“We wanted to end on a positive note in front of our fans and the people that have been supporting us all year,” Hinkey said. “It’s soccer man. You’re going to have some moments where if they go your way, we’re through to the playoffs and we just didn’t get those breaks this year. Unfortunately, we’re out. Ultimately, I’m proud of the guys. We kept fighting, we kept playing and nobody gave up, nobody quit.

“We showed a lot of character to come out in a match that was a tough match, and we put it to them tonight.”

Trevor Knight and Prince Idornigie led the way for VB City FC, combining for three goals and three assists. Knight scored in the 16th and 32nd minutes, while Idornigie added another goal in the 89th minute.

“I thought his finishing was good but I thought his runs were better,” Hinkey said of Knight. “I thought they were cleaner, the timing was better and he found some success getting in between the defenders and creating space. We’ve worked on that with him.”

“It was just the attitude that we went into the locker room with, like, ‘This could be the last one, let’s put it all on the field and see what we come up with,’” Knight said. “We just played for each other and the result was great for us.”

Hinkey credited the VB City FC’s improved offense to Ryan Condotta as well, who returned to the field for the first time since May 12 vs. Legacy 76. Condotta scored his first goal of the season in the first half and moved the ball upfield all night long.

“I think some of the things I bring when I’m on the field is leadership and communication, directing players where to go and stuff like that,” Condotta said. “There are a lot of players who are younger, so I try to take things over and help players get to the next step.”

As good as the offense was on Saturday night, Virginia Beach City FC played solid defense as well. The backline prevented easy scoring opportunities and CJ Coulson and Davaun Smith combined for 10 saves.

VB City FC struck early and often vs. the Mid-Atlantic Division co-leaders. William Cooke started the scoring with a goal in the 6th minute, with Prince Idornigie earning the assist. Tye Stallins score next on an assist from Alvaro Tina in the 11th minute, giving VBC an early 2-0 advantage.

Northern Virginia United trimmed the lead on a goal in the 13th minute but failed to maintain momentum. Virginia Beach City FC scored three straight goals before halftime, starting with a Trevor Knight header in the 16th minute. Condotta pounded a volley for a beautiful goal in the 29th minute and in the 32nd minute, Knight scored again on Prince Idornigie’s second assist to give VBC a 5-1 advantage.

VB City FC capped off their impressive performance with another goal in the 85th minute, as Denis Roule scored on an assist from Knight to give VB City FC a 6-1 advantage. Prince Idornigie added one more for good measure in the 89th minute on an assist from Kareem Gharbi that made it 7-1.

“They play a very high back line and we’ve got some pace, so we were able to get in behind them quite a bit,” Hinkey said. “We’ve tightened things up a little bit and made it harder for teams to score against us. We’re catching people on counters and we did a good job of finishing tonight.”

VB City FC’s seven goals on Saturday night was the team’s highest offensive output of the season and the most goals allowed by Northern Virginia United all season long. Given that VB City FC was virtually eliminated from the NPSL playoffs prior to Saturday’s match, their performance was more impressive than the scoreboard might indicate.

“It just shows the boys got heart,” Knight said. “The environment every time, the training, we love the game and we always want to put our best on the field.”

“You look at sports, it’s rare to win a championship. It’s not easy to make playoffs. You’re going to have situations where your team doesn’t make the playoffs and doesn’t win the championship,” Hinkey said. “I think it’s about developing character and finishing well. Despite the challenges that we had, we made sure we finished well. We competed until the end and I think that’s all we can ask of ourselves, to give our best and put our best effort in that we can and I’m proud of the guys tonight.”

Saturday’s victory gives Virginia Beach City FC a two-match win streak to end the 2018 NPSL regular season. The win places VB City FC in a tie for third place in the Mid-Atlantic Division with FC Frederick at 14 points apiece. FC Frederick owns the tiebreaker with a plus-17 goal differential, while VB City FC’s differential was just plus-6.

From all of us here at VB City FC, we thank you for supporting the squad all season and we hope you’ll follow along this offseason for the latest news and updates regarding Virginia Beach City FC.

LIKE us on Facebook HERE
Follow us on Twitter HERE
Follow us on Instagram HERE
Subscribe to us on YouTube HERE