Sussex CCC defeated Raritan Valley in Branchburg, 2-0, dropping the Golden Lions to 1-2-0 overall. After a scoreless opening 44 minutes, the Skylanders found the eventual game-winner in the final minute of the first half. The Lions repeatedly couldn't clear their lines and gifted Sussex one chance too many, their shot taking a fortunate deflection off a second attacker and creeping inside the far post to make it 1-0.
RVCC had a golden opportunity to level the score midway through the 2nd half when Jhaliyl Stewart was in on goal with only the goalkeeper to beat but was stoned at point blank range by Erik Chucker. Sussex doubled their lead off another RV mistake. Anthony Barrios and Mike Zamora were both caught trying to dribble out of pressure, the resulting turnover allowed Sussex to carve open the Golden Lion defense and fire past Adam Wick to make it 2-0.
It was a very frustrating loss for Lion's Head Coach Gerry Montague. "I knew as soon as we got on the field, it wasn't our day. We had no energy or focus, the desire to play was simply not there. It was a poor performance yet we still had chances to get back in the game. Good teams can get a result when things aren't going well but we couldn't find that today. We talked about countering their size with more physical defending then conceded a soft goal by not closing them down. We talked repeatedly about not dribbling then gave away a second goal that way. If guys aren't excited about the privilege of playing, want to put their hands in the air and pretend they are a referee, or want a teammates to do it all for them, it's going to be a long season for us. We're too good to let opponents decide if we win or lose, we determine the outcome. We need to come in with that mindset every single game".
Adam Wick was credited with 8 saves, the Golden Lions registered 9 shots on goal in the loss. Next up for RVCC is Bergen Community College on Tuesday, September 15th. Kickoff is 3:30pm in Branchburg.