Roc City Boom Start Out Strong, Beat Gunners 3-1

Story by: Bryce Stanton of Rochester Soccer News

(Team photo via Roc City Boom Instagram)

The Boom kicked off their 2024 regular season campaign on Sunday in Tonawanda, taking on Sahara Gunners FC. The Boom who are in a new league this year, NISA Nation, continued their success last weekend's tune-up against Upstate United FC. As mentioned in that article, the Boom found success with a pressing system, and utilizing long ball passes.

First Half
Early on, Boom had a few good chances, thanks to the pace of forward Myles Palmer, whose chip shot was just pushed over the bar by the Gunners keeper in the 15th minute. The following corner kick saw Chuck Domm, brought down in the box for a penalty. Domm would take the penalty, and send the keeper the other way to comfortably slot the ball into the bottom right corner, to make it 1-0 Boom in the 17th minute. The next big chance came in the 33rd minute, when Luca Dodge attempted a long ball into the box that bounced off Ahmed Hassoon's arm. Myles Palmer pounced on the loose ball, beating two defenders and the keeper to it, as he tapped the ball into the back of the net. The Gunners nearly answered right back, as goalkeeper Samuel Furioso fumbled a cross into the box. However, Furioso made up for his mistake, making a terrific diving save to deny the goal. The Boom would see one more chance before half, with Fernando “Nando” Furioso having his shot from six yards out blocked, before being decked by a Gunners defender.

Second Half
Coming out of the half-time break, Boom did well, controlling possession. After sustained pressure in the Gunners half, Myles Palmer would force a save on his set-piece shot, in the 54th minute. The Gunners would attack on the break, and following a long-throw into the box, force Furioso to make another diving save, to keep the game scoreless. The Boom responded to the Gunners chance by earning a corner, Benja Lazcano would whip the corner in, bouncing of the head off Jack Leahy and a Gunners defender before finding Myles Palmer. Palmer, hit the ball on the volley, to bounce the ball past the keeper, making it 3-0 Boom in the 56th minute. However, the Gunners would not remain scoreless for long. Just two minutes later, Gunners forward Zakaria Shaibi took on three Boom defenders and threaded the ball between them, that would end up in the left corner. This 3-1 scoreline would hold for the rest of the match. Boom focused more on the defensive side of the ball, although still showing the ability to counter-attack. Boom nearly got a fourth in the 76th minute, after Josiah Fragnito linked up with Jack Leahy, who was unable to beat the Gunners keeper one-on-one. Just a few minutes later, Caleb Bakara missed his own one-on-one attempt in the 80th minute. The rest of the match was characterized by a handful of injury stoppages, and solid team defense and possession by the Boom, which saw out a 3-1 win.
 

Concluding Thoughts
For the first league game of the season, Boom played well. The defense was especially strong, only giving up around three clear chances all game, all of which came from Gunners counter-attacks. The hidden star of this match was Samuel Furioso. The young keeper totaled eight saves in his debut for the Boom. The offense, looked dangerous at times, with players like Chuck Domm, Myles Palmer, Josiah Fragnito, and Nando being able to push the pace of the match. Palmer had an excellent debut of his own, scoring a brace. Boom's pressing and passing from the back, allowed for the creation of some easy chances.

 
Next Game
The Roc City Boom's next game is this Sunday, June 2nd at Don Quinn Field at East Rochester High School. They will face FC Dutchmen Independence, who lost to Sahara Gunners FC 4-3, in their only game of the season so far. The Boom kick off at 2 pm in their first home game of the year.

 Stats of the game
Myles Palmer: 2 Goals

Chuck Domm: 1 Goal (Pen)

Benja Lazcano: 1 Assist

Luca Dodge: 1 Assist

Samuel Furioso: 8 Saves