High School Soccer:
Pitman Shuts Out Oakcrest 5-0

Saturday, October 23, 1999

By Boog Williams
SJSports Staff Writer

In a non-conference soccer game, the Oakcrest Falcons traveled to play the Pitman Panthers at the Alcyon Lake Park Complex. The Panthers outplayed the Falcons to the score of 5-0.

The Pitman Panthers had a couple of players with big games. #19 Evan Stuart had 3 assists, #9 Andy Whitley had two goals, and #1 keeper Ryan Armstrong made 10 saves for the shutout. The game started out with both teams moving the ball up and down the pitch. Then, with 9 minutes gone in the game, the pitch seemed to lean towards the Oakcrest goal. With 9:56 seconds gone in the first half, Pitman's #19 Evan Stuart redirected a cross with his head to teammate #7 Jared Harmon, who scored from the right side of the box. This gave Pitman a 1-0 lead. The second goal for Pitman, with 27:29 gone, was scored by #9 Andy Whitley on an assist by #19 Evan Stuart. The play started near midfield as Stuart kicked the ball down the right side. Whitley put great pressure on the Falcons defender, #20 Joe Ritchi. Ritchi thought the ball was going to go over the touchline. Whitley brought the ball back to the top of the 6-yard and blasted a left footed shot past keeper Pat Longo. Pitman's third goal, also from the right side, was scored by #14 Kevin Boyle with 39:00 minutes gone in the half. The assist went to #4 Jon Connolly. The half ended with the score Pitman 3 - Oakcrest 0.

In the second half, again from midfield, with 10:00 minutes gone, Stuart pushed the ball into open space and #5 Pat Sheehan went in on a breakaway. On the play, the defender slipped and Sheehan was in free. This was Stuart's third assist on the day, as Pitman took a 4-0 led. Pitman would not let up on the Falcons, as they kept pressure on the defense. Pitman had a total of 18 shots on goal. Oakcrest keeper Pat Longo came up with one of his best saves off of #11 Marshal Pieison shot midway through the half. Longo dove to his right and deflected the ball off of the post. He had 8 saves on the day and was helped by defensive partners #10 Brian Freeman and #18 Kyle Burt, who each kept 2 from going into the back of the net. The last goal was a nice tic-tac-toe goal. Pitman pushed the ball thru to the right side of the box to #11 Marshal Pieison. Keeper Longo came out, but Pieison made a great pass to #9 Andy Whitley for his second goal of the day. Oakcrest had a great chance to score in the last minute, but Pitman's keeper Armstrong dove to his right and deflected the ball off the post and wide. The game ended with the score Pitman 5 - Oakcrest 0.

At half time of the game, Mr. Doug Stuart gave me a tour of the Alcyon Lake Complex. Mr. Stuart is a former Pitman councilman and is still a member of the complex's Park Commission. The 38-acre park was once part of the Lipari Superfund site, at one time the Nation's number one Superfund site, but thanks to people like Stuart, it has been cleaned up and reclaimed by the Borough. The park offers baseball, softball, soccer and football fields, in addition to a walking path, playground, picnic pavilion, flower garden, boat ramp and a fishing pier. It overlooks Alcyon Lake, which is a great scenery spot. The fields are used by the local school district, the Pitman Little League teams, and other community organizations. For more information on Alcyon Lake Park, visit the official Borough of Pitman web site at www.pitman.org

Photos by Boog Williams

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