Phantoms Open Season with Victory over Bucks

(Delaware and Chester Counties, PA)—Three different Phantoms found the back of the net as the Delaware County Community College men's soccer team opened the season with a 3-2 victory over visiting Bucks County Community College on Thursday afternoon. 

John Lenart opened the scoring with the successful conversion of a penalty kick in the 29th minute of the first half, before Bucks (1-3) responded with a goal by Vladyslav Bordia with three minutes left before intermission.

The Phantoms, who had not played a game in almost 700 days due to the pandemic, once again struck first in the second half as Sidikie Konneh scored off an assist by Tyler Smith nine minutes into play to give the Phantoms a 2-1 edge. Bucks would not go away quietly, however, as the visitors evened the score three minutes later with a goal off a penatly kick by Adhm Aly.

Henry Gjergo broke the deadlock on the scoreboard at the midway point of the second half when he scored what proved to be the game-winner on a well-designed set play off a corner. Lenart and Konneh provided the helpers on the highlight-reel goal.

The Phantoms (1-0) were active on the offensive end of the field as they tallied 22 shots in the contest. Lenart and Konneh finished with three points each on the day as they each registered a goal and an assist.

Victor Bussab recorded 11 saves for the hosts.

The win over the Centurions was a significant one as it represented the Phantoms' first win over Bucks in the last 15 tries, which spanned over a nine-year time period. DCCC last scored three goals against the Centurions in a 4-3 home loss in 2012, as Bucks had outscored the Phantoms 73-to-13 over those 14 games. 

Head coach Fatoma Turay registered the first win of his DCCC coaching tenure with the season-opening victory.

DCCC returns to action on Sept. 10 when they travel to Brookdale Community College for a 3:30 p.m. contest against the Jersey Blues.