Hub City FC Black Roses stayed within striking distance of Mid-Atlantic Conference leader Ristozi FC for much of the opening half before the visitors pulled away for a 7-0 victory Wednesday at North Hagerstown High School.
Baltimore-based Ristozi, which advanced to the National Premier Soccer League national semifinals last season, improved to 7-1, while Hub City dropped to 2-6-1 in its inaugural season.
Ristozi led just 2-0 at halftime before breaking the match open with five second-half goals.
Hub City coach Michael Long said the Black Roses executed their game plan for much of the opening half, slowing the pace and creating counterattacking opportunities before Ristozi’s depth wore the Black Roses down after halftime.
“Our goal today was to play with two strikers and pinch those wingers to clog up the center and find the proper ways to counter,” Long said. “We slowed the game down, and we frustrated them trying to find areas to attack.”
Hub City created scoring chances before Ristozi broke through in the 26th minute, when Shotaro Kodama scored off an assist from Edward Smith III.
Goalkeeper Darius Geaman made several outstanding saves to keep the Black Roses within striking distance before Joshua Petty added a goal in the 43rd minute off a feed from Yohsuke Ono, giving Ristozi a 2-0 halftime lead.
“If we convert one or two of those chances, I’m not saying the game would have ended completely differently, but going into halftime 0-0 or maybe even 1-0 up would have given us a boost,” Long said. “The two goals we gave up, we were caught ball watching and left players unmarked in dangerous areas.”
Petty scored his second goal in the 56th minute off an assist from Bryson Baker before Ono converted a free kick in the 70th minute. Jinta Miyahara added goals in the 78th and 79th minutes, and Muneki Yamamoto capped the scoring on a breakaway in the 88th minute.
“They’re a different level, by far the best team we’ve seen,” Long said. “The subs they brought in, the pace just picked up even faster. We have not been outclassed in a match until the second half today. The last quarter of the game, we couldn’t keep up.”
Ristozi coach Dylan Shepherd said his team wasn’t satisfied with its first-half performance before responding after the break.
“I had to rip them a little bit at halftime,” Shepherd said. “They understood their roles, and they came out and they executed.”
Shepherd also credited Hub City’s effort in its inaugural season.
“They’re doing the right things,” he said. “They had some chances. They have some good players, and I’m sure they’ll be even better next year.”
Evan Tubbs recorded the clean sheet for Ristozi.
Hub City returns to North Hagerstown on Wednesday, July 1, to close its inaugural summer season against the Virginia Dream. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
