Amherst United blanks Cheektowaga

The Amherst United squad suited up on July 17 looking to make a claim for first place in the U-14 division, facing Cheektowaga. With only one loss in league play this summer and a stingy defense that had allowed only six goals in nine games, the boys had a different show in mind this night.

As was the case with the earlier meeting with the Avalanche, the teams came out hard, with neither team presenting much in the way of any scoring chances. That all changed in the eleventh minute when Danny Stelly bulled his way through several defenders and sent the ball past the despairing goalkeeper. A well-played defensive stand by Ben Roesser three minutes later gave the ball on the wing to Kevin Wolfe, whose soft touch put the United squad up by two.

Amherst made it a three-goal advantage minutes after halftime. Goalkeeper Tommy Ryan made the stop and fed the ball to sweeper Chris Aurillio. Aurillio's through ball into the midfield found Curtis Snyder. His resulting shot was saved by a diving goalkeeper only to find Sean McNamara taking the rebound and placing it in the back of the net. Connor Dougherty netted his first of the season after accepting a crossing pass from D.J. Augenblick.

Down 4-0, Cheektowaga seemed to reenergize but because of some timely defensive plays by Alex Buell and Will Tiftickjian, they were unable to crack the scoreboard. Jordan Bookbinder helped set up what turned out to be the fifth goal for the United. Stepping in front of a support pass, he broke down the sideline and provided the ball to Jeff Miller in the box. Miller was fouled and ultimately scored on the penalty kick that was awarded. The scoring ended at 6-0 for Amherst when A.J. Miles placed a 20-yard shot in the upper corner of the net with time running out.

The match found the United teams doubling its goal total for the summer league. They have a bye week before lacing up for a home game against Grand Island on July 31.