Roc City Boom tunes up against Upstate United

Story by: Bryce Stanton of Rochester Soccer News

This Sunday, Roc City Boom hosted a friendly match at their new home, Don Quinn Field at East Rochester High School.  The match saw the Boom faceoff against familiar foe, Upstate United FC. Upstate United sits dead last in the Western New York Division of UPSL, which Boom left in favor of NISA Nation, prior to this season. Boom started the game with some noticeable absences, namely all-time assist leader for the Boom Konrad Zydowicz, last-year's leading scorer Tamas Nagy, and keeper Connor Halsted who has been with Boom since its inception. These three players, should be major contributors during the season. 

Boom started the game out slow, opting to play out from the back, while looking for long balls to stretch the defense. However, as the game went on, Boom became more comfortable in attack, and started pressing Upstate in their half. This press worked to perfection, as a solid team press by Chuck Domm and Caleb Baraka, caused a mistake by Upstate United. Russ Domm pounced on an errant pass just outside the box, and smashed in past the keeper in the 42nd minute, to make it 1-0 Boom. 

In the second half, Boom continued the press, dominating possession in the second half. Boom peppered shots onto goal, including an attempt by Fernando "Nando" Furioso, that bounced off the post in the 72nd minute. Headed towards the 90th minute, it looked like the Boom were destined for a 1-0 win. That is until the 89 minute, when Boom cooked up a long throw into the box, that put Nando into a one-on-one with his defender. The forward received the ball around the six-yard box, controlled it off his chest, turned and hit it on the volley into the top left corner. At the start of extra time, with Boom leading 2-0, an injury to an Upstate United player, extended the match. Boom took advantage of this opportunity, as the Upstate United keeper punched out a corner in the 7th minute of extra time, the ball fell to Russ Domm just inside the edge of the 18-yard box. Domm hit the ball on the volley, with his left foot, putting into the top-right corner, for his second of the game! That score would effectively end the game, as the Roc City Boom won the game 3-0.
Overall, the game was a successful tune-up for the Boom, whose regular season begins Sunday, May 26th on the road against Sahara Gunners FC.  Boom looked extremely solid defensively, partially due to former Flower City Union defender Mitchell Brickman, leading the backline. Brickman, was a vocal leader out on the pitch, helping a young team stay organized defensively. Brickman's backline partner, Luca Dodge had a solid game as well. Dodge was involved in both second-half goals, and looks to be an important player for set pieces. Another star was Russ Domm, who aside from having a brace, positioned himself well throughout the match. Boom's 3-0 was an impressive start to the season, and hopefully, will be the start of another great season for the Boom.