New England Soccer Today

USASA: Providence City Routs OHP Gunners

REHOBOTH, Mass. – A scoreless first half gave way to a wild sequel as Providence City FC came away with a 5-1 win over OHP Gunners in Saturday’s BSSL match at Milot Field.

Gunners midfielder Josh Williams opened the scoring in the 53rd minute before Danny O’Neill leveled it in the 58th minute. But the Rogues ran away with it after Kiki Rodriguez ripped off four goals in the 72nd, 80th, 90th and 93rd minutes.

With the win, the first-place Rogues bolstered their promotion efforts and improved to 46 points, keeping them atop the Division 3 South table. Gunners stayed on 26 points.

After a spirited first half filled with solid chances from each side, the match went wide open in the second stanza.

The fireworks commenced on well-timed advance by the Gunners, with Williams taking the feed in the central channel and blasting through before a stunned pro-Rogues crowd eight minutes after the interval.

Williams’ goal seemed to awaken the beast within Providence City, who tested keeper Adam Balbi plenty during the first frame.

On a sequence similar to the one that rolled out the carpet for Williams, the Rogues attacked with numbers in the 58th minute before O’Niell ushered his effort into the Gunners goal.

As it turned out, O’Neill’s goal was merely warmup for what eventually became the Kiki Rodriguez Show. The striker’s first goal came on tough angle shot that rocketed inside the far post in the 72nd minute.

The second appeared not long after when he drilled a shot from 25 yards that swerved out of the reach of Balbi with 10 minutes to go.

Goal no. 3 showcased Kiki’s dribbling skills after he circled Balbi and another Gunner defender before casually tapping it through in the 90th minute.

The final salvo came from the spot after Jason Rego was hauled down inside the 18, which prompt the referee to point to the spot for what proved to be the final action of the match in stoppage time.

Providence City, which recently booked a trip to the McKenzie Cup final, returns to league play on Saturday, Oct. 28 at BCS XI while Gunners will get another chance at three points on Saturday, Oct. 28 at Providence City AFC.

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