Boston Grabs Last-Gasp Draw

Boston Victory rallied from a two-goal deficit to draw Junior Lone Star FC 2-2 on Saturday night in Quincy. (Photo: Chris Aduama/aduam.com)

QUINCY, Mass. – Boston Victory christened its home grounds with a dramatic, come-from-behind 2-2 preseason draw to Junior Lone Star FC at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

Jerome Pour opened the account in the 6th minute and Mohamed Camara doubled the Lone Star lead in the 35th minute to hand the Victory a two-goal deficit at the half. But, an 87th minute strike from Hayk Kaya and a stoppage time penalty from Paul Latif delivered Boston from the abyss in its first game in Veterans Memorial Stadium.

“We played well but I think that the midfield was relaxed and we gave too many balls away and that was very costly for us,” Victory head coach Sergio Taborda said. “At halftime, we corrected it and the attitude was excellent and the reaction of the players was great.”

Although Boston exerted early pressure on Lone Star after the whistle, the guests wasted no time converting its first chance. Six minutes in, Gaeyea sprung Pour, who beat the offside trap and buried it give the guest an early lead.

Ten minutes later, the host attempted to level it when Matheus Assaf went into the box got a good look at goal. But the striker’s shot glided over the bar and out of harm’s way.

Meanwhile, Lone Star was far from content with its one-goal lead. In 20th minute, Camara found space in the attacking third and fired a shot that skipped inches wide of the far post.

In the 35th minute, the guests made good on its intent to get another. This time, it was Pour with the service and Camara, who chipped it over Victory keeper Vinny Papageorgiou, with the goal to make it a 2-0 game.

Boston found a golden opportunity to cut the deficit in the 45th minute. Lucas Pessanha took an Andrew Sousa ball toward the box, and fired it off the arm of a Lone Star defender inside the area for the penalty. But Pessanha’s effort was smothered at the left post by Frank Julio Tsasse.

Going into the half, Taborda knew he’d have to get his players fired up to respond to Lone Star’s advantage.

“He just put the passion in our hearts,” Kaya said. “He just turned (the intensity) up to that extra level. It was there already, but sometimes you just need that to get you going.”

And the Victory responded accordingly. The second half featured a determined Boston attack that sent waves in the Lone Star third.

In the 51st minute, Paul Latif fired a rocket that was disabled by the keeper in front of his line. Minutes later, Ruben Resendes fired a shot on frame that Tsasse stopped in its tracks.

With the pressure mounting and the clock dwindling, Latif played it through to Kaya in the 87th minute. With only the keeper to beat, Kaya chipped it through to give Victory life in the dying minutes.

“I was just hoping we’d score,” Kaya said. “And the chance came to me and I did it for the team. It pumped me up hard.”

Then, in stoppage time, Boston earned its second penalty when a Latif ball bounced off a defender’s arm. This time, however, the penalty – which Latif took – found the back of the net and sent the hundreds that witnessed it home happy.

“We got the draw because we fought until the end,” Taborda said. “And that is very motivating for the next games.”

Boston returns to the field for its season opener on May 5 against CFC Azul in New Haven, Conn. Kick off is set for 7:00pm at Yale University.

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