Real Overland Park (4-1-0, 12 points) stormed back to winning ways with a 3-0 win over Lenexa City FC (2-5-0, 6 points). Real OP was coming into the match as 4th place in the standings, and Lenexa City was 7th.
Real OP was able to field a strong team, but was still missing key pieces, notably starting goalkeeper Kleber Meneses, fullback Robert Mugabe, and defensive midfielder Nate Bliss.
From the beginning of the match, Real OP exerted complete dominance on the game, maintaining large amounts of possession and chances. The first chance of the match came off a Lenexa City throw-in in the 8th minute, where Real OP quickly forced a turnover, capitalizing on bad communication in the Lenexa defense. Jason Stevenson stole the ball from a Lenexa defender and quickly advanced into a 1v1 position with the goalkeeper, but he nailed the ball into the post, keeping the match scoreless. Real OP continued pressing with strength and their efforts were rewarded in the 16th minute, when Andres Chavira took advantage of mistakes in the Lenexa City defense, intercepted a pass and roofed the ball into the net, making it 1-0 for the hosts. Three minutes later, Carlos Ruz made a darting run into the box from the left-hand side and was taken down, being awarded a penalty. Real OP midfielder Salim Omesa stepped up to the spot and calmly slotted the ball past the goalkeeper to make it 2-0 in the 20th minute. In the 37th minute, attacking down the left-hand side, Moses Daung dribbled into the box and shot into the near post, seeking to catch the Lenexa City goalkeeper off-guard, but the keeper was up to the challenge, making a fantastic save to keep the ball out. Thirty seconds later, Andres Chavira whipped in a wonderful cross from the right-hand side to a wide open Michael Nichols, who was able to get a strong head to the ball, but sent the ball just over the bar.
In the second half, Lenexa City opened, attacking with intensity, seeking to find a weak spot in the Real OP defense, however goalkeeper Colin Cooper was up to the task, thwarting any shots that were made against him. Real OP responded with intensity, pressing upwards with possession. Moses Daung nailed a tremendous shot from 20 yards out, but the keeper was able to put a hand to it and push it just over the bar for a corner. In the 47th minute, Moses Daung again hit a terrific shot from outside the box, but the keeper was able to make a strong save to keep the game 2-0. In the 59th minute, Ashton Watson went on a dribbling run down the left-hand side and shot the ball from just inside the box, looking to curl the ball into the far post, but just barely missed scoring his 10th of the season. A minute later, Real OP came charging down again. This time Carlos Ruz executed some fantastic dribbling skills to get through the Lenexa City defense, but his final shot lacked strength, going straight into the arms of the Lenexa goalkeeper. In the 69th minute, Real OP would break through again. Ashton Watson laid a pass for Moses Daung who dribbled his way to the top of the box before dispatching a laser of a shot into the back of the net to make it 3-0 and his 1st of the season. In the 75th minute, Ashton Watson again sent a perfect through-ball for Phill Otsyula to have a 1v1 chance with the goalkeeper, but Otsyula shot the ball straight into the keeper, keeping the game at 3-0. In the 80th minute, Lenexa tried to find the back of the net off of a corner, getting a strong head on the ball, but goalkeeper Colin Cooper produced a strong save, keeping Lenexa scoreless. In the 82nd minute, Phill Otsyula again had a fantastic chance to make the hosts go up 4-0, but his shot forced the Lenexa City goalkeeper to produce a strong save to keep the ball out. A minute later, Lenexa came forward again, quickly overwhelming a Real OP defense caught off-guard, but the final shot was a laser straight to goalkeeper Colin Cooper, who produced his 3rd big save of the night.
In the end, Real OP's defense prevailed, being crucial in the team achieving their 4th win of the season and 2nd clean sheet, as well as exacting revenge for their 4-3 loss of two weeks prior to Lenexa. Real OP goalkeeper Colin Cooper jumped up to being tied for 1st place in clean sheets with Southside FC goalkeeper Ryan Neil. Real OP jumped up a spot to 3rd place in the standings, but are tied for 1st place in Points per Game stat with Woodland FC.
Real OP 3x0 Lenexa City FC
Team 1st 2nd Final
Real OP 2 1 3
Lenexa City FC 0 0 0
Real OP Starting Lineup: Colin Cooper; Phill Otsyula(c), Moe Oo, Danny Garcia; Victor Nichols, Salim Omesa, Alan Perez, Moses Daung; Jason Stevenson; Ashton Watson, Andres Chavira
Subs: Abraham Lopez, Michael Nichols, Jason Duarte, Carlos Ruz
Goal Summary:
16" - 1-0 - Andres Chavira(unassisted) Real OP
20" - 2-0 - Salim Omesa(penalty) Real OP
69" - 3-0 - Moses Daung(Ashton Watson, Carlos Ruz) Real OP
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