Higgins, Cifuentes lead as Wizards win

After handing the first place Knights a second overtime defeat, the (2-5) Dragons were flying high as they took on the (3-4) Wizards to closeout the JCC of Bayonne’s Indoor Soccer Jr. Division regular season. Prepping for next weeks playoff bout both squads battled like Titans from start to finish. Scoring first, the Dragons’ Roman Popowski made it 1-0 on a penalty boot. Two minutes later, the Wizards replied as Adonis White assisted Paige Higgins on a goal fueled by a Dragons’ deflection. Landlocked at 1-1 for 10 minutes, Paige Higgins sailed a pass to David Matos who made it 2-1 Wizards with a scoring blast. Struggling for points, the Dragons went on the attack with Brenna Popowski, Michael Cordero, Vikram Balaguru, and Lilliana Cordero firing shots on net but it took another penalty goal by Roman Popowski to knot the brawl at 2-2. As regulation time ran down, the Dragons found themselves in yet another overtime donnybrook. With just one boot, the Wizards’ Paige Higgins made it 3-2 with the Dragons needing a goal to keep the O.T. going. The Dragons’ hopes were short lived as Aaliyana Cifuentes pounced on the Dragons’ last gasp shot as the Wizards captured a 3-2 O.T. win. A special mention must be given to Raunak Verma for his defensive effort as sweeper for the Dragons.

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