Dodji Freitas beautifully taken free kick wasn’t enough as the Stars lost 1-2 to last year’s NPSL Northeast Region Champs FC LVU Sonic in a top-of-the-table clash in the Keystone Conference on Match Day 5.

First half

The Stars, buoyed by their recent 3-0 home win over last year’s Keystone Conference Champions GBFC Thunder on Saturday, went into last night’s match knowing that a win could put them three points ahead of FC LVU Sonic. The Stars have never won against the Sonic in the past two seasons but they played some fast attacking soccer in the first half.

As early as the 12th minute, the Stars made their intentions known when Jerome Pour released Ayouba Fane who lashed out the first shot of the match over the bar. Seven minutes later, Fatoma Turay made an amazing run and unleashed a powerful shot that was pushed away by Sonic’s goalie Charlie Sales for a corner. Another chance was wasted by Seydou Ba who was sent through on goal but he scoffed his chance.

The Stars kept on looking for that opening to exploit, but the Sonic, who had never conceded a goal since the season begun, held their defense composed and were happy to go into half-time scoreless.

Second half

Both sides came unchanged in the second half and by the 49th minute mark, the Sonic had the ball at back of the net via a controversial penalty call. Samuel Fahnboto was adjudged to have handled the ball in the box when in fact it was on his chest. Despite the Stars’ protest, the referee stood by his decision and Danny Gonzalez made no mistake in dispatching his penalty to put the Sonic ahead 1-0 in the 51st minute.

Still reeling from that controversial call, the Stars lost focused and were punished again six minutes later when a counter-attack saw Toric Robinson having all the time in the world to release Tom Mustac who scored a simple tap-in in an empty net to put the Sonic 2-0 ahead in the 57th minute.

Being two goals down, coach Bobby Ali decided to make several changes for the Stars, bringing in midfielder Mitchell Torh, forward Aboubacar Coulibaly, and forward Isaac Jardiah for defender James Geayea, forward Jerome Pour, and defender Mohammed Mayah, respectively in the 61st minute.

Despite all the changes, the Stars still couldn’t find a way past the Sonic’s defense so coach Ali decided to send on midfielder Dodji Freitas for Ayouba Fane in the 79th and he made an immediate impact by scoring with his first touch in the 80th minute after sending a beautiful 24-yard free kick up the upper ninety of the net that left Sales rooted on his goal line.

With ten minutes left to play, the Stars searched for an equalizer but the Sonic held on to their fifth successive win of the season, maintaining their unbeaten record while the Stars lost their first ever game at home for this season.

Despite the loss, the Stars remain second on the Keystone Conference table at nine points while the Sonic climbs to first place at 12 points, three points ahead of the Stars and with a game in hand.

The Stars (3-2-0) have a ten-day rest before embarking on a four-game road trip in seven days: at Clarkstown SC Eagles (Saturday, June 14th), at FC LVU Sonic (Wednesday, June 18th), at Electric City Shock SC (Saturday, June 21st), and GBFC Thunder (Sunday, June 22nd).

Junior Lone Star FC (3-5-2):
Prince Monyan; Samuel Fahnboto, Anthony Dunor, Mohammed Mayah (Isaac Jardiah 61′); Aba Zoegar, Ayouba Fane (Dodji Freitas 79′), Yaya Fane (Harris Mulbah 87′), James Geayea (Mitchell Torh 60′), Fatoma Turay; Jerome Pour (Aboubacar Coulibaly 61′), Seydou Ba
Unused substitutions: Alhaji Aly, Sulaiman Kanneh

FC LVU Sonic (4-4-2):
Charlie Sales; Ali Famili, Justin Worley, Julian Plummer, Conor Osborne; Michael Gonzalez, Toric Robinson, Joe Joe Jappah (Randy Falk 67′, George Tsrikos 90′)), Tom Mustac (Josh Cirocco 76′); Tucker Sandercock (Paddy Farrell 60′, Nick Hutchinson 88′), Danny Gonzalez.
Unused substitutions: Logan Keys

Scoring Summary:
51 – LVU: Michael Gonzalez (pen)
57 – LVU: Tom Mustac (Toric Robinson)
80 – JLS: Dodji Freitas

Disciplinary Summary:
25 – LVU: Justin Worley
45 – JLS: Yaya Fane
45 – LVU: Tom Mustac
83 – JLS: Mitchell Torh
90 – JLS: Aba Zoegar

Referee: Ryan dos Reis
Attendance: 150