Odenyo Paces Sky Blue Victory over the Passion

Jersey played the final 41 minutes of the match with 10 players after defender Kelly Eagan was ejected just minutes after Odenyo’s second goal produced a 3-1 lead. Sky Blue held a 12-11 advantage in shots and goalkeeper Jillian Loyden finished with eight saves.

After opening the season with two games on the road, Sky Blue now kicks off an extended homestand starting with an exhibition match against the Ottawa Fury on Memorial Day at 12:30 p.m. at Meadowland Park in South Orange, NJ. Sky Blue starts off a stretch of five-straight regular season home games at Drew University on May 31st at 7:30 p.m. with its home opener against the Boston Renegades.

Sky Blue started off well against the Passion as Marisa Brown opened the scoring just 4:05 into the game. Gina DeMaio found Domenique Esposito up the right side and her low cross was struck first-time by Brown from six yards out. Passion keeper Kelly Boudreau got a solid hand on the ball but Brown’s effort trickled over the line for the 1-0 lead.

The lead doubled in the 16th minute on a nice effort from Brown. The Sky Blue midfielder took a pass from Ashlyn Brantley and cut into the box. Brown slipped a lead pass for Odenyo to redirect on the run past Boudreau for the 2-0 lead.

Connecticut struck for its only goal of the game against the run of play in the 30th minute. Rachel Schulyer stepped up to a 30-yard free kick outside the corner of the box on the right side and surprised everyone when she lined a shot just under the crossbar to cut the lead to 2-1.

Sky Blue nearly responded three minutes later but Boudreau dove to make an excellent save on a 12-yard blast by Gina DeMaio. From there, the Passion energized their play as Furtuna Velaj got behind but missed just wide right from an angle in the 40th minute. Two minutes later, Loyden made a diving save off a header from Maggie Westfal and Eagan had to clear the rebound over the goal from close range.

Sky Blue started off strong once again in the second half as Odenyo boosted the lead just over one minute after halftime. Bonnie Young drove a free kick into the box from just over midfield on the right and the Swedish international rose above the crowd to perfectly place a header from 10-yards out off the bottom of the crossbar in the upper left corner.

Eagan was shown the red card two minutes later on a dubious decision. The Passion played a long ball behind the Sky Blue defense and as Eagan chased the ball down she made contact with Velaj and sent the Passion forward to the turf. The referee ruled the Eagan denied a goalscoring opportunity even though the ball was still about 15 yards ahead of Velaj and sent Eagan off.

Despite having to play the remainder with 10 players, Sky Blue was able to hold off the Passion the rest of the way. Odenyo dropped from forward to center back alongside Fanta Cooper to strengthen the defense.

LINEUPS

JERSEY SKY BLUE: Jillian Loyden, Bonnie Young, Jaime Komar (Sarra Moller 45), Ashlyn Brantley (Michele O’Brien 45), Fanta Cooper, Kelly Eagan, Erica Stewart (Daniela Molina 72), Gina DeMaio (Stephanie Peel 89), Domenique Esposito, Marisa Brown, Yolanda Odenyo.
CONNECTICUT PASSION: Kelly Boudreau, Torrey Leroy, Mallory Smith (Alyssa Decker 45, Cat Nathans 87), Robyn Decker, Chloe McKay (Lauren Erwin 63), Ahna Johnson (Courtney McMahon 63), Kate McCauley, Rachel Schulyer, Nat Urbas (Megan Ashforth 27, Shauna Edwards 74), Furtuna Velaj, Maggie Westfal.

GOALS

JSB: Brown (Esposito) 5th minute
JSB: Odenyo (Brown) 16th minute
CP: Schulyer 30th minute
JSB: Odenyo (Young) 47th minute

STATISTICS

SHOTS
JSB: 12; CP: 11

SAVES
JSB: Loyden 5; CP: Boudreau 5

FOULS
JSB: 5; CP: 3

OFFSIDES
JSB: 1; CP: 4

CORNERS
JSB: 2; CP: 7

GAME INFO

CAUTIONS/EJECTIONS
JSB: Eagan (ejection) 49th minute
JSB: Young (caution) 74th minute

REFEREE
Ken Henriques
ASSISTANTS
Sin Hay Lai
Chris Power
FOURTH OFFICIAL
Giany Barbat

ATTENDANCE
n/a