Written by: Edwin Pintor

September 20, 2021 (Boyds, MD) – What started as a promising week for the Bobcats
concluded with a 2-1 defeat at home against New Amsterdam FC. A competitive game that
could have gone either way, but in the end, saw New Amsterdam took the three points home
because they took advantage of the defensive mistakes the Bobcats made throughout the
game.

New Amsterdam won its first game after four consecutive losses, a game that had
a lot of the line for both teams ended up going to the away team. The Maryland Bobcats came
out with a purpose; the team looked outstanding from the first minute to win. With multiple
instances of high pressure, great passing, and a ton of set pieces that made it seem as if the
Bobcats were in for a spectacular night. The Bobcats' first dangerous shot came at the 7th
minute when captain Kay Banjo had a shot from outside the box that was saved the visitor’s
keeper. Another shot by ‘Pele’ Sesay followed after that hit the post. The Bobcats had complete
control of the game for the first 30 minutes of the first half.

New Amsterdam registered their first shot at goal in the 24th minute of the first half and from
there, the team started to build momentum. A decent shot came in from NAFC that Bobcats keeper Caulker had no problem in controlling. The Bobcats continued their mission to find the back of the net with another long-distance shot from Banjo that went just above the net. As the halftime whistle
approached, New Amsterdam became a tad more aggressive in their pursuit of a goal. After the
New Amsterdam defender booted the ball to the Bobcat box, a poor touch from Yaya Fane
allowed John Brown to take control of the ball and shoot to beat Caulker at the 43rd minute.

As the referee blew his whistle for the halftime break, the Bobcats went into the locker room
with a 0-1 deficit. The Bobcats have never lost back-to-back games at the Germantown
SoccerPlex, and the Bobcats had never lost to New Amsterdam since joining NISA.

New Amsterdam got the ball rolling in the second half, and the first five minutes were tight. One
team was looking to get on the scoreboard, and the other wanted to maintain the scoreboard.
The Bobcats were forced to make an emergency substitution as Javon Dawkins could no longer
continue due to a pulled muscle. In his place, Bryan Argueta would immediately impact,
winning a dangerous free kick in his first five minutes.

Three more substitutions would occur in the 65th minute for the Bobcats, which saw Alvarado,
Karpeh Jr., and Mason come out for Moussi, Balogun, and Blystone. Finally, the Bobcats found
the back of the net in the 71st minute of the game. Forka with a long ball to Banjo and without
controlling the ball, a first pass with the back of his foot found Alex Kao, and Kao quickly passed
to Yaya Fane that set a through ball to ‘Pele’ Sesay. A 1v1 with the goalkeeper and usually Sesay does not miss; the ball slowly crossed the goal line and buried in the back of the net. The goal
helped the bobcats get back into the game and helped Sesay climb up the goal scorer leaders
and all-time NISA goal-scoring leaders.

The Bobcats were back in the game and were in a hurry because time was no longer their
friend; the Bobcats needed a win to shake off the loss at home against Detroit on Wednesday.
New Amsterdam did not give up on the pursuit of another goal. When the bobcats were
offensive, New Amsterdam was preparing the counterattack. In the 89th minute, New
Amsterdam recovered a ball that Banjo saved from going out, a pass to John Brown cleared the
way for Vicente in the Bobcat box, and Vicente left Moussi out of the play; and Vicente let a
rocket loose to find the back of the net once more for New Amsterdam. A tough pill to swallow
for the team that continued to try and find an equalizer until the final whistle.

Unfortunately, the goal never came, and the final whistle blew. Another loss at home for the Maryland Bobcats that see their three-game week end with one win and two losses. The Bobcats earned three
out of nine points this week.

Now 2-2-4 in the season, the Maryland Bobcats will return to action against California Strikers
United at Championship Stadium in California next Sunday, September 26, with kickoff set for 4
pm PT, 7 pm EST.

Maryland Bobcats: Caulker (GK); Mason (Blystone 65’), Fane, Dengler, Forka; Kao, Alvarado
(Moussi 65’), Dawkins (Argueta 50’), Banjo (C); ‘Pele’ Sesay, Karpeh Jr. (Balogun 65’).
Subs: Isyaq (GK), Blystone, Kahsai, Moussi, Pato, Balogun, Argueta
Goals: ‘Pele’ Sesay (71’)
Bookings: Dengler (3’)

New Amsterdam FC: Keita (GK); Waugh (C), Bedward, Waugh, Charles, Nadaner; Mikaheel,
Bosua, Muntaha, Barone, John-Brown, Yoeske
Subs: Girard (GK), Batiz, Bermudez, Gilbey, Malango, Sylvester, Vicente
Goals: John-Brown (43’), Vicente (89’)
Bookings: Waugh (94’)