By By KEVIN TRAVIS, Sports Editor
The long wait was worth it.
Bladimir Romero’s penalty kick, his second of the night, gave the Washington Pam Pack a 4-3 win over the West Carteret Patriots in a back-and-forth Coastal Conference soccer match Monday evening.
The game started 65 minutes late. It looked like it was headed for an extra session until Romero came through in the final minutes. After John Lohman was taken down in the box, Romero stepped up and blasted the ball past Patriot goalkeeper Chase Cannon and into the left side of the net.
Romero’s goal, coming with 2:32 showing on the clock at J.G. “Choppy” Wagner Stadium, helped the Pack (6-4-1, 3-3) move a game ahead of the Patriots (4-9, 2-4) in the conference standings. It also staved off a furious comeback by the Patriots, who came back from two goals down and seemed to be on the attack the majority of the second half.
Romero gave Washington a 1-0 lead with a penalty kick less than eight minutes into the match.
West Carteret tied it just over three minutes later.
However, Alex Thalman scored consecutive goals in a 3:37 span to give the Pack a 3-1 edge.
Cannon did a poor job of clearing the ball as he sent it right to the feet of Thalman, who made the West Carteret keeper pay with a shot into the back of the net.
Thalman added his second goal with 16:45 to play in the first half. He took a nice cross from Jimmy Sandy and then buried the ball into the net for a 3-1 advantage.
The Patriots gained some late momentum heading into halftime with a goal, pulling within 3-2.
Another goal by West Carteret, coming off a ricochet in front of the net, tied the game at 3-3 with 27:30 to play.
It stayed that way until Romero’s goal, though the Patriots had numerous chances at taking the lead. Pack goalkeeper Steven Worsley made 15 saves, including 12 in the second half, as he used his athleticism to stop several shots.
Washington continues its busy week by hosting D.H. Conley on Wednesday, before visiting Havelock on Thursday.
The Pack junior varsity team (1-2-1) tied West Carteret, 2-2. Edwin Garcia and Oscar D. Alvarez scored for Washington.