Philadelphia Lone Star logged one of their finest displays of the season to brush aside American Conference rivals New York Braveheart SC in a commanding 5-0 win at the John Bartram HS Football Stadium on Sunday evening to clinch the Conference Playoffs title.
Four different scorers got in on the fun for the Stars, with three of the goals coming in the first half as the Stars ran wild against the Braveheart.
After a slow start to proceedings, the Stars began to gain the ascendancy and they went ahead in the 25th minute from Mamadou Diarra off a through pass from Alexander Tarway.
The Stars extended their lead in the 32nd minute after the first water break on a barmy night in Southwest Philadelphia. Yaya Fane’s exquisite pass from the center circle over the entire defense saw Bill Walleekendeh one-on-one with the goalkeeper who he dribbled to score in an empty net.
Defender Kouassi N’guessan made it three for the Stars at the stroke of half-time by lobbing the goalkeeper after connecting on a through pass from Alexander Duopu Jr.
The dominant first-half performance provided a perfect foundation for the second half from the Stars who went 4-0 up in the 52nd minute with Walleekendeh scoring his second of the game off a pass from Kouassi N’Guessan.
Nathan Karmbor Jr wrapped up the scoring in the 90th minute after receiving a pass from Oumar Sylla to dribble past the goalie and score in an empty goal.
With the win, Philadelphia Lone Star FC advance to the UPSL Northeast Championship weekend in Buffalo, NY where the National R32 and National R16 matches will be held on July 8-9.