October 6, 2010
Diawara's hat trick lifts Bees
Bayonne's Aboubacar Diawara recorded his second hat trick of the season.
Click Here for more photos from Bayonne at Memorial.
By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director
WEST NEW YORK – For Aboubacar Diawara, the adjustments he has had to make since coming to Bayonne. Adapting to an entirely new environment and language would be a daunting task for anyone. On the soccer field however, Diawara, a native of Senegal, has felt right at home.
Diawara continued his torrid offensive pace for the Bees, scoring all three goals in Bayonne’s 3-2 overtime victory over Memorial last night at Centennial Field.
“He’s a charismatic young man,” Bees head coach John Calacaterra said. “He speaks a little English, not a great deal of English, but he’s very charismatic. He’s got a great big smile. He loves playing the sport. He’s really blended very well with the boys.”
“I have more confidence,” said Diawara through an interpretor. “I just came from Senegal. I’m new to the team, but I feel comfortable.”
A reminder of Diawara’s native Senegal is on his left wrist where he wears a wristband with the country’s flag on it. Diawara moved to Bayonne from his home land back in January at the suggestion of his father. According to Diawara, his father told him he’d do well playing in the U.S.
Those words have been an understatement so far as Diawara is averaging more than a goal a game after recording his second hat trick of the season.
“He’s a tremendously talented young man and he’s a humble young man,” Calcaterra said. “It’s really a nice player to have on your side and a nice player to work with. He’s a handful (for opposing defenses) when he wants to be a handful and I’m glad he’s with us.”
Faced with a penalty kick in the second minute of overtime an unfazed Diawara ended the game when he blasted a shot to the right side of the net past keeper Dennis Bravo.
The kick capped off another huge night for Diawara, junior forward/midfielder. He opened up the scoring in the 12th minute when he buried an Edgar Contreras rebound for a goal to give Bayonne (7-2-1) the lead.
Twenty-three minutes later, Diawara struck again. Teammate Patryk Dawidczyk delivered a perfect cross from left to right which a sliding Diawara sent inside the right post for his second-straight multiple-goal game.
“(Diawara) kind of faded in and out of the game a little bit, but true to form he keeps stepping up and really doing the things that we need him to do at key spots in the game,” Calcatera said. “The last two games in particular he’s been there.”
“He was all over the field,” Memorial head coach Albert De Los Reyes said. “It’s hard for a defender to keep tabs on a player like that. He found our mistakes and took advantage of them with the goals.”
The visiting Tigers (2-6-1) would not go down quietly though. De Los Reyes added another forward to the lineup for the second half and the move paid off.
Diego Zuniga cut the deficit to one with a penalty kick goal in the 60th minute. Memorial would convert on another penalty kick in the 72nd minute when Jason London tied the game after a Bayonne penalty in the box.
“Fortunately we got the two penalties in our favor and that gave us hope,” De Los Reyes said. “Unfortunately it came back against us in overtime, but that’s part of the game.”
The Tigers seemed poised to complete the comeback in regulation, but came away empty-handed. Midfielder Sergio Molina had a shot go off the crossbar in the 76th minute. Bayonne’s freshman keeper Ryan Sprague made a huge save in the final minute and two Memorial players collided to prevent a potential game-winning rebound attempt before the whistle.
Sprague made one save for the Bees after entering the game in the 64th minute. Starting keeper Ahmed Bendary made five saves in the story.
Bendary, formerly with High Tech, is one of six new players on the Bayonne roster this year. Incorporating so many new faces from different places may be a challenge, but it has not been a problem for the Bees.
“As a leader, you treat them as family,” senior midfielder and captain John Paul Herrera said. “The first day you put on the Bayonne jersey, they’re family to us and we look out for each other.”
Bravo made four saves in defeat for Memorial.
Memorial's Jason Londono tied the game with a penalty kick in the 72nd minute.
1st |
2nd
|
OT |
Total |
|
| Bayonne Bees (7-2-1) | 2 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
| Memorial Tigers (2-6-1 | 0 |
2
|
0 |
2 |
| B: Aboubacar Diawara (unassisted) 12th minute | ||||
| B: Diawara (Patryk Dawidczyk) 35th minute | ||||
| M: Diego Zuniga (penalty kick) 60th minute | ||||
| M: Jason Londono (penalty kick) 72nd minute | ||||
| B: Diawara (penalty kick) 82nd minute | ||||
Goalies: B: Ahmed Bendary (5 saves), Ryan Spargue (1 save); M: Dennis Bravo (4 saves). |
||||