The Region I U17 Boys Premier League (North) was back in action on March 20, and some of the top teams in the region were on display.

Saturday morning, New England Futbol Club (NEFC) took it to the Smithtown Wizards, winning 3-0. NEFC, a relatively new club created by the merger of FC Puma and New England Eagles last summer, overpowered the Wizards with its size, speed and plain talent.

The Wizards had no answer for forward Derrick “Nana” Boateng and attacking midfielder Tebs Maqubela, who combined to generate NEFC’s potent offensive attack.

NEFC’s second game of the day was against FC Copa Forza, a high-quality affair that played out like a war of attrition.

Both teams were hampered by injuries in this match. Forza had no subs, so when a player went down with injury in the first half, they were forced to finish the game with ten men. NEFC also lost two defenders to injury and were forced to improvise their lineup.

Forza came out with a singular purpose: neutralize the explosive Nana. The Forza defense, led by Virginia Tech verbal commit Ben Strong and center back Nick DiSomma, played Nana very physically, constantly double-teaming him and switching assignments to make sure he was marked.

Even so, the scrappy forward from Ghana managed to score. Nana was almost carded after his goal for excessive celebration, when he ran to the sideline to embrace and high-five screaming fans. That’s the charm of a player with little experience playing in America – he’s used to the Ghanaian code of soccer conduct, having lived in the U.S. for just under a year.

NEFC moved the ball well all game long, but Forza’s physicality wore on them. Forza pushed hard and finally knocked in two goals to win, one each from midfielder Grant Taylor and forward Linas Razgaitis.

Earlier in the day, Forza had battled Albertson Academy to a scoreless draw. Both these teams are known for their rugged and physical style of play, and the game played out like a fight between two heavyweight fighters locked in the same ring.

On a very quick turf field, Forza moved the ball fairly well but lost starting central midfielder Joey Saitta on an ugly tackle that earned an Albertson player a yellow card, which was followed, after another foul five minutes later, by a red.

Playing with 10 men, Albertson went into defensive mode, content to clear the ball out of their own half to preserve the tie. Forza had a number of shots on target, but Albertson’s goalkeeper thwarted every Forza attack and the game ended as a scoreless draw.

In the last game of the day, Albertson defeated Smithtown Wizards 2-0. The Wizards played well most of the day, creating several chances to score. Midfielder John O’Hamlin and center back Derrick Ladearius shined, but Albertson was too strong in the end, scoring two goals in the last eight minutes to earn the victory.

Albertson and Forza now lead the group standings with seven points each, while NEFC are tied for second place with Hicksville Strikers and Beachside SC (both inactive this weekend), who have six points each. Smithtown Wizards are stuck in last place, having given up 14 goals and scoring only one in four games.