The Byki oldtimers dropped their third in a row in the new season when they were flattened by the West Indies Jets 6:1 last Saturday at Washington Park in Chicago. The Jets pounced on the Byki early, scoring four times in the first 21 minutes. The Byki recovered their form after the break, but they could not climb out of the deep hole that they created in the first half.

The Jets grabbed the lead in the opening moments when they played a long pass over the top of the Byki defense. With the defense scrambling to catch up, goalkeeper Dan Blanco came off his line to challenge for the ball. The Jets’ striker got there first and danced into the open space to poke the ball into the goal.

Moments later, the score went to 2:0 when the Byki were asleep defending a corner kick. The Jets played the ball short and a player dribbled along the goal line, attracting the attention of the Byki defense. He played a clever diagonal ball to the top of the box, where an unmarked player sprinted forward to blast a first-time shot into the back of the net.

The Jets scored what appeared to be a tainted goal in the 15th minute. Blanco tipped a shot high in the air. The ball fell back towards the goal and Blanco claimed to have reached the ball before it crossed the line. The referee, who was 35 yards from the play, was easily able to determine that the ball crossed a muddy goal line that had been obliterated by the elements. Six minutes later, the Byki gave the ball away in their own area and the Jets converted to make it 4:0.

The score swelled to 5:0 in the 33rd minute. The Jets passed the ball cross-field to the right flank, where an open player had time and space to lob a shot over Blanco.

The Byki tried to regroup at halftime and attempted to make an effort to start playing smart soccer. They largely succeeded in turning things around, as the ball spent most of the second half in the Jets’ end of the field.

The only genuine scoring chance for the Jets in the second half came in the 49th minute, when Eric Tower chased after a Jets’ striker sprinting with the ball in the box. As the ball bounced up, Tower punched it out of the field, leading the referee to whistle for a penalty kick. The Jets converted the spot kick to increase their margin to 6:0.

Continued Byki pressure led to a corner kick in the 58th minute. Brett Frischmann sent in a wicked cross to the near post. Jan Winter and Jim Jacobs fought to control the ball, but it ricocheted off of a Jets defender into the back of the net.

The Byki squandered a chance to pull one back in the 73rd minute. Dan Jedrzejowski was tripped in the area after he dribbled past a defender, leading the referee to point to the spot. Jedrzejowski shot low, towards the post, but the keeper showed good reflexes to make the diving save.

BYKI LINEUP
(4-5-1): Blanco – Tower, Geng, Gorecki, Moore – Dec, Frischmann, Jedrzejowski (c), Jacobs, Winter – Pedlow. Bench: Cooper, Garcia, Silverstein.

BYKI SCORING SUMMARY
Own goal; 58th; 6:1.