The 2022 NPSL Championship came to Montclair, New Jersey this past Saturday. Facing off in the final was local side FC Motown and Crossfire Redmond from the state of Washington. Winners of the Keystone Conference playoffs, Motown defeated New York Shockers and Appalachian FC to get to the national semifinals, then took care of Tulsa Athletic to make it to the finals. From the Pacific Conference, Crossfire got by El Farolitio on penalties before dropping a 3-0 defeat on Muskegon Risers in the semis.

Both clubs created early scoring chances. FC Motown within the first minute played a ball into the box that goalkeeper Bryce Logan was able to punch away. A few minutes later, Crossfire gave Motown’s keeper David Greczek a tough test as River Stewart took a shot from point blank range. Greczek dove to his right to get a hand on it, and the far post did the rest in keeping the ball out of the net.

Ryan Peterson opened the scoring right at the 8th minute mark as Crossfire misplayed a long pass from FC Motown, and the forward found himself one-on-one with Crossfire’s keeper Bryce Logan. Peterson calmly slipped the ball past Logan, much to the pleasure of the home crowd.

Greczek came up big again for FC Motown in the 17th minute, and River Stewart was the victim for the second time. A nice pass on a 2 v 2 situation sprung Stewart on goal, but the Motown keeper made himself big and blocked the attempt.

FC Motown increased their lead to 2-0 in the 29th minute with some quick and fancy footwork. Cutting off a Crossfire breakout at midfield, Motown pushed the ball up quickly for a counter. For the right-hand side of the 18, a pass found Joseph Holland right near the penalty spot. As he received the pass, Holland did a 180 while backheeling the ball to Franco Catania who pushed it past the Crossfire keeper. Pretty stuff.

After a hydration break in the 33rd minute, Crossfire Redmond slowly began to take hold of more possession of the ball. And a big part of that was Christian Soto Rincon - the smallest player on the field, but ball skills that last for days. Space was opening up for Crossfire, and the work would pay dividends late in the first half.

In the 43rd minute, Crossfire’s Camron Miller sent a pass from the endline inside FC Motown’s 18 to the front of goal, which found its way to Nathaniel Jones. Jones quickly fed Rincon, and Rincon found the back on the net. The lead was cut to 2-1, and momentum was starting to swing.

Five minutes of stoppage time was given, and Crossfire took advantage. Scott Menzies, who was all over the field and actively involved, sent a whipping ball into the penalty area from the corner of the 18 and Hamza Haddadi delivered a diving header that beat David Greczek and evened things up right before halftime. And the player who started it all was Rincon, stealing the ball at midfield and quickly moving into FC Motown’s side of the field. Rincon was awarded the Select 2022 NPSL Gold Ball for being the league’s most valuable player just a few days prior to the game, and he was leaving no doubt as to why he earned the award.

Crossfire Redmond kept the momentum going in the second half. In the 49th minute, Munier Hussen’s free kick from distance found Scott Menzies, who turned away from his defender and slid the ball past Greczek. It was now 3-2 Crossfire, and things looked grim for the team from Morristown.

But there was magic coming, and the Jersey faithful in the stands were not ready to give up just yet.

Right around the 60th minute, when both teams began to bring on their substitutes, the crowd turned up the volume with their voices and by stomping their feet on the metal stands with every corner kick, creating a loud echoing rumble.

Things started to get heated on the field, as they do in championship matches. The heat and the pressure caused some flareups. In the 64th minute, a long shot off of a free kick from Crossfire was grabbed by Greczek, who got tangled up with Hazma Haddadi. The whistle blew, but the ball came loose as the Motown keeper hit the ground. Haddadi went after the ball, shoving down the Motown defender in the process. Haddadi went down as well, and made a poor attempt to embellish getting fouled himself. To his credit, the ref kept his cards in his pocket.

FC Motown started putting more pressure on Crossfire, creating a number of good scoring opportunities. But when the second hydration break stopped play in the 76th minute, the Jersey side still found themselves down a goal and time slipping away.

But the aforementioned magic was just about to happen for FC Motown.

In the 81st minute, Zachary Perez plays a long pass from about 30 yards that finds second-half sub Coby Handy and a Crossfire defender along the endline on the opposite side of goal. Handy outbattled the defender for the ball and took a shot from a sharp angle, finding the upper corner of the goal on the far side. A stunner of a goal, tying things up and sending the crowd of 2,065 people (plus about 40 people watching from the adjacent parking garage) into celebration.

And Coby Handy had one more bit of magic left.

As stoppage time began, a long through ball from FC Motown’s side of the field headed in the direction of Crossfire’s keeper Bryce Logan. But Coby Handy was bearing down on the ball as well. Handy got there first, took the ball away with a quick juke to the left, and Logan could only watch as Handy calmly walked onto an open goal and drilled a shot into the wide open net.

And everyone in the stands proceeded to go nuts, along with the men in black and neon green.

After a few more tense minutes of stoppage time, along with a few skirmishes, the final whistle blew and FC Motown had their title. And the MVP of the match? Coby Handy of course! Two goals in 30 minutes of play to bring his club back from down a goal to winning a championship. Talk about your clutch performance.

August in New Jersey can be unpleasant at times, with all the heat and humidity. But for a few hours this past Saturday night, FC Motown and Crosstown Redmond put on a show that made those of us in attendance forget the summer swelter. And for a league that has had more than its share of doubters in recent years, the NPSL got a game that represented the best of what they have to offer.

- John Howard-Fusco