Game Won: Phantoms Shut Out Sussex 1-0 in Season Opener

NEWTON, NJ—The Delaware County Community College men's soccer team opened its 2025 season and conference play with a 1-0 win over Sussex County Community College. The DCCC Phantoms edged the Sussex Skylanders thanks to team cohesion, communication, and Juan Alviar's first collegiate goal.

Returning just five players after a successful 2024 season in which the Phantoms were Eastern Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (EPAC) Tri-Champions and qualified for the Region 19 tournament for the first time since 2019, the team is re-establishing itself for its 2025 run. DCCC debuted solidly in game one.

"The emphasis was not on the result of the game as much as it was on finding the identity of the team," said Head Coach Andrew Flood, in his second year leading DCCC men's soccer.

"It's always a challenge to try to get a new group of guys back to being a team—playing together and trusting each other—and we knew this would be a competitive match and a tough test early against a quality Sussex team, but our guys really came together over the last week," he continued.  

Flood delivered praise for the positive atmosphere and energy the players created and maintained throughout the contest. "Through ups and downs, everybody was supporting each and on the same page where we needed to be to compete and to stay together as a family and a team on the field," he said.

The Phantoms weren't perfect from the whistle, missing a few opportunities early, but they kept their focus and discipline. "They played the system perfectly," Flood enthused. "We were just working together, staying in form, staying in shape, and communicating."

First-year Phantom Alviar was the game's lone scorer, converting on a free kick. DCCC recorded eight shots on goal overall. Fellow first-year Matt Donnelly marked his first shutout with six saves in his first game in goal. "Shout out to Juan for his first collegiate goal, and to Matt for his first start and shutout," Flood said.

DCCC stays on the road to play Brookdale Community College on September 2 and will host Atlantic Cape Community College in its home opener on September 9. Phantoms soccer plays home matches at DCCC's Marple Campus at 901 South Media Line Road, in Media, PA.

"Our focus is on staying a team, working on our form a little bit more, and reducing some unforced errors that happened in the first game," said Flood. "Region 19 is an extremely strong region and everybody is competitive, so we're going one day at a time."