Eastern Conference Recap
As Eastern Conference play continued on Saturday night, a short handed Gulf Coast Rangers squad fought their way back from a one goal deficit in the second half to bring home all 3 points against newcomers Tallahassee SC. Halfway through the first half, Gulf Coast found themselves playing with only 10 men after Liam Moore left the game with an ankle injury. Having already made their only substitution of the match, the eastern shore squad had no choice but to finish the match with one less player. A defensive blunder in the Rangers back field led to an unusual own goal, gifting Tallahassee a one goal led in the first half. Shortly after the bizarre own goal, Xavier Audergon equalized the match with a half volley shot that found it’s way between the goal posts. The GC Rangers would then take the lead in the last 10 minutes of the game with a wonderful strike from just outside the 18 by David Hall. The team from the Coast would hold on to the lead until the end of the match in a rewarding 2-1 comeback win.
After a solid performance in week one, Hattiesburg FC was looking to keep their winning momentum going forward as they faced off against AFC Mobile on Crusader Field. Unfortunately for them, AFC Mobile’s goalkeeper, Domenic Nascimben, came ready to play and didn’t let up a single goal the whole match. AFC Mobile maintained contorl early in the game when midfielder Tillman Schober curled the ball into the top far corner of the goal in the 13th minute giving the Azaleas an early 1-0 lead. In the 43rd minute, midfielder Chisom Ogbonna was awarded a penalty kick that he slotted home extending the Azaleas lead 2-0. Shortly after the second half whistle Hattiesburg almost pulled one back when Andrew Elkins headed a dangerous ball towards goal, but the AFC Mobile keeper came up big to keep it a 2 goal lead. The third and final goal, came from Mobile’s leading goal scorer, Iba Ndaw who calmly kicked the ball past the HFC goalkeeper sealing the 3-0 shutout victory against a tough Hattiesburg squad.
In their home opener, Port City FC hosted Pensacola FC at Herbert Wilson Stadium. Last year’s champs were looking for their first win of the season on Saturday night and Jordan Hall looked to help that cause scoring the first goal of the match for the Sounders with an acrobatic bicycle kick in the 31st minute. Another goal came two minutes into the second half from forward Tom Carles who poked the ball right past the goaltender giving Port City a 2-0 lead. With about 10 minutes left in the match, Pensacola FC’s Mikey Lightbourne took advantage of a free kick and slotted the ball in the top left corner of the goal closing the deficit to a 2-1 lead. At the beginning of stoppage time, Felipe Madero beat Pensacola’s keeper 1 on 1 and rolled the ball past him, leading Port City to a much needed 3-1 victory.
Central Conference Recap
FC New Orleans traveled to Baton Rouge United Saturday night riding a wave of momentum from their impressive win vs. Motagua New Orleans the week before. That wave proved to be in full force as FC New Orleans came out pinning the young United unit on their heels early and often. In the 20th minute, Jesus Rivera, notched his second goal of the season from a Huber Lopez cross putting the New Orleans club up 1-0. Early in the second half United conceded their second goal leaving an unmarked Huber Lopez in front of goal for an easy shot. In the 74th minute a keeper blunder on United’s part found FC New Orleans youngster, Erick Gunera, who buried a 30 bomb to go up 3-0. Milos Skoric for United did respond shortly after with a rocket from the right side that nailed the post, offering United their only real chance on goal.
In a game where both teams started off their GCPL campaign’s on a bad note the week prior, Motagua New Orleans and Mississippi Blues were fighting to get their season’s back on track. Unfortunately for the home team, Motagua stole the show. The first half saw much of Motagua keeping possession with little access to unlocking the Blues defense. In the 44th minute Motagua finally broke through with some tricky dummy work leaving right back, John Hamide, all alone for the easy 1v1 score. Second half started with the Blues almost equalizing, but a big save by Motagua keeper, Jose Santos Jr., kept the New Orleans club in the lead. Blue Eagle veteran, Samir Arzu, dished the second blow in the 77th minute to give Motagua a 2-0 lead. Shortly after, young rising New Orleans player, Kenroy Rodriguez, sealed the deal giving the 16-17 Champs their first win of the season.
The men from Jackson, Gaffa FC, took on Northshore United on Saturday evening, but left empty handed after a 2-1 battle. Northshore’s Andrew McInnis put the team on his back with an outstanding performance in the first half putting away two goals in the 26th and 33rd minutes. Gaffa responded just before the halftime whistle blew thanks to their target man, Chance Bourdene, but the two first half goals gave United the cushion they needed to secure the 3 points in front of their home crowd. Gaffa FC never gave up and battled till the very end, but they proved to be no match for Andrew and the squad from Northshore.
Western Conference Recap
Over the weekend, the Boca FC Knights traveled to Bob Shelton Stadium to take on the Central Texas Lobos. The game started off extremely slow but eventually picked up the pace after Jose Alex Martin opened the scoring for Central Texas with a spectacular one touch finish that found its way just inside the left goal post. A few minutes after the Lobos scored, Knights Forward Rafa Muniz snuck the ball through a pair of Central Texas defenders legs and past the right side of the keeper, tying the match at 1-1. Both teams dug deep in the second half to try and come up with the go-ahead goal but it was the Boca FC Knights who came out victorious as they scored two more goals in the second half to give them the 3-1 win over the Central Texas Club.
Alexandria PBFC traveled south to their traditional rivals Cajun Soccer Club in the Third Coast Soccer Game of the Week. It was the visitors who got on the board early on two occasions. In the fourth minute a Matheus Fulini free kick was redirected by Henrique Pimpao across the face of goal for attacking midfielder, Pierce Townsend, to register his first goal of the season. In the 11th minute Mackenzie Young played a cross to Henrique Pimpao who was unable to direct his shot on goal, due to what was determined to be a foul by the Cajun SC defender. Pimpao stepped up to deposit his first goal of the season from the penalty spot. Once both teams settled down after the quick start, possession seemed to even out, and Cajun SC were unlucky to not get one back due to the fine play of Nathan Gautreaux in the Pool Boys goal. Later, several key saves by the Cajun SC keeper, Oliver Leblanc, kept the score at 2-0 until the 78th minute when Leroy Mahagayu found a streaking Pimpao up the left side of the field, before cutting in and recording his second of the game, and setting the 3-0 score line.
Louisiana Krewe FC traveled to Messmer Stadium on Sunday to play against fellow Louisiana team Shreveport United. In a well-contested match between the two clubs, it was Louisiana who took an early lead after capitalizing on a mistake from Shreveport’s defense. They took the lead on a counter attack in the 15th minute when #19, Olivares Adrian, made a good finish right in front of the goal. LA Krewe had multiple chances to extend their lead in the second half but were unable to find the back of the net. They would pay for these missed chances after Shreveport’s Pau Cin chipped the ball over the Krewe keeper in stoppage time, ending the game in a 1-1 draw.
