Eastern Conference
In a highly anticipated Eastern Conference matchup, AFC Mobile ventured out to Florida to battle against Tallahassee SC on Saturday night. Going into the match, both teams had 10 conference points with three wins, one draw, and one loss each. In the first half, about 15 minutes into the game, the evenly matched contest saw AFC controlling the ball and pace of play early on, but in the 19th minute, Mobile made a mistake and gave the ball away in their own backfield, forcing Domenic Nascimben to make a huge save on a shot from one of Tallahassee’s forwards. Tallahassee had another chance at a goal in the 34th minute but the ball bounced off the far post after a scramble in Mobile’s box. Even though Tallahassee had multiple chances to score in the first half, the halftime score remained at 0-0. At the start of the second half, in the 53rd minute, Tallahassee didn’t take their foot off the gas as they fired another hard shot on goal that Nascimben was barely able to save, keeping the game tied at 0-0. Towards the end of the second half, Mobile found their footing and they were able to put some shots on goal, but Tallahassee’s keeper was a brick wall and didn’t let one by. In a hard fought battle, the game would end in a 0-0 tie and both teams would leave with a hard earned point.
Last years champions, Port City FC, finally got back to their winning ways on Saturday night in a 2-1 second half comeback victory over Hattieisburg FC at Herbert Wilson Stadium in Gulfport. This was a game that both teams desperately needed to win to keep their playoff hopes alive. The match started off slow with the Sounders in control early on, but it was Hattiesburg FC who would find the back of the net first. In the 43rd minute, HFC’s Michael Kuwornu stepped up and curled the ball just inside the goalpost for the first goal of the game off a free kick placed in the center of the field near the 18 yard marker, giving Hattiesburg FC a 1-0 lead at halftime. Even though Port City was down by a goal going into the second half, they maintained their composure and were able to tie the game in the 70th minute when Caleb Counselman sent a nice through ball to Jordan Hall who took a touch past his defender and finished the ball in the bottom corner. The equalizing goal caused the crowd at the Herb to go wild and their supportive energy was transferred onto the field as Jordan Hall scored another goal for the Sounders in the 72nd minute, making it 2-1 Port City. The last 10 minutes of the match, however, was a defensive battle for the Sounders as they cleared out all of HFC’s final attempts to tie the game. After the final whistle blew, the Sounders celebrated a much needed win and a crucial 3 points that keeps them in the playoff hunt.
Winning their first game of the season on Saturday night, Pensacola FC took down the first place Gulf Coast Rangers at Fairhope Municipal Stadium in a solid 7-2 victory. The club from Pensacola got it going early with a laser shot from Gareth Green that found the top right corner of the goal in just the 6th minute. Moments later, in the 13th minute, Lance Nelson slotted a shot home that gave the 59ers an early 2-0 lead. In the 33rd minute, one of the Ranger’s center backs found himself out of position in the backfield and his mistake would eventually lead to another easy goal for the visitors from Pensacola. Before the first half was over, the 59ers would add two more goals to their already large lead with a goal from Christopher Searcy in the 36th minute and another goal from Gareth Green in the 43rd minute, giving Pensacola a 5-0 lead at halftime. To kick off the second half, Yan Linevu scored his first goal of the season and the first goal of the game for the men from Gulf Coast with a volley off a corner kick, cutting the Rangers deficit to four goals. The Rangers would find the back of the net for a second time in the 78th minute, but by this time in the match, the 59ers lead was already too big to come back from so Gulf Coast had no choice but to settle for an upsetting 7-2 defeat.
Central Conference
With five straight losses and zero wins going into this game, Baton Rouge United hosted Motagua New Orleans at Olympia Stadium in Louisiana. Baton Rouge was off to a promising start in the first half and they even took an early 2-0 lead with goals from Zayne Zezulka in the 6th minute and Hector Elias in the 17th minute. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worst for Baton Rouge when Motagua responded with three goals of their own before the first half was over, taking a 3-2 lead going into halftime. Midway through the second half, Daniel Occupati tied the game up with a goal for Baton Rouge in the 68th minute. As the tension was rising, it was Leonadro Barros who broke the tie for New Orleans with a goal in the 77th minute. Two minutes later, Kenroy Rodriguez earned himself his second goal of the match, putting Motagua up by a two goal lead. Rodriguez would score his third goal of the game in the 90th minute that was back by another goal in that same minute by Samir Arzu who put away his second goal of the game. Motagua’s relentless efforts and demanding 7-3 lead would go on to give them 3 more points in the Central Conference standings and a superb win on the road.
FC New Orleans, one of the only two teams that is still undefeated this season, traveled to Freedom Ridge Park Stadium on Saturday to take on Gaffa FC. The club from NOLA is chasing Northshore United, a team that is also undefeated, for the top spot in the Central Conference. This was a must win match for FC New Orleans if they wanted to have a chance at taking the number one seed from Northshore this week. The first half of the match was one big defensive battle and there were minimal offensive runs for both clubs in the first 45 minutes of the game. With that being said, the scoreline remained at 0-0 once the halftime whistle was blown. The second half, however, was a completely different story. To start the scoring off, Gaffa FC would take the lead in the 70th minute off an accidental own goal by FC New Orleans. Two minutes later, in the 72nd minute, Stephen Roberson would put one away for Gaffa FC, making it a 2-0 with only 18 minutes left to play. To everyone’s surprise, FC New Orleans was able to rally back from their bizarre own goal mix up with two goals of their own. The first late comeback goal for NOLA came from Appolinaire Tientcheu in the 82nd minute and their second late goal came in stoppage time from Roger Llergo. This exciting Central Conference matchup would end in a 2-2 tie after an outstanding turn around from the FC New Orleans’ offense.
At Wolverine Stadium on Saturday night, Northshore United took to their home pitch to play against the Mississippi Blues. With the Gaffa FC versus FC New Orleans match ending in a draw, Northshore United was presented with a chance to extend their lead at the top of the Central Conference and keep their miraculous undefeated still going. For most of the first half, neither team was able to put a shot on goal and there were no true threatening scoring opportunities from either side. However, after a few United substitutions, Northshore was able to take a 1-0 lead over Mississippi with a carefully placed shot by Mason Morise that floated past the Blue’s keeper in the 38th minute. For the remainder of the first half, Northshore continued to control the game, but they were unable to add to their one goal lead before halftime, keeping the scoreline at 1-0 going into the second forty-five minutes of play. In the second half, the Blues would proceed to have problems offensively. Northshore would capitalize on the Mississippi Blue’s poor offense as they were finally able to increase their lead to 2-0 in the 65th minute when Zac Breaux buried a penalty kick right down the center of the goal. United’s two goal lead would hold for the rest of the match, giving them a 2-0 shutout victory over the Blues and the outright lead in the Central Conference standings.
Western Conference
Over in the Western Conference, Louisiana Krewe FC hosted Boca Knights FC at UL Lafayette Soccer Field on Saturday night. The Knights were looking to hold onto the top spot in the West with a win over Louisiana Krewe FC but things didn’t go quite as planned. The match saw a lot of action and finesse in the first 45 minutes of play with Cristian Cubedo scoring the first goal of the game off a corner kick in the 25th minute for Louisiana, putting them ahead 1-0. Eleven minutes later, in the 36th minute, Quesi Weston would sneak one past the Louisiana Krewe keeper, tying the game at one goal apiece. The scoreline would remain at 1-1 going into halftime. At the beginning of the second half, in the 50th minute, Louisiana Krewe FC would find themselves a man down for the rest of the match after Musab Ambusaidi was given a red card for serious foul play. Even though the Krewe were a man down for most of the second half, their defense was able to lock down the backfield and not allow a goal for the rest of the game. Boca Knights FC had multiple chances to capitalize on their extra man opportunity but they couldn’t score another goal before the final whistle was blown and the game ended in a 1-1 tie, leaving both teams with one point each.
Two teams at the very bottom of the Western Conference, Shreveport United and Cajun SC, faced off against each other on Saturday night at Cargill Park in Shreveport, Louisiana. The 2019 GCPL season is already halfway over and Shreveport United is still looking for their first win of the season. Meanwhile, Cajun SC is also trying to get things going in the second half of the season. The matchup between these two Louisiana teams was one sided as Cajun SC was the only club to score throughout the full 90 minutes of action. Cajun SC scored early and often with four goals in just the first 57 minutes of the game. Two of Cajun SC’s goals came from veteran striker Austin Clause who scored in the 17th and 54th minute. Kade Kling also added two goals to the scoresheet for Cajun SC with a goal in the 33rd and 57th minute. Kade and Austin’s goals proved to be enough for the Cajun club to win as they would hold onto their lead for the rest of the match and defeat Shreveport United in a well deserved 4-0 clean sheet victory.
The Alexandria Pool Boys made the trip to Texas on Saturday to go head to head against the Central Texas Lobos at Bob Shelton Stadium. The Lobos dominated the first half and put away three quick goals in the first 15 minutes of the game. Brayan Castillo was the first Central Texas player to find the back of the net with a very early goal in just the 6th minute. Right after Castillo’s goal, in the 9th minute, Oscar Saavedra scored a nifty goal that extended the Lobos lead to 2-0. In the 15th minute, Zaid Ali also put one past the Alexandria keeper in the first half for Central Texas to give his club a demanding 3-0 lead. Being down by three goals in the first 15 minutes didn’t seem to faze the Pool Boys because they started to come alive in the 31st minute with a goal of their own from Matheus Barrozo. Barrozo would continue to pressure the Lobos keeper and he would go on to score his second goal of the match in the 45th minute, cutting the Alexandria lead to 3-2 at halftime. The second half got off to a slow start as Central Texas settled into their defensive formation. The Pool Boys were relentless, however, as they fired shot after shot at the Lobos keeper. Alexandria’s offensive second half efforts would soon pay off in the 73rd minute when Mathues Barrozo scored his third goal of the game, tying the match at 3-3 with 17 minutes left to play. To pull off a late comeback victory, Pierce Townsend would score the fourth and final goal of the match for the Pool Boys in the 83rd minute, securing the three points and an unbelievable 4-3 win for the club from Alexandria.
