Eastern Conference
In the second leg of the Forgotten Coast Cup, AFC Mobile traveled to Herbert Wilson Stadium on Saturday to take on Port City FC. After losing to the Azaleas in the first leg, the Sounders came away with a win in this one in a scoreline of 2-1. Missing Jordan Hall in the attack due to suspension, Port City relied on Micheal Cooper to get the job done. Cooper took to the challenge and ended up scoring both of the Sounders goals. To start the contest, both teams came out on the offensive with great ball moment and possession, but neither team could find the back of the net as the first half ended in 0-0. At the start of the second half, in the 47th minute, the Sounders took the lead after a cross was sent into the box that found the head of Cooper who directed the ball right at Mobile’s keeper, forcing the goalie to make a big save. Cooper followed up his header to get the rebound and buried the ball into the high corner of the goal, making it 1-0 Port City. In the 60th minute, a penalty was awarded to AFC. Chisom Ogbonna stepped up to the ball and booted it out of the keepers reach to tie match 1-1. The last goal of the came only a few minutes later when Cooper slotted the ball into the far post to give the Sounder the late 2-1 lead. The end of the match was a defensive battle for Port City as they were able to hold onto their lead and take the second leg of the Forgotten Coast Cup.
Tallahassee SC tied Pensacola FC in an exciting matchup at Ashton Brosnaham Stadium on Saturday night that ended in a 1-1 draw. Even though the match ended in a draw, the Battle Lions were still able to walk away with a point and stay in first place in the Eastern Conference with two games left to play in the regular season. The intense matchup saw only two goals in the full ninety minutes of action with Tallahassee SC striking first after Pete Love took advantage of a penalty kick in the 37th minute. Tallahassee’s first half PK gave them a 1-0 lead going into the second half. Unfortunately for the Battle Lions, Pensacola FC collected themselves at halftime and responded with a spectacular equalizing goal from Gareth Green in the 66th minute. Green’s game tying goal would end the match in a 1-1 draw, giving both teams one point a piece in the Conference standings. Tallahassee SC didn’t secure the win they were looking for, but they were able to secure the outright lead in the Eastern Conference.
In a stalemate of a match, the Gulf Coast Rangers made the journey to Crusader Field on Saturday to test their skills against Hattiesburg FC. In a well contested first half, HFC got the ball rolling in the 20th minute with an outstanding goal from Paul Bracken. Paul’s goal would stand as the only goal in the match going into halftime. In the second half, the match would begin to open up as Hattiesburg’s James Cooper found the back of the net for the second goal of the game for HFC. After trailing 2-0 with 25 minutes left in regulation time, the Rangers decided it was time for a late second half comeback. Calum Kearney started off the scoring rally off for Gulf Coast with a goal in the 84th minute. The momentum gained from Calum’s goal was used to tie the game in stoppage time as Matt McArthur blasted a shot past the Hattiesburg keeper, ending the match in a stunning 2-2 tie.
Central Conference
In this week’s Game of the Week, FC New Orleans took on Motagua New Orleans at Tad Gormly Stadium for the second Big Easy matchup of the season. Going into this game, both of these New Orleans clubs were tied with 15 points in the Central Conference standings. The only thing that was keeping Motagua from taking second place from FC New Orleans was the 22 to 23 goal differential. This NOLA matchup was off to an electric start with Motagua’s Kenroy Rodriguez striking first for the Blue Eagles with a goal in the 11th minute to give his team a 1-0 lead. As the match went on, FC New Orleans was able to tie the game in the 31st minute with a nice goal from Jesus Benitez. After a well fought first half, the halftime score remained at 1-1 and both teams headed to the locker room to regroup for the second half. FC New Orleans would open the second half with a goal in the 58th minute to take a 2-1 lead, but Motagua would respond with a quick goal in the 60th minute to tie the game up again. Determined to be the best soccer club from NOLA, FC New Orleans took over the rest of the game with another goal from Jesus Benitez in the 76th minute and a goal from Gilberto Dominguez in the 87th minute. These two goals would put FC New Orleans on top by a score of 4-2 and they would go on to win and secure the second place spot in the Central division.
Saturday’s match between Baton Rouge United and Northshore United was canceled due to weather, but the I-12 rivalry was rescheduled and renewed on Tuesday night. At Olympia Stadium in Baton Rouge, Northshore United was looking to secure three more points and to stay atop the table in the Central Conference. Northshore opened the match with a goal almost immediately after the starting whistle was blown. Just two minutes into the game, Tony Judice found the back of the net off a free kick that put the men from Covington up 1-0. Baton Rouge put up an outstanding fight for the rest of the game, but they could never put one past the Northshore keeper. Even though Northshore was able to hold onto the number one seed and win the game in a final score of 1-0, Baton Rouge never gave up and they stuck it out until the very end.
In the annual Sippi Cup at Clinton High School Stadium, Mississippi Blues SC hosted Gaffa FC in a thrilling matchup between neighboring teams. The weather was overcast but the players and coaches were ready to go once the kickoff whistle was blown. Gaffa FC came out of the gate aggressive and took an early 1-0 lead in the 3rd minute after Thomas McCraney stripped a shot down the right side of the net with no one around him, leaving the Blues keeper frozen. Gaffa FC took a 2-0 lead before the first half ended in the 41st minute when Craig McCabe fired a shot on goal that was deflected into the top right corner of the net by the Blues goalie. The Mississippi Blue’s struggled to get their offense going in this one and ended up getting shut out by the men from Jackson in a tough 2-0 loss.
Western Conference
Trying to keep their playoff hopes alive, Cajun SC hosted Central Texas Lobos at LUS Fiber Stadium on Saturday night. The match was off to a fast start with the Lobos drawing first blood in the 4th minute of the game after Daniel Dominguez slotted the ball home, past the Cajun SC keeper. Even though Central Texas was off to a great start, their offense began to dwindle as the match went on. Cajun SC capitalized on the Lobos dwindling offense with an equalizing goal from Josh Hughes in the 30th minute. The scoreline would remain at 1-1 going into halftime. The second half saw a lot of back and forth action, however, as both teams fought hard for a chance to take the lead. With heavy legs and no more substitutions, the club from Lafayette was finally able to break the tie in the 76th minute as Kade Kling buried one in the back of the net, ending the match in a much needed 2-1 victory for Cajuns SC.
Alexandria PBFC gets dominated by Louisiana Krewe at home over the weekend in a shocking 6-2 defeat. The loss puts the Pool Boys in third place in the Western Conference and moves the Krewe into second place. Louisiana dominated the matchup from the very beginning with Oscar Castellanos scoring the first goal of the game in the 17th minute. Ten minutes later, in the 27th minute, Dril Juno Mboungou scored for Alexandria to tie the game at one goal apiece. Not long after the game was evened up, Mauricio Rancel gave the Krewe a 2-1 advantage with a nifty goal off a rebound from a mistake by the Pool Boys keeper. Louisiana would then score two more back to back goals in the 48th and 49th minute to give them an outright 4-1 lead. Looking to extend their lead even further, in the 56th minute, Louisiana’s Adrian “Oli” Rodriguez added another goal to the score sheet with a low shot down the left side of the goal that found its way past the goalkeeper. PBFC would try to fight their way back into the game with a goal by Mackenzie Young in the 62nd minute, but Oscar Castellanos would score his second goal of the match with 20 minutes left in regulation time to give the Krewe a demanding 6-2 lead. The scoreline would stay the same for the remainder of the match as Louisiana Krewe comes away with the 6-2 victory.
The Boca Knights take over the top spot in the Western Conference on Saturday night with a solid 3-1 win over last place competitor, Shreveport United. Shreveport looked calm and composed at the beginning of the match as Ali Ibrahim snuck one past the Knights keeper to give United an early 1-0 lead. Even though Shreveport started the game on a high note, their luck would soon run out as Abdullah Rayyan evened the match at 1-1 with a goal for Boca in the 24th minute. The score would stay at 1-1 as both teams headed to the locker room for halftime. For most of the second half, it was a constant end to end battle with both teams creating scoring opportunities, but it would be the Knight’s who eventually gained the upper hand. Luis Pena gave Boca the lead after a great goal in the 83rd minute and to add some extra insurance to the score sheet in the 90th minute, Guilherme Fao Martins rolled one past the Shreveport keeper, securing the 3-1 victory for the Knights.
