Week 9 Recaps: BOCA and Krewe secure playoffs spots in the West; Motagua keeps their hopes alive; Tallahassee stays on top in the East

Eastern Conference

After a last minute venue change due to rainy weather, Tallahassee SC faced off against Hattiesburg FC at Gene Cox Stadium on Saturday night. The men from Tallahassee had a lot of pressure on their shoulders going into this matchup because they needed a win to clinch a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. All hopes of making the playoffs were lost for HFC, however, as they were in dead last going into this game with a 2-1-5 record. Even though Hattiesburg was in last place, they played as if they had something to prove and came out with every intention to win. Both clubs played tremendous defensive for most of the first half but Tallahassee’s Jonny Fitzgerald was able to slide on past HFC’s keeper in the 46th minute to give the Lions a 1-0 lead going into halftime. Fitzgerald’s late first half goal would hold as the only goal of the game and Tallahassee would go on to clinch a playoff spot with their 1-0 victory over Hattiesburg FC.

AFC Mobile played at home on Saturday night against Pensacola FC in a game that had a lot at stake for the club from Alabama. AFC needed to defeat Pensacola to secure a playoff position in the Eastern Conference standings, while Pensacola was already eliminated from playoff contention. The first half was off to an intense start as both sides came out with fire under their feet. Both clubs had plenty of opportunities to add a goal to the score sheet in the first forty five minutes of the match, but neither team could get one to go as the scoreline would remain at 0-0 going into halftime. There were no goals scored in the match until a penalty kick was awarded to Mobile after Sam Blackburn was taken down in the box by a Pensacola defender in the 51st minute. Arad Lev-Ari eyed the penalty kick and slotted the ball home to give AFC the 1-0 lead they were looking for with 38 minutes left in regulation time. Lev-Ari would score another goal in the 76th minute that would extend the Mobile lead to 2-0 late in the match. Pensacola would finish the game strong and put a goal in the back of the net with a header off a corner kick by Lyuboslav Vitanov in the 87th minute to cut the Mobile lead to one goal. AFC went into a defensive formation towards the very end and they were able to hold onto the 2-1 lead over Pensacola FC to clinch a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Port City FC’s playoff hopes were hanging on a thread come Saturday night as they hosted the third place Gulf Coast Rangers at Herbert Wilson Stadium. The defending champions needed two things to go their way in the Western Conference standings if they wanted to reach the playoffs in back to back seasons. The first thing the Sounders needed to do was beat the men from Gulf Coast and the second thing they needed was for AFC Mobile to lose to Pensacola FC. Unfortunately for Port City, they did their part in beating the Rangers, but AFC Mobile was able to hold off Pensacola at home. The Sounders came away with a 4-3 victory over the Rangers in a dramatic game that was action packed till the very end. The game started in Gulf Coast’s favor as David Hall put the Ranger’s up by one in the 8th minute after slotting the ball home past the Sounders keeper. In the 33rd minute, the Sounders evened the match at 1-1 with a pin-point header from Felipe Madreo. A minute later, in the 34th minute, Port City extended their lead with another goal from Felipe Madreo who took one touch at the top of the box and fired it into the net to take a 2-1 lead. The halftime score came with the Sounders still leading the Rangers 2-1. in the second half, the game was eventually equalized after the Rangers scored on a penalty kick in the 54th minute. It didn’t take long for Port City regain the lead, however, as Tylor Davis scored off a perfect pass from Cavan Doherty near the top of the box in the 59th minute. In the 88th minute, Michael Cooper added to the Sounders lead with a shot low and away that found it’s way past the Rangers keeper. Gulf Coast would score one more goal before the game was finally over but it wouldn’t be enough to defeat the Sounders.

Central Conference

In a battle for first place in the Central Conference standings, Northshore United made the short journey south to Pan American Stadium on Saturday to take on FC New Orleans. Immediately after the first kickoff whistle was blown, the fans could tell that the game was going to have a playoff feel to it. As the first half progressed the players became more physical and emotions began to run high. The referee had no choice but to hand out multiple yellow cards to both teams to regain control of the game. Both clubs had equal opportunities to score in the first forty-five minutes of play but the first half would end in a 0-0 tie. At the start of the second half, Northshore made some key substitutions and came out applying heavy pressure on the New Orleans defense. United’s aggressive style of play would eventually pay off in the 85th minute after Adam Zulli finds Zachery Breaux on the sixth yard line for a tap in goal that would give Northshore a late 1-0 lead. Breaux’s goal would propel Northshore to a clean sheet 1-0 victory over FC New Orleans, giving the club from NOLA their first loss of the season.

Baton Rouge United hosted Mississippi Blues SC in their last home game of the season at Olympia Stadium in Louisiana on Saturday night. Leading up to the matchup, Baton Rouge United had lost every single game they had been a part of but they were determined to end the season with a bang. In the first half, Cole Hatier opened the scoring for Baton Rouge with a goal in just the 8th minute of the contest. Caleb Cretini followed suit with another first half goal for the club from Louisiana in the 23rd minute. United would add to the score sheet with their third goal of the match after Sidney Chenevert found the back of the net in the 47th minute. Sidney’s goal was followed by another Baton Rouge goal in the 52nd minute from Seth Ward. Not long after Seth’s goal, Zayne Zezulka would make it 5-0 Baton Rouge with a terrific shot that rolled past the Blues keeper. The goals would continue to pour in for United as they would make it a 6-0 game in the 73rd minute but the Blues would finally respond with a goal of their own in the 76th minute that would prevent them from getting shutout. Each team would score one more goal before the final whistle was blown and the game would end in a surprising 7-2 victory for the club from Baton Rouge.

In a game full of late second half action, Gaffa FC hosted Motagua New Orleans in a thrilling matchup at Freedom Ridge Stadium in Jackson, Mississippi. Motagua was facing elimination on Saturday night as they needed a road win against Gaffa to keep their playoff vision alive. In a stale first half, both goalkeepers held their ground and neither club was able to put any points on the board. After the first forty-five minutes of play, the scoreline would remain at 0-0. Most of the second half saw similar results until Motagua’s Kenroy Rodriguez ended the 0-0 drought with a phenomenal goal in the 80th minute to put New Orleans on top with a one goal lead. Towards the end of the game, in stoppage time, both clubs were able to sneak one last goal into the back of the net before the game was over, but in the end, Gaffa FC proved to be no match for New Orleans. Motagua would go on to defeat the men from Jackson in a much needed 2-1 victory, keeping their playoff hopes intact.

Western Conference

Over the weekend, Boca Knights FC tried to keep their number one spot atop the table in the Western Conference as they played against Cajun SC at LUS Fiber Stadium in Lafayette, Louisiana. Unfortunately, Cajun SC’s chances of making the playoffs were already diminished before the game even started, but that didn’t stop them from leaving everything they had on the field. The back and forth match opened with a goal from Abdullah Rayyan in the 32nd minute, giving the Knights a one goal lead early on. The Knight would hold their 1-0 lead going into halftime. At the start of the second half, Cajun SC would find some offensive momentum of their own with a great goal from Austin Clause in the 50th minute that would tie the contest at 1-1. Twenty minutes later, Guilherme Fao Martins gave the Knights their second lead of the game with a well placed shot that found it’s way past the Cajun keeper in the 70th minute. Determined to fight back, the club from Lafayette again responded with a goal of their own after Brandon Briscoe scored in the 75th minute, evening the game at 2-2. The last fifteen minutes of the game was plagued with fouls as the referee handed out three yellow cards to three different Cajun SC players before the final whistle was blown. There was plenty of late game excitement but the match would end in a 2-2 tie, leaving Boca with one point instead of the three they were hoping for.

Louisiana Krewe needed a win on the road against the Central Texas Lobos at Bob Shelton Stadium on Saturday night to stay in the playoff hunt in the Western Conference. The Krewe would get their win and go on to shutout the Lobos in a well deserved 5-0 victory. Adrian Olivaras Rodriguez was hands down the man of the match for the Louisiana Krewe as he scored four goals in under ten minutes in the first half of action alone. Adrian started his scoring drive off with a nifty goal from point blank range in the 31st minute after a nice assist from one of his teammates. His second goal of the game came in the 35th minute off a header from a corner kick that bounced past the Lobos keeper and into the back of the net. Two minutes later, in the 37th minute, Adrian would score for a third time after a soft shot off a save from the Lobos keeper right in front of the goal. Adrian would score his fourth and final goal of the match right after his third one in the 38th minute to give the LA Krewe a sturdy 4-0 lead before the halftime whistle was blown. At the start of the second half, the Krewe would add one more goal to their already large lead after Mauricio Andres Rancel buried one in the 54th minute to take a 5-0 lead over Central Texas. The scoreline would remain at 5-0 throughout the rest of the second half and Louisiana Krewe would walk away with a clean sheet victory the Lobos.

Alexandria PBFC traveled to Cargill Park on Saturday night to go to war against a team that hasn’t won a game all season, Shreveport United. To everyone’s surprise, Shreveport ended the first half with a one goal lead after a goal in the 19th minute from Thomas Sanford who scored off a well placed shot that flew past the Pool Boys keeper. United would continue the goal scoring in the second half with a goal in the 51st minute from Gary McCormick that would give Shreveport a solid 2-0 lead. The men from Shreveport extended their lead to three goals after Sanford scored another superb goal in the 78th minute. Even though the Pool Boys were down 3-0, they never back down from a challenge and Matthew Young would net his first goal of the season in the 83rd minute, cutting the United lead to 3-1. Alexandria’s last minute efforts would fail and they would go on to lose the game in a tough 3-1 defeat, giving Shreveport their very first win of the season.