League

Deephaven
Spectators: 7500 (Terracing: 5625, Seating: 1725, VIP seats: 150) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Mike Casey kicked off to start the match. After a rather tough play, Excelsior's Eric Burger got a free kick in the 6th minute. The audience was convinced that Zachary Herndon's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Dexter Stark was relentless in the 9th minute of the game. Fred Reagan showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Graig Hadley, who was totally free with the ball in the 12th minute. 23 minutes into the match, Excelsior's goal looked a bit too open when Esteban Ziegler came free, but Fred Reagan reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. After 24 minutes Excelsior's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Esteban Ziegler who took care of the corner kick. The corner went over the outstretched arms of Excelsior's goalie and right to Wesley Hoskins. He fired away a shot at goal, but the shot had too much spin, and it went just outside the goal. Excelsior's manager breathed a sigh of relief on the sidelines as his team had managed to escape an almost certain goal. In the 31st match minute, Excelsior was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Kirby Vance to maneuver through the defense. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Graig Hadley in the 32nd minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Fred Reagan prevented the ball from getting in the gole. Louie Kern kicked well hit freekick during the 33rd minute of the match. 39 minutes into the match, Esteban Ziegler notched a goal, 0-2, to the right of Excelsior's Fred Reagan. Fred Reagan was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. Kirby Vance received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 42nd minute. Dexter Stark tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. In the 46th minute of the match Louie Kern shot from a long distance. The ball could have gone into the goal to the right of the goalkeeper, but Fred Reagan showed his good shape when he easily got hold of the ball.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Graig Hadley to make the kick off. Zachary Herndon blasted a shot towards the goal in the 54th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Dexter Stark having to make a save. Casper Jacobsen sent away a hard shot on goal in the 64th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Dexter Stark didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Zachary Herndon went, in the 66th minute, to the upper right corner, 1-2 was the resulting score. Excelsior made a substitution. Thanh Carrington replaced Logan Newsome. In the 71st minute, Kirby Vance made a precise shot to the right of Dexter Stark. Saks's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 2-2. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Emmanuel Rowe during the 75th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. After 75 played minutes Excelsior got a freekick which was hit by Emmanuel Rowe. 76 minutes into the game, Brady Manning recieved a splendid long ball, split the defenders, and gently placed the ball to the left of Fred Reagan. Brady Manning showed that you don't have to tear a hole in the net to score, 2-3. Fred Reagan acted impressively in front of the goal and made a superb save when he, in the 81st minute, took the ball on the long shot from Kurt Meza. After a defensive mix-up in Excelsior's zone, Graig Hadley stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Fred Reagan came out of the goal and Graig Hadley tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. With an all-out effort, Saks's Fred Reagan threw himself towards the right post 87 minutes into the match and grabbed hold of the ball from Graig Hadley, which otherwise would have been placed in the net. Excelsior's defense didn't have a chance, in the 91st minute, when Graig Hadley scored to the left of an out of position Fred Reagan, making the score, 2-4.