League

Two Rivers Park
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Olin Bolton kicked off to start the match. After a rather tough play, Two Rivers's Alberto Tackett got a free kick in the 6th minute. An unexpectedly hard shot by Olin Bolton in the 8th minute of play forced Covington ZSC's goalkeeper Rigoberto Thurston to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After 9 played minutes Two Rivers got a freekick which was hit by Gary Bermudez. When Micah Rankin came up free with the goalie in the 12th minute, the Covington ZSC fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Micah Rankin couldn't finish the play. If Nelson Gagne had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 13th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. 16 minutes into the match, Nelson Gagne had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Lance Stern. Two Rivers's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Nelson Gagne was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 0-1. Rigoberto Thurston made a fantastic save in the 23rd minute, when Rodrigo Barrera sent off a good shot on target. Olin Bolton received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 26th minute. Rigoberto Thurston tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. An unexpected shot in the 35th minute by Rodrigo Barrera got the crowd on their feet, but to their dismay it went out on the left side. In the 38th minute Nelson Gagne shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Lance Stern saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Two Rivers's Gary Bermudez pulled a muscle in his leg after 44 minutes and couldn't finish the game. When Walton Hanson fell near the penalty area in the 44th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Covington ZSC's protests and gave Walton Hanson a yellow card for diving instead. After 45 played minutes Covington ZSC got a freekick which was hit by Walton Hanson. After the first half Covington ZSC were leading 0-1. They had played with great self confidence throughout the first half and fully deserved their lead.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Nelson Gagne made a kick off. Sid Jorgensen hit a great freekick 54 minutes into the match. A collision led to Two Rivers getting a freekick after 63 minutes play. Rocky Chandler hit a great ball. After a rather tough play, Covington ZSC's Walton Hanson got a free kick in the 66th minute. An unexpectedly hard shot by Nelson Gagne in the 68th minute of play forced Two Rivers's goalkeeper Lance Stern to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. A collision led to Two Rivers getting a freekick after 68 minutes play. Rocky Chandler hit a great ball. In the 71st minute, Rodrigo Barrera ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Rigoberto Thurston was frozen by the shot and now it was 1-2. Nelson Gagne sent away a hard shot on goal in the 79th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Olin Bolton received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 82nd minute. Rigoberto Thurston tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. In the 83rd match minute, Covington ZSC was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Walton Hanson to maneuver through the defense. After having played for 85 minutes, Boyd Pulliam managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Two Rivers's supporters crossed their fingers, but Boyd Pulliam was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Lance Stern showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Nelson Gagne, who was totally free with the ball in the 88th minute. Micah Rankin hit a great freekick 89 minutes into the match. The Covington ZSC supporters could be heard counting down the last seconds of the match. They errupted in celebration when the whistle blew, knowing Covington ZSC would go home with victory in their luggage after a match that easily could have ended differently.