League

MercedesBenz Stadium
Spectators: 7697 (Terracing: 5815, Seating: 1782, VIP seats: 100) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Emery Lentz took the kick off in the first half of the match. In the 3rd minute Emery Lentz shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Merle Langford saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Emery Lentz recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 5th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Garret Short received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 9th minute. Merle Langford tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. A collision led to Atlanta United FC getting a freekick after 14 minutes play. Hal Harrison hit a great ball. In the 17th minute, one of Atlanta United FC:s players had the ball in front of the goal but got pushed and fell. The referee felt it was an obvious case and blew a penalty for Atlanta United FC. The audience was convinced that Ari Keys's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Del Pennington was relentless in the 23rd minute of the game. Will Malloy received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 24th minute. Del Pennington tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After 26 minutes, Hal Harrison mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Atlanta United FC and the Malibu City AFC players grew even worse after the yellow card. Will Malloy's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Del Pennington read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 28th minute of play. Garret Short could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 33rd minute of the match, but Merle Langford made a huge save. Emery Lentz did some fancy footwork in front of goal and succeeded to deceive the defenders so he could slam the ball in 1-1 to the left of a surprised Merle Langford 37 minutes into the match. If Ari Keys had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 43rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Ari Keys received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 45th minute. Del Pennington tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. The first half was very even, with the score at 1-1 when the whistle went for half-time. The players welcomed the break and quickly retired to the dressing rooms.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Ari Keys was the one to do the kick off. Merle Langford showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Emery Lentz, who was totally free with the ball in the 54th minute. Jarrod Goldstein hit a great freekick 54 minutes into the match. After having played for 55 minutes, Garret Short managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Atlanta United FC's supporters crossed their fingers, but Garret Short was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Merle Langford took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Garret Short, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 69th minute, Josiah Tillman hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. After a defensive mix-up in Malibu City AFC's zone, Garret Short stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Merle Langford came out of the goal and Garret Short tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Ari Keys in the 83rd minute of play forced Atlanta United FC's goalkeeper Del Pennington to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. A collision led to Atlanta United FC getting a freekick after 90 minutes play. Jason Hollandsworth hit a great ball. Garret Short succeeded in the game's 92nd minute to shoot an unreachable shot under the crossbar and scored - 2-2.