League

Merrill
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) Ted Brand started the match with the kick off in front of an excited audience. 3 minutes into the match, Bonita Springs's goal looked a bit too open when Chuck Conroy came free, but Frank Marks reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Aurelio Lange came free with the goalkeeper in the 6th minute of the match, and shot straight on target. The shot was a little too simple and Frank Marks could save by the left post. Ted Brand scored 0-1 in the 9th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Dave Willard, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. The crowd rose to their feet as Real Santos's Sal Nance slotted home a wonderful shot that went in to the left of Frank Marks. That made the score 1-1 after 15 minutes of play. In the 20th minute of the match, Sal Nance tried to roll the ball into the goal by the right post, but Frank Marks saw his intentions and got control of the ball before it passed the line. Bonita Springs's Frank Marks proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 22nd minute of the match, managed to save Bonita Springs from getting a goal against them. 27 minutes into the match, Real Santos's goal looked a bit too open when Ted Brand came free, but Dave Willard reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. If Ted Brand had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 28th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After having played for 30 minutes, Sal Nance managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Real Santos's supporters crossed their fingers, but Sal Nance was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. 35 minutes into the match, Sal Nance dribbled the ball past the defender and swiftly kicked the ball to the left of Frank Marks, 2-1. Sal Nance did some fancy footwork in front of goal and succeeded to deceive the defenders so he could slam the ball in 3-1 to the left of a surprised Frank Marks 48 minutes into the match.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Sal Nance to make the kick off. The audience was convinced that Ted Brand's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Dave Willard was relentless in the 56th minute of the game. When Tony Sutherland came up free with the goalie in the 60th minute, the Bonita Springs 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 Tony Sutherland couldn't finish the play. Ted Brand in the 63rdth minute had a little luck and got a chance for a shot in front of the goal. Without hesitation aimed to the right of Dave Willard, who managed to lunge to the right direction and made a save. After some fancy dribbling in the 66th minute, Tony Sutherland managed to get in a good position for a shot. Bonita Springs's supporters rose to their feet, but Tony Sutherland was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Dave Willard breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. In a very dangerous position, a player in Real Santos fell when an opponent tried to get the ball from him in the 71st minute. Penalty! Real Santos:s Dave Willard showed great skill when he stopped Ted Brand:s penalty. Dave Willard made an important save on a dangerous shot by Ted Brand in the 79th minute. Bonita Springs's Frank Marks played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Sal Nance in the 80th minute of play. After 82 minutes Bonita Springs's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Andreas Bliss who took care of the corner kick. Ted Brand received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 92nd minute. Dave Willard tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Ted Brand could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 94th minute of the match, but Dave Willard made a huge save. In the 95th minute, Tony Sutherland ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Dave Willard was frozen by the shot and now it was 3-2. 99 minutes into the game, Eli Talbot was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Real Santos's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Bonita Springs the free kick. Bonita Springs's supporters were dissatisfied at the end of the match because Real Santos had won, even though Bonita Springs had held more of the ball.