We earned a road point, but that one stings.
We went on the road to Showalter Field in Winter Park for our first ever matchup withBrooke House FC. We dominated shots and possession and took the lead late on a great goal by Nico Diaz, but the home side equalized in the 89th minute.
We created plenty of opportunity.
We had plenty of chances in the first half. Oscar Resano struck one off the crossbar andFabio Rodriques drilled a shot off the rebound that looked sure to score but went just wide of the left post.
Mathias Tieppo kept us level.
Brooke house had one great look in the first half, a one-on-one with goalkeeper MathiasTieppo, but he slid out in front of the attacker and blocked the shot to keep things scoreless until halftime.
Our super subs made a difference.
In the second half, Coach DaSilva sent in Alvaro Carrera, Nico Diaz, and Leonardo Dutrato boost the offense. It worked, as the group took five shots in the second half, four of themon goal.
Nico broke through in the 81st.
Nico scored his first goal in a Buffalo uniform and it was a beauty. In the 81st minute, a high pass into the box was deflected out to the right edge. He settled the ball with his first touch and fired with his second to put Brave ahead 1-0."The mission was to make an impact," Nico said after the game. "It was nil-nil when we came on and our job was to score... I was just fortunate that it went in. I'm glad I could help the team in any way I could."
The Lions had a secret weapon, though.
Entering the match, the Buffalo knew one of Brooke House's most dangerous plays was the long throw-in, and that's what eventually decided the game. In the 89th minute, they launched one into the box and the ball ended up loose on the ground and Casey Atwell knocked it in for the equalizer.
Here's what Coach Anderson DaSilva had tosay about the game:
"It's very, very hard because we dominated the game. We created too many opportunitiesin the first half to miss... We had a late goal, we were winning 1-0 and they had one goodplay — that long throw. We lost too many opportunities."
Thank you to the fans that made the trip!
While we were disappointed with the result, it was heartwarming to see our fans in thestands. Several of you made the trip out to Winter Park to see us play in person for the firsttime this season and it's always a thrill to see our supporters, especially on the road.
Now we get to see all of you at home!
We're not letting Wednesday night dampen our spirits ahead of the home opener! We're looking forward to our first home match this Saturday against Brevard SC and we know that our fans will be there to bring the noise and the atmosphere to The Range at TheVillages Charter Middle School!
