11/14 GPSL Championship Match - Breisinger Field @ 2:30 PM Steel FC 3 - 1 Arsenal LaComarca The GPSL season came to a conclusion when the 1 vs 2 seed met in the Final. Through blood, sweat, hard work, and a little bit of luck we were able to raise the trophy at the end of the game with a 3-1 victorious result. As the match began both teams started the feeling-out process with little chances on either side. We seemed to control a bit more possession but could not break their back line. A half-chance here and there for both teams went awry until the 28th minute. A ball from Arsenal's back line was played to their left winger. Their forward made a cutting run between our centerbacks and looked to be offside. However, the assistant referee kept his flag down and their forward slashed towards net, turned, and fired a shot that found the bottom right side of the net, just out of the reach of Marshall's hand. 0-1 Arsenal. The game started to rev up a bit with chippy fouls committed by both teams. However, with about 10 minutes until halftime, the tides changed because of an unfortunate injury. A floated ball was played in the air from our winger and their keeper came out and plucked it out of the air. However, at the same time, our striker, Scheirer, attempted to head the ball and accidently undercut their keeper. He fell hard and was unable to continue. Arsenal was forced to put a field player in net for the remainder of the game. Halftime came and Arsenal still led 0-1. At the start of the 2nd half we began to gain momentum with shots here and there, just missing the net on a few occasions. However, in the 58th minute a driven ball was played in the box and a scrum ensued. Balde was able to control the ball enough to find Virgara at the 6 yard line. Virgara faked a shot, created space, then fired one into the back of their net. 1-1. As play continued we started to get more opportunities and our high pressure paid off. An errant pass by their back line found Bischoff's feet about 30 yards out. Bischoff beat one man with speed and from a sharp angle ripped a shot that found the bottom right of their make-shift keeper in the 71st minute. 2-1 Steel. About 10 minutes later a corner kick by Arsenal pinged around in the box and fell to one of their players. He shot the ball from only a few yards out but Marshall made a diving save. The ball rebounded back to their player and he once again tried to slot it home but Marshall lunged at the goal line and denied him once again. The ball ricocheted back out to the top of the keepers box and a second Arsenal player fired a shot that Marshall watched go high and wide. With about 4 minutes and Arsenal throwing numbers forward in an attempt to equalize, we countered. Marshall grabbed a cross from out of the air and immediately found Ligeti out on the right flank. Ligeti surged forward, made their right back commit to him, and then found Heuler in the middle with about 25 yards to goal. Scheirer then ran off the shoulder their center back and Heuler slipped him in. From the right side Scheirer rocketed one home and we now had a 3-1 lead in the dying minutes of the match. A few minutes later and the referee blew the whistle and we were GPSL Champions.
Goals: Heuler, Osborne (2), Balde Assists: Galietta (2)
Pending COVID-19 restrictions, our 2021 GPSL season will start in April. However, our first outdoor match will be a friendly vs AFC 1863 on February 28. Time and location TBD so stay tuned!