Tuesday, June 26, 2012
OCALA, Fla. -- Tropical Storm Debbie couldn’t stop the Ocala Stampede from taking their fourth straight victory at home, and moving into first place in the PDL's Southeast Division, as they defeated the FC Jax Destroyers 2-1 on Tuesday night at Trinity Catholic High School. 
“The lads got the job done to get a big three-point victory in our push for the playoffs,” said Stampede coach Matt Weston.
On a rain-soaked Tuesday night the Stampede came out and applied pressure right away. In the seventh minute, Anthony Asante beat the Jacksonville defense after driving a pass home from Talysson De Oliveira to put Ocala on top 1-0. Jacksonville had a chance to equalize in the 20th minute when Jean-Jacques Bitielo committed a foul just inside the penalty area, giving Jacksonville a penalty kick, but Ocala goalkeeper Steven Diaz made a diving stop to deny Jacksonville’s Adam Black from the spot.
The Stampede kept up the offensive pressure, and added another goal in the 28th minute after FC Jax goalkeeper Andrew Murphy saved a pair of shots by Karamba Janneh, only for the rebound to come to Asante, who quickly fired the ball past the prone goalie to double Ocala’s lead.
After the halftime break the Destroyers broke through in the 79th minute when striker Steven Scrivens received a pass from Black and fired a laser past Diaz, cutting Ocala’s lead in half. The Stampede tightened up on defense for the remainder of the game, however, to secure another win. The victory moves the first-year franchise one step closer to securing a spot in the playoffs.
“FC Jax is a tough team who never gave in and certainly tested us in the second half, but at this stage we’ll take the points and move onto a tough road test against Ft. Lauderdale this Sunday,” said Weston.
The next match for the Stampede will be on Sunday at 6 p.m. as they travel to Lynn University to face Ft Lauderdale Schulz Academy. For more information about the Ocala Stampede contact Keith Hayes in the Communication Department by phone at 352-304-2341 or by email at k.hayes@ocalastampede.