Ocala Stampede News Release -- www.ocalastampede.com
Saturday, July 14, 2012
OCALA, Fla. – The Ocala Stampede have earned the right to host the Southern Conference Championships next weekend after the side took a 4-0 victory against the Panama City Beach Pirates on Friday night. The victory gave the Stampede the best record in the Southern Conference, and they will be joined in the playoffs by the Southeast Division runner-up, which will be either Orlando City U23 or the IMG Bradenton Academics, and the Mid South Division’s Laredo Heat and Austin Aztex.
The match-ups for the Southern Conference Championship will be determined this weekend, with Laredo and Austin still battling for the Mid South Division title entering the final game of the regular season. Laredo holds a one-point lead over the Aztex, with the Heat playing the El Paso Patriots and the Aztex meeting the New Orleans Jesters in their final games of the season. The Mid South Division runner-up will face the Stampede in the conference semifinals, with Orlando or Bradenton meeting the Mid South Division winner. Orlando needs a point in its final game of the season on Sunday against the FC Jax Destroyers to earn its place in the postseason, with Bradenton advancing should the Destroyers take victory.
On Friday night, the Stampede opened the scoring in the 22nd minute when Richmond McCarthy squeezed a pass trhough to Douglas Dos Santos, who fired his shot past Panama City Beach goalkeeper Jeremy Crumpton, making it 1-0.
“To come to Panama City and win 4-0 at their field after a very tiring season, it says everything about this team,” head coach Matt Weston said. “We are going to bring the playoffs to Ocala and it’s going to be an amazing weekend.”
The team continued to pressure Panama City Beach’s backline, scoring again in the 40th minute as the Pirates’ defense committed a foul just outside the penalty area. Tallysson De Oliveira curled his shot around the defensive wall and hooked it into the upper-right corner of the net, making it 2-0.
Just before the halftime break, Karamba Janneh converted another goal off an assist by McCarthy, putting the Stampede up 3-0. The Stampede then completed their victory in the in the 62nd minute, after a defensive miscue by the Pirates allowed Anthony Asante to break away to complete the scoring.
“We’re so excited and honored to be representing the PDL Southeast Division,” said Stampede Owner Bill Reed. ”For a first-year team, it’s quite an honor and far exceeds our expectations.”
With a final record of 11-3-2 (35 points), the Stampede finishes regular season action with a commanding lead in the PDL’s Southeast Division. The Stampede also finished with the most points in the PDL’s Southern Conference.
“It’s been incredible journey,” said Weston. “Hopefully it’s just the start of another chapter looking forward into the playoffs.”