Friday, July 20, 2012
OCALA, Fla. – The Austin Aztex got a pair of goals by Kekuta Manneh as they ended the Ocala Stampede’s magical inaugural season with a 3-2 victory in the PDL Southern Conference Championships semifinals on Friday night at Trinity Catholic Stadium. The Aztex will face Orlando City U23 in Sunday’s championship game after the Lions took a 2-1 win against the Mid South Division champion Laredo Heat in the day’s first semifinal.
Austin began the game on the front foot, and forced Ocala goalkeeper Steven Diaz into a pair of early saves to keep the game scoreless. The Aztex would take the lead in the 14th minute, however as striker Khiry Shelton planted a header into the back of the net off a cross by midfielder Josh Alcala to put their side up 1-0.
Diaz contnued to be put under pressure by Austin’s attack, facing 10 shots in the opening half. The Aztex doubled their advantage in the 36th minute after Diaz committed a foul in his own penalty area, and Manneh planted the ball into the left corner of the net for his first goal, and a 2-0 lead.
The Stampede were looking at going into the half down by a pair of goals, but in the 45th minute they were handed a lifeline as they were awarded a penalty kick of their own. Striker Douglas Dos Santos converted from the spot for his ninth goal of the season to cut Ocala’s deficit in half at the break.
The Stampede then tied the game in the 54th minute when forward Talysson De Oliveira drove a free kick past the Aztex’s defensive wall and goalkeeper Devin Cook from almost 30 yards out. For many this felt like deja va, as the Brazilian scored in exactly the same fashion one week previous earlier against Panama City Beach.
But the Aztex came right back in the 70th minute when Manneh found the back of the net after beating two Stampede defenders for his second goal of the match. The pair of goals gave the 17-year-old a team-high 12 goals in the regular and postseason, and while the Stampede would have opportunities late, ultimately Manneh’s strike would hold up as the game-winner.
Orlando also took a two-goal advantage against Laredo in the opening semifinal, but it was the Heat that threatened early to open the scoring. The game turned just after the half-hour mark, however, as Orlando took the lead in the 31st minute after midfielder Sam Fairhurst connected on a pass to Nicolas Russo, who planted the ball in the back of the net to make the score 1-0.
The Heat tried to fight back, but were reduced to 10 men five minutes before the halftime break when Juan de Dios Ibarra was sent off after vehemently disputing a foul called against a teammate. Orlando was able to take advantage of their man-superiority early in the second half when Russo delivered a pass through to forward Drew Helm to make the score 2-0.
The Heat wouldn’t go quietly, and they pulled a goal back in the 52nd minute when Hector Vallejo delivered their first goal of the match from the penalty spot. But playing short-handed proved to be an obstacle they could not overcome, and Orlando closed out the match with a 2-1 win.