FC Naples Advances to Semis in Home Playoff Game

It was a remarkable coda to FC Naples’ home games. In this, their inaugural season, Naples’ first-ever professional sports team made it to the playoffs, hosted a playoff game by virtue of their record, and then won that quarterfinal match to advance to the semifinals.

USL League One, the third tier of professional soccer in the U.S., includes 26 teams. The top eight reach the playoffs, and the four teams with the best records host those quarterfinal matches. Naples became the first expansion team in league history to host a playoff game, taking on Union Omaha, the defending league champion, and beating them.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that the game was that bane of soccer matches, a scoreless tie, all the way through 90 minutes of regulation play and an additional 30 minutes of extra time (plus additional minutes of stoppage time).

FC Naples has seen its share of draws this season, notching three in a row during one stretch in August. But in the playoffs, someone has to win, and someone has to lose, so after two hours of end-to-end action, the two teams went to a penalty kick shootout, with five players from each team alternating shots against just a goalkeeper. And here is where it got really interesting.

FC Naples head coach Matt Poland, a Marco Island resident with deep connections to the community, pulled Edward Delgado, the keeper who had notched five saves and a shutout during two hours of play, and put in reserve keeper Joel Serrano, who had played only 13 minutes during the season.

“Listen, both are phenomenal goalkeepers. Both are incredible,” said Poland after the game. “Just given the amount of minutes played, we felt like it was the right time to put Joel in. He's really good at penalties. Obviously, you can tell he's very springy and gets over there quickly.”

The substitution worked out, and that’s what counts. It was a night for reserve players to shine, with the winning penalty kick scored by Ian Garrett, who also came off the bench just in time for penalty kicks. Serrano managed to block two of the Omaha attempts, with the second block coming after Garrett put in what ended up being the winning score, and the Naples players erupted in celebration.

The Naples side had the worst of it in the opening portion of the match, with the bulk of the play occurring in their end of the field. The defending champions kept control of the ball, holding possession, seeming always to have an outlet for the passes, and usually finding them. But the Naples defense held when it counted. During the later minutes, a couple of times it seemed as though FC Naples had rallied and scored a crucial go-ahead goal, only to see their efforts disallowed by the referees.

It was a beautiful night for soccer, cool enough to make a light jacket feel comfortable on the sidelines. With the match going into tense “extra innings,” it was reminiscent of the just-completed World Series in baseball, with its marathon 18-inning games. In another external reference, the quarterfinal match was played on the “Dia de los Muertos,” or Day of the Dead in Mexican folklore, appropriate since the playoff hopes of whichever team lost were, well, deceased. But it was the FC Naples squad that lived to play another match.

They won’t get to host again this season, though. Sunday night, One Knoxville SC, the number one seed, won their own quarterfinal game, so fourth seed FC Naples will travel to Knoxville to play them on Saturday, November 8.

“I thought we did enough in the first 90 minutes that we deserved to win,” said Poland. “Obviously, it didn't come, but we created some very beautiful chances that were bouncing off the post, bouncing off the crossbar, rolling across the line. Penalties can go either way. We've had penalties go the opposite way and result in a loss. I just told them before that to enjoy it. Enjoy the moment.”

He thanked the hometown fans for a season of solid support. “Ever since week one, they have been here showing support week after week. Our intention from the beginning was that the football inside the lines would connect with the fans outside the lines. The way they gave us noise when we scored, the way they cheered the guys on—the energy, the excitement, the connection is there.”

In one manifestation of giving back to the community, FC Naples will host a soccer camp on January 2 and 3 for boys and girls ages six to 16, with “all skill levels welcome.” Maybe they are doing some early scouting for the star players of future seasons.