Play Ball!

The wait is over. The dream has become reality. The season, the first ever, has begun. 

On Saturday evening, FC Naples, the area’s first professional soccer team and the first professional sports team in Naples of any sport, played their inaugural game, a home contest at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex (PCSC) against the Chattanooga Red Wolves. The game brought to fruition a dream and a process that has taken years to make that evening happen. Before a sell-out crowd of 4,618 (plus one reporter who slipped in late), FC Naples battled to a 1-1 draw in their season opener. 

After an introduction featuring the Barra 239 flag and drum corps, on-field action commenced. The two teams played to a scoreless tie at halftime, but then, in the 47th minute, the first-ever goal on the FC Naples pitch was scored – by Omar Hernandez of the Red Wolves. The FC Naples squad provided an equalizer and the first-ever FC Naples goal in the 77th minute when right winger Andrés Ferrin converted a penalty kick. It was a night of first-ever moments. 

FC Naples could have won and maybe should have won, but a goal they scored near game’s end was disallowed due to a questionable offsides call. The hometown crowd, featuring many family groups with youth soccer players among them, was strong in support of their team, cheering lustily for their side. 

The game was hard fought to the end. One Red Wolves player, Tobi Jnohope, drew a red card in nearly the final minute of play when regulation time had already expired, and the match was in stoppage time, for fouling Naples goalkeeper Edward Delgado, and will have to sit out his team’s next game. 

The Naples squad controlled the action for much of the game, with a two-to-one edge in time of possession, according to the official stat sheet. Naples had three times as many shots from inside the box, twice as many touches inside the opposition box, twice as many passes, twice as many corner kicks, twice as many passes, and higher passing accuracy than Chattanooga. They also led in fouls, 16 to 12, but the Red Wolves drew three yellow cards to two, in addition to the red card. 

Head coach and Marco Island resident Matt Poland had every reason to be proud of how his team played, and in his post-game remarks, emphasized the importance of confidence and resilience. “Our players should be confident in the way we play, staying true to how we want to play and continuing to be resilient when things aren’t going our way. You know, eventually the game’s going to open up a little more, and there’s going to be goal-scoring opportunities.” The important thing, said Poland, is “staying focused and disciplined to make sure you’re in the right spot when that happens.” 

After the game, in which each receives one point for the tie, Poland was told, “Congratulations, coach – you’re undefeated,” but didn’t necessarily appreciate the compliment. 

The tie and the low scores highlight one frustrating aspect of soccer. The extreme difficulty of putting in a goal encourages teams to play defensively and avoid being scored on at all costs, including sacrificing their own attack. This leads to outcomes where luck can play an outsize role in the score rather than the superior team prevailing. The statistics from Saturday’s game seem to indicate that FC Naples outplayed their opponent, but it goes into the books as a tie. 

Scoring goals is exciting, too, and makes for a more enjoyable spectator experience. As one who played amateur soccer for decades, as a school and club team player, this reporter believes soccer would be improved if there were more goals scored. Earlier in the week, media were invited to witness one of the last tune-ups held by FC Naples before their inaugural game. Playing six v. six on a short field, the action was fast and furious, with both squads putting in goals at a brisk pace.

Proposals such as widening the goal mouth by one meter have been floated – but with soccer, or “football,” as the rest of the world knows it, the most popular sport on the planet, FIFA, the governing body, has little incentive to change. 

Professional soccer in Naples is off to a great start on the strength of FC Naples’ solid performance Saturday evening. They will play again at home on Saturday, March 15, against Forward Madison FC of Wisconsin. In all, the team will play a 36-game season, traveling as far as Spokane, Washington. Professional soccer in Collier County has just begun!