Triumphant Over the Triumph

FC Naples gave the hometown fans something to cheer about on Saturday night. After a series of three straight draws, Collier County’s pro soccer squad and first-ever professional sports team notched a win, defeating the Greenville Triumph 2-1 at Paradise Coast Sports Complex.

With the league’s regular season ending next month, first-year Naples is in great shape to be one of the top eight teams that make the playoffs, and possibly one of the top four that hosts a first-round playoff game. They went into Saturday’s game at number four, and the three points for a win will only enhance their chances. USL League One, the third tier of professional soccer in the U.S., includes 26 teams.

On Saturday night, the two teams dueled to a scoreless tie through the entire 45 minutes of regulation time in the first half. Then Naples scored two quick goals, their entire goal output for the night, in first-half stoppage time after the jumbotron clock froze at 45:00 (incidentally making it difficult or impossible for spectators to gauge how many minutes were left in the half, after an announcement of “at least seven minutes” of stoppage time).

Karsen Henderlong, the FC Naples striker who leads the league in goals scored, beat the Greenville keeper with an assist from teammate Andrés Ferrin in the 50th minute. Four minutes later, defender Julian Cisneros scored again for Naples, with an unassisted rocket shot, sending the home team into the locker room up 2-0.

Greenville answered with a goal of their own in the 66th minute, but Naples went into defensive mode, and the lead held. Naples goalkeeper Edward Delgado contributed three saves, and the defense limited Greenville to only four shots on target.

When you guard or defend against a player in soccer, you are said to be “marking” him. Henderlong, the league’s leading scorer, is a well-marked man. Near the end of the second half, a Greenville player took him down as he was making a break with the ball. Henderlong jumped up and took issue with the player, ironically drawing the foul and the yellow card. As is so often the case, it’s not the player who first initiates hostilities, but the one who retaliates, who comes to the attention of the referee. Greenville also notched one yellow card during the game and overall committed twice as many fouls as Naples (18 vs. 9).

Despite a threat of thunderstorms, which did appear well to the north as the game was ending, the rain held off and provided a cooler evening, perfect for watching or even playing soccer. The sky was clear enough that the full moon rising across from the stands was clearly visible to the fans in the stadium. Rather than “thunder boomers,” fans were treated to a continuous drumbeat from the La Barra 239 flag and drum corps, ensconced in the north end zone.

Naples’ three draws prior to Saturday’s game had themselves been preceded by three straight wins, all at home and all by 2-1 margins. So, FC Naples had not lost a game in their previous six outings. That loss, as it happens, came at the hands of the Greenville Triumph, in Greenville, also by a margin of 2-1, just in the other direction.

FC Naples will be on the road for two games before they host AV Alta FC on September 27, with only two more home games after that before the end of the regular season. But their on-field performance has been sufficient to virtually ensure them a position in post-season play.

“We were doing a lot of good things in the first half, and we knew the goals would come,” said head coach Matt “Gaffa” Poland after the game. “The players kept their heads and capitalized on their chances.”