FC Jacksonville Not Able to Keep Pace with Bradenton, Team Loses 4-1
Photography by Keith Garrett
Destroyers end season on low note as Bradenton scores three goals in first 57 minutes
Written by Ryan Day
The overhead lights started to dim, the teams began to walk off the field and Destroyers fans filed out of Jacksonville University for the last time in 2011. But the final whistle of the match did not mean that players were ready to let go of a season that, as they described it, could have been so much more.
“I’m not satisfied and I don’t think any of the guys expected this season to turn out the way it did,” forward Darko Karamatic said following a 4-1 loss to Bradenton on Saturday. “With the talent we have, we expected to make the playoffs, or at least contend. We can’t win games when we go down early.”
Saying the Destroyers went down early would be an understatement. It only took three minutes and Bradenton’s first possession in Jacksonville territory for the scoring to open. In the 22nd minute, another Bradenton player ripped one past the Destroyers defensive line and goalkeeper Andreas Schnabl.
At halftime, Jacksonville was down 2-0, but the scoreboard didn’t show just how much Bradenton was controlling the game. It wasn’t until the 32nd minute that forward Edvin Worley recorded the first shot on goal for the Destroyers and the 43rd minute until forward Caleb Matthews had another.
After the break, in the 57th minute, Bradenton took a corner and shot back-to-back attempts on Schnabl, who was able to stop them for Jacksonville. The third was one shot too many for the goalkeeper and the Destroyers found themselves down 3-0 for the second consecutive game.
It looked as though things would go just as they did last game when midfielder Gonzalo de Mujica placed a perfect ball to midfielder Nick May who headed it in, bringing the score to 3-1. But, a red card called on Worley in the 87th minute sealed a victory for Bradenton and left Jacksonville with only 10 men.
In the closing minutes of the game, Bradenton ripped another shot from 35 yards outside the box, scoring their fourth and final goal of the match.
“It’s the last game and we go out losing like this,” defender Isaac Kinman said after the match. “It’s sad but it makes you hungry for next year.”
According to Kinman, the lack of offense may have been a result of not having forward Kareem Yearwood, the team’s leading goal-scorer, who was away for personal reasons at home.
“It’s hard with a different formation,” Kinman said. “We’ve been having Yearwood up front and then to have [Worley and Matthews] sharing forward duties, it was just something we weren’t used to.”
Jacksonville has also played several games within a short amount of time. Playing their sixth game in 15 days, the Destroyers weren’t able to keep pace with a Bradenton team that was on nine days rest.
“I’m exhausted, the team is exhausted,” midfielder and captain Jeremy Vollmer said. “To play this many games is really hard, especially considering how many injuries we’ve had lately. We only had two or three substitutes for the past couple of weeks. We just didn’t have the guys on the bench that we needed.”
The loss on Saturday brings Jacksonville to a 3-9-4 record to close out the 2011 season. The team finished fourth in the Southeast Division of the United Soccer League’s Premier Development League.
“We’re disappointed with the season’s result, considering the talent we have on the field,” Vollmer said. “There were probably half a dozen games this season that should have gone our way. They will next year.”
