The Seals finished the second double header weekend in July with a sweep of the visiting teams, as they defeated the boys from Orange County with a sound 3-1 victory at USF Negoesco Stadium Sunday. 

With just two minutes gone in the first half, Bill Robertson went up for a header and buried in the back of the net to open the scoring.  The Seals had suffered the fate of early goals scored against them all season, so this one “felt really good and relaxed the boys” said Head Coach Paul Aigbogun. 

It was a long weekend for the Blue Stars who came up to the Bay Area for a double header weekend.  Saturday’s match against the San Jose Frogs saw three Blue Star players ejected from the match in a 4-1 loss.  That left them with only ten players for the match against the Seals.

The early tempo in the game was set by the Seals, who developed the play well, and generated numerous chances.  Blue Star goalie Miguel Benitez was forced to make four saves out of the five shots Seals players took at goal.  Johnny Gonzales, Alex Perlin, Shani Simpson, all had terrific chances, only to see Benitez make the save.

At the other end of the field Seals keeper Eric Conner had less to worry about.  The Blue Star did a good job with a man down to get penetration into the Seals defending third of the field, but for the most part the Seals defense of Victor Cortez, Chris Rodd, Bill Robertson, and Rich Halvorsen gave Orange County the Blues! 

Conner, who had been voted to the PDL Team of the Week for his performance against the So. Cal. Seahorses last weekend had to stay alert as in spite of the solid play by his defenders in front, needed to make two outstanding saves to preserve the shutout in the first half.

The second half opened up with the Seals striking quickly again, as this time Rich Halvorsen slotted a ball past Benitez with three minutes gone in the second half.  The euphoria of the moment was lost seven minutes later in the 55th minute as Halvorsen hammered a Blue Star player just outside of the box, and was ejected with a second caution.

With each team short one man on the field, the Blue Star seemed to get a surge of confidence.  They had done well with a man down, and were generating some chances.  In the 78th minute  chance turned to goal as the Blue Star were awarded a PK, and player/coach Rick Theslof slotted the ball left as Conner dove away to the other side.

But this day belonged to San Francisco, and on a fast breaking counter, with nearly all the Blue Star pressing forward, James Bent received a ball out of the back and set a blistering pace down the right side of the field.  With Stephen Cordova keeping pace on the opposite side of the field, and Alex Peterlin streaking down the center of the field, Bent sent a sweet pass across the face of the goal at 12 yards out, past a diving Benitez, and Peterlin passed the ball into the net for the final goal of a sweet 3-1 victory for the Seals.

Next weekend the Seals finish their season at home against two contenders.  Each team needs a win to have a chance for the playoffs.  The Seals host the Fresno Fuego on Saturday, and the local San Jose Frogs on Sunday for the season finale.  Both matches will be played at USF Negoesco Stadium, and will start at 4:00pm.

The Seals will honor Ben Gucciardi on Sunday at half-time, for his outstanding work with his non-profit organization, Soccer Without Boarders.  This summer Soccer Without Boarders co-sponsored a soccer league between 10 children's homes from the Cape Town area of South Africa. Ben worked with the teams, refereeing games, conducting coaching clinics, and helping plan and establish the structure of the league in conjunction with several volunteers from one of the children’s homes.

More Photo's courtesy of Napoleon Badillo