Video - Click Here to Watch the Seals Goals !

The San Francisco Seals opened the 2008 PDL season on Saturday with a come from behind win to stun the Fresno Fuego. 

 

The win was reminiscent of the opening game in Fresno two years ago, when the Seals defeated the Fuego in the final minute after being down 0-2 at the half.  This time Carlos Diaz (1), and Kellan Wilson (2) combined for three goals, to take the win 3-2.

Down 0-2, Coach Simpson was not happy, and he let the team know it.

The Seals responded.

The Seals players had a statement to make. It all started about 15 minutes into the half when Francisco Camacho turned around a defender with a deft move that caused the defender to take him down. A PK was awarded and Carlos Diaz stepped up to knife the net with a perfectly placed shot. It didn't end there as a six Seals substitutes kept raising the intensity of the Seals attack. One sub, in particular, stole the show, and he was an unlikely hero. Kellan Wilson, a goalkeeper by trade, who last year was on contract in Germany (as a goalkeeper), is the Seals goalkeeper coach and was the backup to Dan Benton, who started in goal. In the first half, Dan dislocated his pinky and was in a lot of pain. The finger was re-located during half-time and Dan elected to stay in goal. This meant that Kellan had the opportunity to live out the ultimate goalkeeper dream which is to score goals instead of preventing them.

Pablo Campos, the PDL league’s MVP last season, had put the Fuego on the scoreboard in the 41st minute, heading a pass from Amaury Nunes past San Francisco goalkeeper Dan Benton.

Fresno extended its lead in the 50th minute. Campos dropped the ball back to Nunes, and he blasted a shot past Benton from the right side. 

After the Fuego scored their second goal, Kellan was the Seals first of six subs. He brought pace and aggression to the Seals attack that helped lead to Camacho's penetration of the box and the pk already mentioned. About 5 minutes later in the 80th minute, Carlos Diaz threw in the ball from the sideline past the near post where the Fuego defenders had collected. Behind them Kellan Wilson went high in the air to head the throw-in into the net and the Seals tied the game. The Seals went even 2-2 and a great comeback had gone into high gear.

 

With three minutes remaining in the game and under relentless pressure by the Seals, Stevie "the wonderful" Cordova beat a defender in the box, drew a second defender and goalkeeper then slid the ball by the keeper's hands. Kellan came flying in with a sliding shot that put the Seals' third goal into the next in less than 30 minutes. The Seals celebrated with a classic pile-on at the corner flag nearest the hometown fans and buried their hero in a mountain of love. Kellan had just completed a keeper's dream and the Seals had engineered a come-back against the Conference Champions of 2007.

The match was an important one for both teams, as it was an Open Cup qualifying match. 

 

The win was remarkable for more than the dramatic come-back. The Seals team featured a host of young players who had none to very little experience in the PDL. Francisco Camacho and Michael Balugon are 19 years old. Cordova, Carlos Diaz, Aziz Dieng, and Shea Whelan are only 20. There were four more young Seals players who played their first game for the Seals: Jean Pierre Mujica, Richard Duru, Doug Carr and Eric Lafon. Only one of them had any previous PDL experience. Of these ten young players, only Carlos Diaz, who has been in the U20 national pool, has ever been on anyone's radar screen. It was a real case of "who are these guys?"

The Seals next play the San Jose Frogs on Friday (May 2nd) in San Jose at Lick High School.  Game time is 7:30 pm.  Last season the Seals dropped both matches against the Frogs.

The Seals season home opener is Saturday, May 17th, against the Orange County Blue Star.  The game will be played at USF Negoesco Stadium starting at 7:00 pm.