The San Francisco Seals suffered their first defeat of the season today in Ventura as the Fusion defeated the Seals 1-0.

Before the game Fusion Head Coach Graham Smith stated “. . . we are planning a revengeful evening for the cruel result we suffered at the home of the Seals last week.  Strange officiating decisions saw us lose by the only goal in a very attractive game played by two sides that were determined to produce good open soccer.”

Apparently he hadn’t seen the video replay on line at the Seals website showing the Seals had suffered from that “strange officiating” by having a goal called back. 

Never-the-less, in the 44th minute an open Bryan Byrne, who last played for the New England Revolution, headed in a corner for the game winning goal.

Seals keeper Eric Conner seemed to get a hand on the ball to make the stop, but the ball spun into the goal.  Eric Lafon tried desperately to block the ball on the line, but was just a fraction late.

Both teams had their moments in the first half, and the Seals had most of the better opportunities with several free kicks coming at distances of 25, and 30 yards out.  The normally reliable Junior from those distances hit his balls low and into the wall, and the good fortune had in Orange County could not be replicated on this night.

Defender Victor Cortez sat out the entire game with a sore ankle twist suffered at the end of the match Friday night against the Orange County Blue Star.  “I tried to go on it during warm-up” said Cortez before the game, “but it was just too painful.” 

The Fusion got the ball to start the second half, and came out with determination, putting immediate pressure on the Seals midfield and defense.  They wanted a second goal, and it was obvious they were not going to be content with a one goal lead against the undefeated Seals.  It was well known that the Seals had come from behind in several wins this season to win or draw.

The defense, under heavy pressure, managed to turn most every drive away without a shot from the Fusion.  But their initial drive resulted in a corner, and a feeling of déjà vu came over the Seals fans in the park (yes, there were around 20 of them there!).  Nothing came of the corner, as the Seals managed to clear the ball.

At various times the Seals looked like they would break it open, as Forward Kellan Wilson, outside midfielder Anthony Grillo, and later, Stephen Cordova who came in late, all had good chances at the goal.  Several shots went wide, one hit the cross bar, one was saved by the Fusion Keeper.

At the other end of the field Eric Conner made one spectacular save as he went high to punch a ball from the left side up just enough to redirect it off the crossbar.  The Fusion later hit the crossbar again.

“We’re not happy about a loss,” said Shani Simpson after the game, “but when you travel and have a double over a weekend like this you want to have no worse than a split, and that’s what we got.”

Elsewhere this weekend the LA Legends (in second place) got a draw against The Southern California Seahorses, and the San Jose Frogs also got a draw against the Fresno Fuego.  While the Seals are still on top of the conference after playing seven games, the Legends have only played five, and the Frogs have six matches under their belt.  Only the Seals and Fuego have played seven at this stage in the Season.

The Seals next match is a home game on Saturday, June 14th, starting at 2:00 pm, the game will be held at USF Negoesco stadium against the San Fernando Valley Quakes.  On Sunday, June 15th the Seals will host the Seahorses at Negoesco stadium, also with a 2:00 pm start time.

Hope to see you there!

Game Recap . . .

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