The San Francisco Seals suffered a tough 1-0 loss at home to the Bakersfield Brigade on another beautiful afternoon for soccer at Negoesco Stadium.

The teams played to a scoreless draw in the first half with the Seals outshooting the Brigade 6 to 5.  The Seals  best scoring chance came midway through the half when Luke Sassano latched onto a cross on the right wing and unleashed a shot from 20 yards, forcing Brigade keeper Vincent Licciardi into a diving save.

The Seals had the better of play in the second half.  In the 66th minute a great individual effort by Seals captain, Shani Simpson resulted in a Seals corner kick.  Sassano met the ensuing corner with a bicycle kick that sent the ball across the goal mouth where John Colan flicked it on goal only to have his shot bounce off the crossbar.

However, Bakersfield launched a counterattack in the 76th minute, catching the Seals defense off guard.  Moi Gomez of the Brigade sent in a shot from 40 yards out which Seals keeper Stephan Frei judged to be going out for a goal kick. It turned out that Frei's read on the shot was incorrect as the ball snuck inside the left post and into his net.  It would turn out to be the Brigade's only shot on goal for the half, but it was enough on this day to provide them with the road victory.

On a day when the Seals honored the greatest striker in team history, Marquis White, they could have used his scoring prowess on the field.  Despite outshooting the Brigade 13 to 6, the Seals were unable to finish their chances and fell to their third defeat of the season.  The Seals remain in second place in the Southwest Division, five points adrift of the leading SoCal Seahorses. 

The Seals head on the road for their next three matches down in Southern California over the next two weekends.  They will return to Negoesco Stadium on July 9th to face the Orange County Blue Star in what figures to be an important match in the playoff race.  Kickoff time is scheduled for 4:00pm.

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