Photo: Giovanni Alvarado of the Memphis Americans battles for position, and the ball, in Saturday’s NISL pro indoor soccer game against Central Florida at the Landers Center in Southaven. (Bob Bakken/desotocountynews.com)
The Central Florida Crusaders men needed to rally from two goals down and win 7-6 in overtime to remain undefeated in National Pro Indoor Soccer League play Saturday night at the Landers Center.
The Memphis Americans women scored a late goal to come back themselves and take a 2-1 victory from the Crusader women. It was the first of a back-to-back two-game series in Southaven for the NISL franchises, a series that continues Sunday afternoon, April 16, at 2 p.m.
Central Florida (12-0-0) was trailing the Americans 6-4 before goals from Haroldo Campos Jr. and the tyling tally from Raphael Tobias with 1:23 left sent the game into overtime.
Maycon Franca won the game with his goal in overtime, a score that came with 3:53 remaining.
Memphis took the early lead in the game with first-quarter goals from Corey Adamson and Djordje Djordjevic. Victor Rada tied the game five minutes left in the quarter to get the Crusaders within a goal at 2-1.
Djordjevic scored his second goal of the game for Memphis with 27 seconds left in the quarter for a 3-1 Americans lead.
In the second quarter, Central Florida answered with Raphael Tobias scoring at the three minute mark remaining, and Fernando Galvis netted a goal with 1:32 left before intermission for a 3-3 halftime tie.
Adamson put the Americans back on the scoreboard and back on top at 4-3 in the third quarter with his second goal of the game. The power play goal with 4:35 left in the period would be the only scoring before the start of the final 15 minutes of play.
Tobias put Central Florida into a 4-4 tie at 7:15 remaining, however Rafael Ayala and Maxi Galizzi scored for the Americans and gave Memphis a two-goal lead with 3:26 left in regulaiton.
That set up the late heroics and Franca’s overtime winner.
Tobias finished with a three-goal hat-trick and a four-point night for the Crusaders.
Petr Sliwa made nine saves on 16 shots; Jason Leon stopped 13 shots for the Crusaders.
The Americans’ women survived a defensive struggle on the part of both squads to pick up a 2-1 victory.
Lauren Odino-Draughon found a loose ball in the box and banged it into the net for the game-winning Memphis goal, which came with 8:51 remaining in the game
The Americans were then able to stop any further scoring chances from Central Florida the remainder of the contest.
Sheridan Street opened the scoring for the Crusaders early in the first quarter for a 1-0 lead, but it was Anna Trotter who tied the game with 52 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The score came with a shot from outside the offensive yellow line that eluded Crusader goalkeeper Rachel Neumann for a 1-1 tie.
Neumann made 17 saves in the loss for Central Florida, while Memphis netminder Rachel Hailey continued her strong play with a 7-save performance for the win.
The Americans kept their first-place standing in the women’s division with a 7-3-0 record, while Central Florida dropped to 7-5-0 with the loss.
Here is the Saturday DeSoto County scoreboard:
Prep baseball
Hernando 17, Germantown, Tenn. 0 (3 innings).
Hernando: Scored all 17 runs in the first inning. Preston Johnson (3 runs), Hayden Carlini (3B, 3 hits, 3 IP, 2 Ks), Cade Koczka (3B, HR, 7 RBIs),
Northpoint Christian 8, Munford, Tenn. 5
Northpoint: Sammy Chapman (2 runs, 4 IP, 2 Ks), Connor McKnatt (2 run), Rob Hayes (3 hits, HR, 3 RBIs),
NISL Pro Indoor Soccer
(Men) Central Florida 7, Memphis Americans 6 (overtime)
