Kraze Cap Off Perfect Weekend...
The Central Florida Kraze (8-1-0/24 Points) capped off a perfect weekend when they defeated the visiting Palm Beach Pumas by a 5 - 0 scoreline on a rainy Sunday evening. Coming after a thrilling win the night before, the Kraze did not disappoint and dominated the match from the opening whistle. Goalkeepers Andrew Calise & Devala Gorrick combined for the shutout, the second in as many nights, as the defense played well at every position. The scoring was as follows:
Goal: Tanner Wolfe (Mattson) 33rd minute
Goal: Tanner Wolfe (Mattson) 41st minute
Goal: Carlos "Junior" Araujo (Levry) 49th minute
Goal: Akil DeFreitas (Thelen) 87th minute
Goal: Jonathan Mendoza (DeFreitas) 88th minute
On Saturday, the Central Florida Kraze (9-1-1/28 Points) almost snatched another victory on the road. Unlike the night before, the Kraze were unable to hang on for the win and tied the Carolina Dynamo (6-3-2/20 Points) by a 3 - 3 scoreline. The Dynamo started the scoring in the 19th minute of play when the Kraze defense could not clear the ball from the box. The Kraze countered quickly and tied the score less then two minutes later when Carlos "Junior" Araujo received a ball from Anthony Santiago and put it into the corner of the Dynamo goal. The Kraze would then jump on top 2 - 1 when "Junior" blasted a ball past the Dynamo goalkeeper of an assist from Mike Mattson. The Dynamo would respond and tied the game in the 37th minute for a 2 - 2 halftime score. The second half provided fewer attacks from both squads as each defense clamped down and the match became more physical. In the 87th minute Akil Defreitas scored what looked to be the game winner when he hammered the ball home for a 3 - 2 lead for the Kraze. However, the referee added five minutes of stoppage time and the Dynamo pressured throughout and unfortunately the Kraze conceded an unlucky own goal with thirty seconds left in the match for the 3 - 3 tie.
On Friday, the Central Florida Kraze (9-1-0/27 Points) faced a very talented Cary Railhawks U23’s (3-5-2/11 Points) in North Carolina and came away with a thrilling 3 - 2 victory. The Railhwaks dominated play for the first half and the lone bright spot for the Kraze was a thirty yard blast by Tanner Wolfe. Down 2 - 1 at halftime, the boys rallied together, dug deep, and came out with passion. The Kraze were able to tie the score when Carlos "Junior" Araujo slipped a ball into the Cary net after a scramble inside the box. The Kraze continued to pressure, and with a few fresh legs on the field, capitalized when Dennis Chin followed up a shot by Omando McLeod for the go-ahead goal. The Railhawks pushed forward, and after an injury stoppage to attend to Kraze goalkeeper Devala Gorrick, they were looking for the tying goal with a continous attack into the Kraze box. However, the Kraze were able to hold on and win a very big game for the franchise and remain atop the PDL Southeast Division.
