Armada FC U-23 Take 3-2 Victory over New Orleans

Recap by Louis Llerandi

The Jacksonville Armada U-23 hosted the New Orleans Jesters at Jangro Stadium on an overcast Wednesday night. This marked their sixth home match of the NPSL season in the Gulf Coast Conference and their 12th in total.

From when the referee blew his whistle for the start of the game, the Armada were on the attack looking for a goal as the rain started to come down.

Section 904 did not have to wait to celebrate because in the 8th minute Alex Ierides dished a ball to Cao Chaves, who blasted a shot into the back of the net, putting the Armada up 1-0.

With the momentum in Jacksonville’s favor, in the 9th minute, the match was delayed for thirty minutes due to lightning in the area.

Both teams came back on to the field from their locker rooms fired up and ready to resume play.

Then in the 27th minute, Jose Manzo played a ball through the middle of New Orleans’ defense to Alex Ierides, who outpaced the opposition center back and slotted home the Armada’s second goal of the match.

As the sun began to set on the St. John’s River, the Jacksonville Armada U-23 went into halftime 2-0 up against the New Orleans Jesters.

The Jesters came out of the half on the attack, and in the 48th minute scored their first goal of the game off of a header from a corner. New Orleans was not finished scoring yet, because in the 67th minute they secured their second goal to tie the game up at 2-2.

Only two minutes after New Orleans’ equalizer, in the 69th minute, Nico Ladiera responded by blasting a shot from thirty yards out that skipped by the keeper for his first goal of the season.

In the 77th minute, with the Armada winning 3-2, Eduardo Coimbra passed a ball through to Reed Davis who slotted home a goal. Unfortunately due to a blown fuse, the stadium lights shut off simultaneously as the shot was being taken. In turn, the goal was disallowed and play resumed after a brief pause.

New Orleans Jesters’ final chance of the game came in stoppage time, when a player rifled a shot off of the crossbar before the referee called for full time.

The Jacksonville Armada U-23 defeated the New Orleans Jesters 3-2, picking up their sixth victory in a row. The Armada outright secured 1st place over the Gulf Coast Conference with their win and guaranteed home games going into the playoffs.

Saturday, July 3, AFC Mobile will make the trek to Duval County and take on the Jacksonville Armada in their final regular season home match. The game will be open to fans and you are able to register for free tickets HERE.