Rain or shine, the show must go on.
With Tropical Storm Colin making its presence felt throughout the Central Florida region, rain was not going to prevent a soccer match from being played on Monday night at Camping World Stadium between Panama and Bolivia.
Some rain was not going to stop the announced crowd of 13,466 fans from showing up to the game to come watch their respective country play soccer on the world stage by cheering them on and supporting them regardless of weather conditions. Although it was a small crowd — likely less than the announced crowd — they brought the noise and energy all night resembling a much larger crowd. Kudos to them.
Panama and Bolivia are thought of as the underdogs in their Group D, that has world soccer powers Argentina and Chile as the group favorites. If Panama or Bolivia wanted any chance of advancing out of their group, one of them had to make a statement with a win Monday in their opener.
It was a historic night for Panama. In their first ever Copa America match, they did not disappoint their loyal fans who, like their players, fought through the weather conditions to witness and achieve history on a wet and wild Monday night.
Panamanian superstar and leader Blas Perez put the team on his back and scored both goals for his country in a 2-1 win over Bolivia, scoring the game-winner just three minutes before full time.
His first goal was scored in the 11th minute of play, when he received a beautiful cross from teammate and fellow MLSer Roberto Quintero, who plays for the San Jose Earthquakes.
Perez, who plays for the Vancouver Whitecaps of the MLS, accomplished two feats with one kick. He scored the first Copa America goal in Panama’s history, and became the first MLS player to score a goal in the Copa America tournament.
After Panama took a 1-0 lead into halftime, the rain came down on the field in the second half, which had an impact on both teams level of play. Bolivia answered back in the 54th minute, Juan Carlos Arce scored on a rebound off a free kick to tie the score at 1-1 all.
With the game going into the final minutes still tied, Perez came up huge again by scoring the game-winning goal in the 87th minute into an empty net to accomplish history for his native country.
What is crazy is that Panama almost did not even make the Copa America Centenario. Tonight’s historic match would not have even happened had Panama not beaten Cuba before the tournament to get this amazing opportunity. Now Panama sits in the driver’s seat heading into games against Argentina and Chile to advance.
Both teams played with a lot of passion and determination, in what was a sloppy game. The weather did not really play a factor until the second half when it was pouring most of the time. That intense effort from both sides resulted in numerous fouls and yellow cards on both sides with Panama having 21 fouls with five yellows, while Bolivia had 22 fouls and two yellows.
With that being said, each side had their scoring chances with Panama having a total of 15 shots and Bolivia having 12 shots. It was an up-and-down affair with plenty of counterattacking and opportunities on net. Especially as the game got sloppier with the elements.
Panama, the higher ranked team in the FIFA World Rankings, clearly had the front foot keeping pressure on the Bolivian defense, but they were susceptible to turnovers themselves. It was still enough to make history though. Panama became the first ever non-Conmebol team to win at their debut in the Copa America.
The Panamanian fans are now acting like Panamaniacs, after Monday’s entertaining soccer match. It is well deserved.
Dr. Phillips quarterback commits to UCF
By Philip Rossman-Reich
UCF picked up a big commitment for the team’s 2017 class.
Dr. Phillips quarterback Marvin Washington announced his commitment to the hometown Knights on Monday after he picked up a scholarship this weekend following a UCF 7-on-7 camp.
BEYOND BLESSED ? to be committed to ?The University Central Of Florida ? @OS_Recruiting @Coach_Verdu @coach_frost ? pic.twitter.com/wYbQO2yGfm
— Marvin Washington (@_Marvv10) June 6, 2016
Washington will join former teammate Jaquarius Bargnare, a late commitment to UCF from Dr. Phillips entering the school this year.
“I always liked UCF,” Washington told Brandon Helwig of UCFSports.com on Saturday. “I like how UCF is close to home and the offense they run is my offense. It’s a new coaching staff. It’s like a new beginning I want to be a part of.”
Washington was attracted to UCF by its proximity to home and the new offense. He is a multi-faceted quarterback that would fit the spread option offense Scott Frost is bringing. Washington is a three-star quarterback, according to 247Sports.
Orlando Predators’ win a true unicorn
By Philip Rossman-Reich
The Orlando Predators defeated the L.A. KISS on a safety after the ball flew over the head of the holder and into the back of the end zone on the final play of the game. It was a crucial mistake that cost them the game and allowed the Predators to escape.
It was an incredibly rare event in the offensive-minded Arena Football League.
According to ArenaFan.com, it was the first time a game had been determined on a safety since 2002:
Prior to @ORLPredators last night, the last time an @AFLarenaball game ended on a safety was July 13, 2002 (NJ over Tor).
— ArenaFan.com (@ArenaFan) June 7, 2016
The Predators also scored only three offensive touchdowns — Brandon Thompkins returned two kicks for a touchdown — becoming the third team to score with such few touchdowns since 2015:
Since the start of the 2015 @AFLarenaball season, there have only been 3 teams win a game scoring 4 OFF TDs. @ORLPredators became 3rd on Sun
— Adam Markowitz (@AFLGuru) June 6, 2016
It was quite an odd win for the Predators.
