The Jammers began play on Sunday (Dec 27th) against NASA 12 Premier (GA). The Jammers held a 1-0 lead at the half on a goal by Bobby Kroma. The Jammers finished with a 4-0 victory on goals added by Garrett VanNutt, Noah DeAngelo and Cole Manring.
On Monday (Dec 28th), the Jammers defeated Fusion Futbol Club of Tampa (FL) 1-0 via a first half goal by Christian Holden. The Jammers controlled the majority of this match, but were unable to add to the margin of victory. Brad Davis and the defense held strong in the back and preserved the victory.
On Tuesday(Dec 29th) afternoon, the Jammers faced off with West Pines United Black (FL) who was undefeated in pool play and ranked in the top five in the state of Florida. The winner would earn a better seed in the playoffs. West Pines took a 2-0 lead into halftime, which was assisted with the lackluster play of the Jammers. The Jammers changed to three forwards to start the second half and applied pressure on West Pines for the duration of the half. The Jammers closed the deficit to 2-1 on a goal by Garrett VanNutt with about fifteen minutes remaining. Brad Davis kept the Jammers lifeline when he made a save on a one-on-one breakaway, as he took the ball off of the foot of the West Pines’ forward with about ten minutes to play. The Jammers thought that the tying goal was scored with about five minutes to play, but it was called back by the referee; this would be a continuing occurrence for the Jammers. The Jammers fell 2-1 and would enter into the Quarterfinals as a wildcard.
Later on Tuesday night, the Jammers played another top 5 ranked Florida team in the undefeated Kicks Black (FL) in a quarterfinal match. The Jammers came out strong and took a 2-0 lead ten minutes into the match on goals by Garrett VanNutt and Edgar Rodriguez. The Kicks Black players had chances, but were turned away by Brad Davis a number of times. The Jammers held a 2-0 lead at the half, but the second half would tell a different tale. Kicks Black controlled most of the second half and knocked in three goals in a ten minute span that gave them a 3-2 lead with ten minutes to play. The Jammers once again thought they had tied the match with two minutes remaining, but their goal was once again called back by the referee. Luck was not on the side of the Jammers as they would fall 3-2.
The Jammers had a good showing and played well against two quality teams from Florida. The Jammers hope to build on this performance in their upcoming season.
