Written by Ryan Flynn
Sarasota, FL – As the prospect of rain loomed over Cleland Stadium early in the day, there was doubt as to whether the game between the Sarasota Paradise and Tampa Bay United would even be played. By game time though, the skies had cleared and fans in attendance were treated to a spectacle.
The start of the game featured a flurry of action, as Tampa Bay went on the offensive within two minutes, only to be thwarted by the Sarasota defense. The Paradise had a chance to go up early in the 6th minute when Roman Holt put a deflection into the back of the net, but it was called off, leaving the game scoreless. The game’s first goal came just minutes later when Tampa Bay’s Erikson Sakalosky intercepted a Sarasota pass near midfield and weaved through defenders to put the ball in the back of the net and give Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead. The Paradise would respond in the 20th minute, when Seth Mahlmeister calmly put a penalty past the Tampa Bay keeper to level the game at 1-1.
Tampa Bay would go a man down in the 22nd minute when Tate Johnson was shown a straight red card after a hard foul on Valerio Tatafiore, but would go a goal up when Oliver Blake put one in the net to give Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead in the 27th minute. The score would read this way as the half drew to a close, Sarasota heading into the locker room determined to get even in the second half.
The second half started much like the first, as both teams had opportunities early but couldn’t capitalize. Stellar goalkeeping from Sarasota’s Charlie Farrar and Tampa’s Devin Armstrong meant the score stayed in Tampa’s favor until the 58th minute, when Sarasota’s Felipe Rojas took a shot from 20 yards out that found the net to level the game at 2-2. The Paradise took the lead back two minutes later as Valerio Tatafiore found Seth Mahlmeister who snuck one past Armstrong to make it 3-2, sending the fans into a frenzy. This frenzy was short-lived though, as in the 61st minute, an attempted pass from a Sarasota defender to Farrar somehow found its way into the back of the net, tying the game at three and leaving the Paradise fans in stunned silence. This silence would turn back to jubilation moments later, as a Felipe Rojas free kick found the foot of Matt Sawaged, who put the Paradise back into the lead in the 63rd minute.
The teams weren’t done though, as just three minutes after Sawaged gave Sarasota the lead, a Tampa Bay corner found the head of Lukas Kamrath, who made it 4-4.
The score stayed like this as the minutes ticked by in the second half, Sarasota’s defense shutting down any attempt at a Tampa Bay attack only for their offense to be met with Tampa’s own brick-wall defense on the other side. As the referee blew the whistle to signal the end of the game in the 95th minute, fans stood and applauded as players collapsed from exhaustion on the field, having all been a part of the most thrilling game to date this season.
“I think it was a tough game mentally,” said captain Felipe Rojas. “Credit to Tampa Bay for going a man down and still getting something out of the game.” Coach Mirko Dakovic felt the same way, saying, “It was a difficult match for us. [Having] come off a road trip and playing against a good team that had not played a game in 11 days before coming to us [is tough].”
The result moves the Paradise into second place in the division behind Miami AC, with the two teams scheduled to play one another Sunday.
UP NEXT
The Paradise have another home game this Sunday, June 16 against Miami AC, with the winner moving to the top of the table. Tickets can be purchased at sarasotaparadise.us/june16
