RECAP | Fury FC 2, Armada FC 0
Photo Credit: Steve Kingsman
The trademark defense of Ottawa Fury FC was once again in fine form, but Sunday's Fall Season opener at TD Place saw Fury FC find their scoring boots as well. Mason Trafford's first career NASL goal and Tom Heinemann's second of the season powered Ottawa to a 2-0 victory in front of their largest crowd of the season.
With the win, Ottawa extends its league-record shutout streak to 616 minutes, as the club climbs the NASL overall standings to fourth place fourth place and tied on points with Minnesota United, and level with three other teams atop the NASL Fall Season standings.
"To get a win today in front of all those fans in the Fall Season opener and to get a goal, it is a really, really nice feeling," Mason Trafford said about scoring the winner.
Ottawa and Jacksonville traded possession in the midfield in the early stages of the match. After the opening ten minutes, Fury FC found a new gear and started pressing towards the goal with authority in hopes of getting the goalless monkey off their backs early.
And that is exactly what they did, as Ottawa would break the scoring drought in the 13th minute and send the crowd of 6,150 fans into a jubilant roar. Off a corner kick from captain Richie Ryan, forward Andrew Wiedeman's shot hit the post with the rebound falling to Mason Trafford who notched his first ever goal for Fury FC.
Fury FC raised their level of attack throughout the first half, registering three shots on target, and went into the break with a 1-0 lead.
Ottawa remained composed on defense throughout the match and even when the Armada FC looked to have beaten Romuald Peiser, defender Rafael Alves was there. The Brazilian center back made a crucial goal line clearance in the 63rd minute to maintain the Fury FC lead. Alves' defensive play helped preserve Peiser's clean sheet and move his league-leading shutout streak to six straight games.
The shot attempts kept coming for Fury FC in the second half as forwards Paulo Junior and Carl Haworth continued to cause trouble for the Armada FC defense.
In the 86th minute, the bench would also get in on the offensive action as forward Tom Heinemann would score a header off a pass from forward Brandon Poltronieri to seal the win for Fury FC and give Ottawa three massive points to open their fall campaign.
"We had a plan for this game. We kept to the plan," Fury FC head coach Marc Dos Santos said. "At the end of the day, we dealt with this game, now we have to deal with Minnesota."
