With the contribution of Union Amaya and Fontana Legacy coaches, UA got a solid 1-0 win over Fontana in SoCal Premier play.
Pre-game
Familiar foes from Fontana and having an informal partnership, UA and Legacy meet each other for the first time this season. Both sides placed at the bottom of the SoCal Premier IE division, with UA placing 7th with no wins in their three games, while Fontana placed 6th, playing four with one win and three losses. That only win for Fontana was on September 24th against IEFC with a 2-1 scoreline.
Game Recap
On a hot Sunday afternoon, both sides were set to take the field with a notable player on the field for Union Amaya. Their head coach, Pedro Lamounier, wore the gloves to be their keeper.
This staffing decision may be due to coach Pedro’s plan of placing his first team squads in the newly formed ASL and the SoCal Premier. Nonetheless, the game kicks off.
The beginning was a back-and-forth feel for each other, with UA having more confidence in their movement and passing. Their plan of attack was lob passes to the left side for that winger to chase the bouncing ball.
Fontana in reponse was lenieit in defensive pressure. Being the opposite of UA’s confidence, their GK in the 18th had a slip-up in an apparent easy bouncy ball, but the scramble ended in an off-target shot for UA.
After the brief water break in the 20′, the boys in yellow continued with the game plan but had offside calls against them. Fontana had moments of turning it around but struggled to transition the forced turned-over to a counterattack.
Around the 30′, Fontana found some chances on the right side with low overlapping passes, with one chance in the 35′ from a 1v1 with a UA goalkeeper out of the box. That shot goes right and bumps the post, but the Fontana player was slow to finish.
Amaya would get a chance of their own in the 38′ with a bouncy punt by coach Pedro that ends up with a Fontana defender attempting to head pass to his keeper but goes over him, and the loose ball goes right to the post and out, nearly an own goal. Oddly, the half ended at 40 minutes, to everyone’s confusion.
The second half kicks off with another notable substitution; coach Angel of Fontana Legacy geared up and placed in midfield.
With both coaches playing, UA applied the offensive pressure while Fontana struggled to adjust. Yet in the 52′, they got a free kick, and that service ended in a shot that hit the right post and out. UA then would get a free kick of their own shortly after from 24 yards out, and Gregory Parada’s shot curves to the right lower corner pocket of the net for a UA goal.
The game’s tempo slowed and was back and forth from both sides. UA and Fontana regrouped, and now both teams played riskier passes and upped their intensity to make pass plays. This tug of war between them mostly stayed in the midfield.
The remainder of the game saw both sides have some chances to change the game, but eventually, the final whistle blew for Union Amaya to keep the 1-0 win.
Postgame
Union Amaya would get their first win of the SoCal Premier season, yet still placed last in the division because the GD is insufficient to surpass Fontana. So, this result doesn’t make any changes to the standings. Fontana’s next matchup is Sunday at Ralph Lewis Sports Complex vs 2nd place La Familia, and Union Amaya will travel Saturday to face 4th place Southwest FC in Temecula.