Well both sides were ready since this was the third meeting between the two teams in the championship match with Maidstone winning the previous two. Tortorella come out strong from the start to press Maidstone. Maidstone had Diego Marles as forward but Tortorella was guarding him well. Maidstone was able to score early when Rodolfo Marin of Tortorella had the ball near the goalie box but mistakenly passed it off to Diego Marles. Marles quickly passed it off to Gehider Garcia inside the goalie box. Garcia than passed the ball back to Marles who at the time was at the top of the goalie box. Marles let the ball go between his legs as Marin was guarding him. Marles hitting the ball with his left leg from about 13 yards put the ball just under the cross bar to give Maidstone the lead.

Tortorella did not give up but was playing harder. On one play, Eddie Lopez had the ball near the top of the Maidstone goalie box and passed it to the side where Gary Easlick was, Easlick fired the ball but it hit the outside near goal post for a miss. Minutes later, Tortorella could have scored when Marin was dribbling down the right side of the field and hit the ball to the far side goal post. Running toward the ball was Easlick. Easlick headed the ball into the far goal post and just watched with disbelief as the ball bounced back into the play. A great chance to score but a miss. During the first half, Tortorella had the better chances.

On one play, John Romero was given a yellow card but for some reason the referee did not remove Romero from the match as the rules state. After some yelling to the referee, Romero was removed from the match for two minutes. What would have happened if Maidstone scored during this infraction? Better not ask. The goal would have to be called back.

Early in the half, a call was made to turn the lights on. The dispatcher stated that they did not have our permit on file for them to turn the lights on. League stated we did since they have been doing it each Wednesday night. The police were called to check our permit since it was brought to the match just in case this type of situation occurred. Well the police checked our permit and determined it was valid so in the end the lights came on without anyone knowing what was going on behind the scene.

Tortorella being one goal down was still in the match. Maidstone came out strong at start of the second half. Maidstone took shots but they were off target. The Tortorella defense was playing well by marking Maidstone which prevented them from any good shots on the net. Tortorella had another chance to score when Steven Orrego passed the ball to Marin near the side line. Marin chest trapped the ball and hit it in mid air toward the Maidstone goal. Alex Mesa, Maidstone keeper, came out to block the header that Eddie Lopez was about to do. The ball bounced off Lopez and headed toward the far side goal post. Standing there was Easlick. Easlick about 2 yards from the goal and waiting. The ball hit the ground and went between the legs of Easlick to the side. As missed chance to score at such a close range.

Time was running out, Lopez of Tortorella could have scored to tie the match but Mesa of Maidstone made a great diving save. Lopez from about 30 yards hit the ball toward the Maidstone goal. As the ball approached the goal and about to enter just under the cross bar, Mesa jumps up and with one hand pushes the ball over the cross to save the day.

Maidstone second goal was scored on a fast break. Marles had the ball and was able to fake out Tortorella defender Andres Arango near the goal box. As Marles approached the goal, Duvan Castro, Tortorella keeper, came out to block the shot. Marles faked the shot which caused Castro to fall to the ground. Marles went by Castro and fired the ball with his left foot into the near goal post from about 2 yards out. The ball bounced off the post and went to the far side where Luis Correa, was along, pushed the ball into the net from about 2 yards out to give the championship match to Maidstone.

Later on, Luis Vas of Tortorella was given a yellow card. Vas did not agree with the call and even asked the referee to give him a red card. Well the referee agreed and gave Vas his red card that he wanted. Vas will sit out the first matches of the fall season.

With this win, Maidstone Market has won the championship match six times in a row. A great outcome.

Maidstone Market

Points		Name	Goals	Assists
+3.0		Barrera, Luis
+4.0		Correa, Luis	1
+4.0		Garcia, Gehider		1
+5.0		Garcia, Leonardo
+3.0		Gonzales, Andy
+6.0		Lopez, Christian
+11.0		Marles, Diego	1	1
+6.0		Mesa, Ivan
+3.0		Quiceno, Roger
+3.0		Padilla, Antonio
+2.0		Romero, John
+5.0		Veliz, Darrin
Result		Goalies	Goals	Saves
Shutout		Mesa, Ivan	0	7

Tortorella Pools

Points		Name	Goals	Assists
+0.0		Arango, Andres
+0.0		Castro, Duvan
+0.0		Czeladko, Leslie
+1.0		Easlick, Gary
+1.0		Lopez, Eddie
+0.0		Marin, Rodolfo
+0.0		Munoz, Christian
+1.0		Orrego, Stiven
+1.0		Vas, Luis
Result		Goalies	Goals	Saves
Lost		Castro, Duvan	2	7