NASL: Jacksonville Armada win Home Opener 2-1
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – For Jacksonville Armada head coach Tony Meola and his team, Friday night could not have gone any better in the North American Soccer League (NASL) home opener at Community First Park at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. A crowd of 5,112 watched a 2-1 win over expansion rival Miami FC. The teams combined for five yellow cards and 28 fouls in a battle that had fans on the edge of their seats until the final whistle sounded. “(Our fans) are great here,” Meola said. “They were loud tonight as always. I think that will continue to grow as we get through to the summer. Hopefully we get some more wins and we build something here. They really helped us tonight.” The Armada found the back of the net first in the 2 0th minute when Midfielder Junior Sandoval blasted a rocket from the top right corner of the box that Miami FC goalkeeper Daniel Vega swiped at but could not make contact. Earlier a Mechack Jerome free kick barely missed the goal...