Florida Sports Wires

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...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The long wait for the North American Soccer League regular season to return to Jacksonville will end at 7 p.m. tonight when the Jacksonville Armada hosts expansion side Miami FC at Community First Park in a Coastal Cup battle. Jacksonville is coming off a tough 2-0 season-opening loss at the NASL defending champions New York Cosmos last Sunday despite looking like the better squad in the first 29 minutes.  A Jairo Arrietta goal off a Juan Arango assist turned the tide, however, in the 29th minute to give the home side momentum. The Cosmos went on to add an extra cushion in the 55th minute when midfielder Adam Moffat found the back of the net. The Armada was not able to capitalize on its 10-0 advantage in corner kick opportunities and held a 68.2-31.8 percentage advantage in aerial duels. Miami FC has gotten off to a solid start, tallying two straight draws with the most recent result coming the form of a 1-1 knot with in-state foes, the Tampa Bay Row...

NEW YORK --  A standing-room only crowd jammed Miller Stadium on Saturday night when Rayo OKC played its debut match, a scoreless draw against FC Edmonton, as the North American Soccer League (NASL) kicked off its 2016 Spring Season with a slate of four matches. Greek international Georgio Samaras nearly worked some late magic after entering in the 79th minute when he forced Eddies goalkeeper Matt VanOekel to make a point-blank save, and then turn away a shot from the rebound by Richard Menjivar. Rayo OKC dominated possession and scoring opportunities for the game's final hour after Edmonton defender Albert Watson was sent off midway through the first half. The NASL's other expansion club for the Spring Season, Miami FC, converted an early penalty kick, but conceded one in the match's dying minutes that allowed the Fort Lauderdale Strikers to earn a 1-1 draw. The match was the NASL's first on beIN SPORTS, which the league recently partnered with on a national bro...