Sharks late comeback falls short in inaugural game
by Jason Lucas
October 26, 2007 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Orlando Sharks
The Orlando Sharks had a rough first outing on Friday night against the New Jersey Ironmen. In their inaugural home game the Sharks fell to the Ironmen 7-4 in front of a small but spirited crowd at Amway Arena.
Orlando trailed the Sharks 7-0 after three quarters, and Goalie Paul Nagy gave his all to keep the Sharks in the game. In the end, New Jersey Goalie Tony Meola's stellar play was too much for the Sharks to overcome. Meola had five key saves in the last two minutes on three-point shots to preserve the victory for the Ironmen.
Orlando's J.P. Rodriguez scored the first goal in franchise history at 14:42 of the fourth quarter. That goal was quickly followed by Marcelo Santos' tally at 12:50 bringing Orlando within three points at 7-4.
The overall experience in the Amway Arena was pretty good. For the most part the fans seemed to be in the game. In the latter stages of the contest fans were doing a "Fins" motion with their hands ala Jimmy Buffett to get behind the Sharks. Other fans were doing a "shark chomp" similar to the chomp of the Florida Gators.
There is no doubt in my mind that with some strategic marketing efforts and hard work that the Sharks can draw much bigger crowds than they did this evening. For someone who is used to big crowds of 15,000-plus for Orlando Predators games in Amway Arena it was a much different experience seeing nearly 2,000 fans in the arena.
Orlando's roster is filled with talented local players from Orlando, Oviedo, Miami, Lutz, Coral Springs, and Winter Park. With its local flavor the team should have no problem marketing itself to the local youth soccer leagues in Orlando to get more exposure and fan support.
The media experience was actually something the Preds should look into. Boxes upon boxes of pizza welcomed us into the media room and we all actually had seats on media row. Both Public Relations directors for the Sharks hung out on media row with us and were very accommodating to answer questions quickly.
All in all it was a promising first experience for the new Orlando Sharks who are breaking into an Orlando market known for it's support of minor league sports.
The Sharks next home game is Friday November 3rd at 7:35 p.m. in the Amway Arena. Tickets start at just $16 and all seats are in the lower level of the arena.
Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from October 26, 2007
- Sharks late comeback falls short in inaugural game - OSC Original by Jason Lucas
- Ignition Inks Two New Players For Upcoming Season - Detroit Ignition
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
