LAKE WALES, Fla – The Warner University Royals defeat the Webber International Warriors 2-1 tonight in an epic battle for the Crooked Lake Cup. Tonight's game saw a lot of high powered offense from both sides and once again proved to be a battle; after the game Royals Head Coach Drew Stacey stated, "The Crooked Lake Cup, it's a Darby, it's always intense…one of the best things about the evolution of this game, since I've been here, is that both teams are playing now" One thing is for sure, both teams did play hard tonight and thanks to a rebound goal in the 2^nd half the Royals were able to walk away victorious.
 
Both the Warriors and the Royals are known for strong offense and defense and tonight it was a battle of the defenses in the first half. The Warriors surged out the gate putting early pressure on the Royals and capturing an early goal to take a 1-0. But the Royals soon followed up with a goal of their own, off a penalty kick from freshman Matheus Santiago, his 5^th goal of the year, evening things up 1-1. Neither offense was able to get much a flow going in the rest of the half, as the defenses stepped up and the first half came to an end with the score tied 1-1.
 
The Royals surged out the gate in the 2^nd half, applying pressure early and took the lead 2-1 in the 50^th minute off a goal from yet another freshman, Dawson Johnson, his 1^st goal of the year. The Royals switched goalies at halftime and brought in #45 Angelo Neto to do the dirty work in the 2^nd half. Backed by the strong Royal defense, Neto was able to keep the Warriors from finding the back of the net again and helped the Royals en route to their 6^th victory of the year, bringing the Royals record up to an outstanding 6-1.
 
The men will celebrate their victory tonight and into tomorrow but will have a quick turnaround as they play Florida Memorial University this upcoming Wednesday September 19 at 7 PM at Royals Field!