LAKE WALES, Fla – Tonight, after a lengthy weather delay, the Warner Royals defeated the Florida Memorial Lions 2-1 in the Royals first conference battle of the year. The conditions on the field were wet and muddy tonight, which made for tough play on both sides; fortunately for Warner, speed on the perimeter and timely passes were able to lead them to victory.
 
After the game Head Coach Drew Stacey stated, "There's something to be said about winning ugly, and that's what we had to do tonight" Coach Stacey elaborated saying that having to sit in the locker room and wait during the delay can have a negative effect on the team as guys start to lose the competitive edge they need to bring to the field to win.
 
The Royals came out in the first half and looked ready to play despite the long delay; the Royals took an early 1-0 lead in the 4^th minute when freshman Matheus Santiago got a header to go off a corner kick from Juan Gazzotti; Santiago's 6^th goal of the year, which leads the team.
The rest of the half was a battle for possession as both defenses toughened up; both teams had 6 shots in the first half and the Royals took the 1-0 into halftime.
 
The Royals wasted no time scoring to open the second as Junior Daniel Rodriguez was able to knock in his 4^th goal of the season in the 54^th minute off a nice pass into the box from #3 Kenolson Collin. Collin received a nice up ball from #11 Matheus Santiago to start the break away.
 
The Lions were able to knock in a goal of their own in the 63^rd minute to bring the score to 2-1. The reminder of the half the Royals stiffened up on defense and did not allow another goal, leading the team to their 8^th victory of the season. This is the Royals 2^nd conference win, as they received a conference win off a SCAD forfeit late last week.

Royals Goalie #45 Angelo Neto had another big night tonight as he notched 7 more saves and grabbed his 5^th win on the year as goalie.
 
After the game Coach Stacey had this to say about his defense, "Tonight was big for the defense because we didn't have Ralph…Adad had to step in as a sophomore and take care of business and he did." The Royals were without their defense Captain Ralph Francios tonight and do not know when he will return.
 
The Men might have a played a "pretty game" according their coach but a win is a win and the Royals now have 8 on the year and lead are sitting at #1 in the Sun Conference.

The Royals next match will be this Saturday September 22 at 7PM at Royals Field where they will take on conference opponent, pre-season #12, St. Thomas University.