Mississippi Brilla FC hosted the Bradenton Academics on Friday night in a scorching affair as far as the weather was concerned, but not too many fireworks occurred on the field with the score ending in a 0-0 draw. The scoreless tie leaves Bradenton in first place at 6-1-3 (21 points), while Mississippi remains just behind them in second place at 5-1-3 (18 points).

Mississippi started strong, with two golden chances within the first three minutes by Lucas Paulini and David Lilly. Bradenton returned fire shortly thereafter with three free kicks within 25 yards of Brilla’s net.

The first half ended with the teams nearly even on shots, Brilla with six and Bradenton with five.

Mississippi Head Coach Dave Dixon said, "I thought we did some things really well in the first half, but we missed some chances that came back to haunt us in the end. Bradenton is a very good team, and we needed to put them away early."

Bradenton came out on fire in the second half. They missed several good chances that were either just wide or saved by Josh Pantazelos, Brilla’s goalkeeper.

Both teams wilted in the brutal heat, where the heat index was 105 degrees. Bradenton made five substitutions while Brilla made three, all in the second half. The weather kept the usually large crowd at home also, but 456 fans did brave the heat and were in attendance.

Despite close chances by both teams in the final minutes, the game ended in a draw.

Both teams will have to rebound quickly as Mississippi travels to New Orleans for a Saturday night match against the Jesters. Bradenton has one more day of rest to recover for their Sunday match in Baton Rouge against the Capitals.