The San Francisco Deltas defeated North Carolina FC 1-0 in the NASL Championship semifinal. Here are three things we learned:

1) Tyler Gibson receives the recognition he deserves

In the first game of the fall season, the Deltas appeared to suffer a catastrophic injury when defensive midfielder Cristian Portilla was lost for the season with an ACL tear.

Portilla had been the glue that held the team together the first half of the year, effectively connecting the defense and the offense. To help fill the void, Tyler Gibson took over the position.

Gibson doesn’t possess the same characteristics as Portilla, but he fit in perfectly to the team’s 3-5-2 formation. With a tireless motor and the ability to snuff out attacks his efficient work rate often goes under the radar.

On Sunday night a soft North Carolina clearance ended up at the top of the box. Gibson ran onto the ball at an angle and turned to fire his shot tucked inside the right goalpost. His goal and celebration were worthy of a playoff match. It was also the first time he had scored all season.

“It’s a dream come true.”@Tyler10Gibson scored his first @sfdeltas goal at an opportune time to send his club to #TheChampionship Final. pic.twitter.com/aCyct9NMiR — NASL (@naslofficial) November 7, 2017

“I’ve been tying all season, and finally this one fell for me,” Gibson said after the game. “It was a nice relief and a great game to do it in.”

Humble words from a player that has been one of the most essential pieces for the Deltas in the second half.

2) The Deltas shut down North Carolina defensively

From day one coach Marc Dos Santos stressed the importance of San Francisco being organized defensively. “We want to be a team that is very compact, a team that is very aggressive without the ball,” he told the SFGate last year.

San Francisco smothered North Carolina from the start of the semifinal match never giving them a moment of freedom. Dos Santos started a midfield consisting of Maxim Tissot, Greg Jordan, Michael Stephens, Jackson, and Tyler Gibson who can all cover a ton of ground. The Deltas intercepted 24 passes compared to North Carolina’s 13 and held the majority of the possession for the game (53% to 47%).

The most telling statistic was NCFC was only able to attempt three shots all game and none on target.

The Deltas will need another similar performance next week against the Cosmos to claim the NASL title.

3) Only fitting that the Deltas have to defeat the Cosmos to win the NASL Championship

For most of the season, it was San Francisco and Miami battling for the top spot in the standings. It seemed destined that the final would end up being between the two sides, but the Cosmos decided to spoil the party.

New York has won three of the past four NASL titles and will be confident coming into Kezar Stadium.

For San Francisco to finish a dream season, it’s fitting that they have to defeat the defending champions to do so.

The NASL Championship game will be Sunday, Nov. 12th, at 5 pm. All tickets are five dollars and are available here.