The last meeting between the two sides took place on August 29 when goals from forward Fafà Picault and midfielder Mark Anderson gave the Strikers a 2–0 home victory at Lockhart Stadium.

San Antonio came close to breaking the scoring open in the 15th minute when Rafael Castillo sent a free kick into the box that Greg Janicki got his head on, but his effort went wide of the goal.

Six minutes elapsed before the Strikers got another chance to counterattack, but after Darnell King raced down the left side his pass into the box was just out of reach of Mark Anderson and the scorebook remained closed for the time being.

Castillo produced a perfectly executed bicycle kick that flew beyond the reach of Contofalsky and tucked inside the far left post to send the Toyota Field crowd wild.

Fort Lauderdale fought back in the 79th minute when substitute Ramirez got the better of Saunders, finishing off a give-and-go with Anderson with a roofed shot that meant the hosts lived nervously during the closing stages of the match.

San Antonio held on for the final minutes, as Fort Lauderdale threw everything they had at them, to become the fourth different team to hoist the coveted Soccer Bowl trophy in as many years in the NASL's modern era.