San Antonio FC dominated its first round match of the U.S. Open Cup, beating the Aria Sports Club New Stars 6-0 March 18 at Toyota Field.
“Goal! San Antonio FC!” rang out again and again, as the red and black relentlessly attacked and tied a club record for second-most goals scored in a game.
In the 15th minute, defender Alexis Souahy began the onslaught with a goal off a corner, assisted by defender Nelson Flores Blanco.
“I knew the ball was coming back post, so I was just hanging, waiting for the goal to come,” Souahy said about his first goal of the season.
The midfield got in on the action in the 37th minute, when Luke Haakenson set up Curt Calov for a right-footed blast from outside the box to the top right corner. SAFC led 2-0 at the half.
An overachieving ASC threatened early in the second half to make it a match. Jovany Macias’ penalty kick in the 51st minute was saved by SAFC goalkeeper Richard Sanchez, who kept a clean sheet.
“2-0 wasn’t enough,” head coach Carlos Llamosa said. “Fortunate(ly) for us, Richard did well, I think, stopping that PK (penalty kick), and that gave us a boost to come back and score more goals.”
It would be the last shot on goal for ASC. SAFC then proceeded to score four goals in 14 minutes.
Forward Christian Sorto converted a penalty kick in the 59th minute, followed by a rocket from the center of the box by midfielder Dmitrii Erofeev in the 64th minute. Erofeev then assisted Sorto on his second goal in the 68th minute.
“It was a great ball by ‘Dima’ (Erofeev), I got it in my stride, and I was able to go at the defensive line and hit the target,” Sorto said about the second of his two goals in the match.
The rout was capped by forward EJ Johnson’s point-blank finish in the 73rd minute.
The Houston-based amateur club, ASC, mounted a valiant effort. The New Stars defended relatively well in the first half. Goalkeeper Emmanuel Frias made 10 saves. The club was, however, simply outclassed by SAFC. The red and black fired off 16 shots on goal and maintained possession for two-thirds of the match.
“We’re a pretty good team, so to come here and compete the way they did in the first half – respect. We have to respect every team we play against,” Sorto said.
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is a pro-am tournament that includes clubs from all professional American leagues as well as amateur clubs. With its victory in the first round, SAFC has drawn FC Tulsa in the second round. It will be a rematch of two clubs that battled to a scoreless draw in regular season play on March 14. The match will be at Toyota Field on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.