Scorpions and RailHawks Play to a Wild 3-3 Draw

Published on September 10, 2015 under North American Soccer League (NASL)
San Antonio Scorpions News Release


SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Wednesday, September 9, 2015) - The San Antonio Scorpions and Carolina RailHawks battled to an action-packed 3-3 draw in a physical midweek matchup that was littered with cards, penalties, and ejections. Scoring for the Scorpions were Rafael Castillo, with his fifth goal of the season, and Marvin Chávez with a brace. Chávez now has three goals for the Scorpions this year with each of them scored at Toyota Field.

Both team captains were spectators by midway through the second half. Adrian Cann went out in the 19' off a straight red after referee Daniel Radford determined Cann was preventing a goal scoring opportunity as the last man when he fouled a Carolina player in the box and awarded a RailHawks penalty kick. Carolina defender Connor Tobin received a yellow card early in the match for a hard tackle on Omar Cummings, and his second yellow in the 54' for a play in the box that resulted in a penalty kick and the equalizer at 2-2 for San Antonio.

The Scorpions went down early in the first half after two quick goals by the RailHawks. The scoring began in the 18' when forward Nacho Novo took a perfectly placed pass into the box. Brad Rusin was caught out of position and was forced to take him down from behind in the box.

The play resulted in a penalty kick for Carolina, which was initially punched out by goalkeeper Daniel Fernandes, but the rebound dropped to the feet of Novo and he buried it in the empty space in the left corner.

Four minutes later, Carolina capitalized on their man-up advantage to go up 2-0. Midfielder Tiyi Shipalane collected a ball from 25 yards away and rocketed a shot into the upper left-hand corner of the goal that a diving Fernandes was unable to reach.

The Scorpions were able to get on the board in the 28'. César Elizondo took an initial shot from the top of the box that ricocheted off of a Carolina defender, but Chávez then snagged the rebound, turned, and found the far post for his first goal to make the score 1-2.

In the 43', double yellows were issued as things got chippy at the end line by the Scorpions' goal. Nana Attakora and Carolina midfielder Nazmi Albadawi exchanged pushes before both were taken aside and each was shown a card.

Things picked up for the Scorpions offensively in the opening minutes of the second half. Despite being down a man, San Antonio earned an early penalty when Elizondo was taken down in the box. In the 48th minute, Castillo stepped up to take the shot, but Fitzgerald guessed correctly to his left and blocked the penalty kick.

The Scorpions had a flurry of shots on goal in the next six minutes and finally capitalized in the 54'. Carolina's captain Tobin was defending an empty net and illegally prevented the ball from going in with his hand, which led to his ejection from the game. The play also set up the Scorpions second penalty kick opportunity of the game and the cool Castillo would not be denied a second time. He stepped up to the spot and buried his attempt to the right side of the goal, giving the Scorpions the 2-2 equalizer.

In the ensuing 10-v-10 battle, the Scorpions found the back of the net once again in the 65'. Chávez stole the ball at midfield, dribbled it in, and unloaded from 22 yards away. His blazing shot from distance caught both the Carolina 'keeper and defense off guard and gave the Scorpions the lead at 3-2.

The Alamo City boys looked to have the momentum in the closing minutes, but an untimely own goal evened the match at 3-3. Five players were packed on the goal line, including three Scorpions defenders. The RailHawks sent in a cross from the right side and the ball caromed unluckily off the foot of Nana Attakora and past Fernandes.

Both teams had opportunities to steal the three points late in the game, but the best chance came from second half sub Guiseppe Gentile's shot from 18 yards that sailed high over the crossbar in the 86'. In the final minute of the game, frustration began to boil over as three more yellow cards were shown to bring the match total to eleven yellow cards and two red cards.

The Scorpions finish up this three-game home stand when they face Indy Eleven Saturday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m.

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North American Soccer League Stories from September 10, 2015


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