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Scorpions Emphatically Punch Postseason Ticket with a 7-0 Victory over Tampa Bay

October 11, 2014 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
San Antonio Scorpions News Release


The scoring started early in the first half on a sequence when Billy Forbes received a long outlet pass from Rafael Castillo on the Scorpions attacking left. The rookie from Turks and Caicos motored towards the endline, where his attempted cross earned a corner kick for his team. Rafael Castillo hit a left-footed outswinger that was weakly cleared by the Rowdies defense and rolled towards the edge of the Tampa Bay box in the middle of the field. Walter Restrepo ran onto the ball and hit it in full stride, smashing a low, hard shot to the right side of the goal in the 27' that went in so fast Rowdies 'keeper Matt Pickens didn't even have the chance to dive.

The Alamo City boys kept their foot on the pedal for the remainder of the half and were rewarded for their offensive persistence in the 41'. Midfielder Cesar Elizondo was pulled down from behind about 25 yards from the Rowdies goal, earning a yellow card for Tampa Bay midfielder Shane Hill and a free kick for the Scorpions. Castillo stepped up and hit a hard left-footed shot that once again demonstrated his set piece prowess as he curled in his third dead ball goal of the season and sent the Scorpions into halftime with a two-goal lead, but they were far from finished on the night.

Just seconds into the second half, Rowdies center back Tamika Mkandawire was called for a handball in the box that gave the Scorpions a penalty kick and reduced the Rowdies to ten men after referee Marcos Deoliveira showed Mkandawire a red card. Castillo stepped up to the spot and slowly ran up to the ball and watched Pickens dive to his right before he casually chipped the ball into the opposite corner for his team-leading seventh goal of the season and a 3-0 Scorpions lead.

With Tampa Bay a man down, the floodgates then opened for San Antonio.

In the 53' minute, Jonathan Borrajo - playing as a defensive midfielder for the first time this season - sent a long ball over the top to striker Giuseppe Gentile. The Florida native ran into the left side of the area and juiced a ball across the six-yard-box to Elizondo, who tapped the ball past a helpless Pickens to make it 4-0.

The chances kept coming fast and furious for the Scorpions, and the fifth goal came in the 67' in the form of a likely play of the week candidate. Restrepo found acres of space on the attacking right and sent a cross into the box that substitute Eric Hassli volleyed with authority into the back of the net for his fifth of the year. Forbes picked up his NASL-leading seventh assist six minutes later when he squared a ball to Elizondo, who easily tapped it home for his second of the evening and fourth with the Scorpions.

The seventh and final goal of the evening (falling just short of the team record of eight goals in a match, set against the Carolina RailHawks in 2012) was scored by Hassli, his sixth of the season. The play started with a Castillo corner kick from the left side that bounced around in front of goal before Hassli's quick strike just beat teammate Greg Janicki to the ball.

The Scorpions will be back on the road the next two weeks, starting with their second visit of the season to Indianapolis to face Indy Eleven. Tampa Bay has yet another short turnaround game on Wednesday, this time at home against Minnesota United.

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The Scorpions' next home match at Toyota Field is November 1st against the New York Cosmos. Tickets can be purchased at Toyota Field Box Office or through Ticketmaster. Call 210.495.8686 for more information on season tickets or log onto SAScorpions.com.

Quotable:

Head Coach Alen Marcina

"It was obviously a great victory, and I'm really proud of the guys. "All week long, we worked on executing that final pass and finishing chance, and fortunately for us we were able to get seven goals tonight."

Media: After a difficult beginning of the game. I mean you couldn't get it down either way. It was kind of a stop and then you guys get that first goal and then you guys just kept going after that. How does it feel to have 7 to nothing over a team that was giving you guys some difficulty at the beginning? Marcina: I mean to be fair in the beginning yeah offensively maybe we were getting our game off but defensively we were very very organized. So from the opening whistle they didn't have any opportunities so I don't feel that we started poorly I just felt that we stopped some of the best offensive players in the league and it was just a matter of time that we would execute and get our offensive game going and sure enough we did.

Media: Now there were some bad calls out on the field. I mean several players were being pulled and hit and the calls weren't made. What do you feel about those calls not being made but they were addressed on the other side? Marcina: It's fine. It's soccer. It happens in soccer. Sometimes the call is for you and sometimes its against us. We move on and our guys don't let that ball go. Media: So you guys have got this win and you are on the road for the next two games. You think this will boost the confidence for on the road trips before you have that final game back here on the 8th? Marcina: I mean anytime you score seven goals it is obviously a great thing and I think our guys are not the type of guys to keep complacent and use this as motivation to continue to get better. Rafael Castillo Media: Tonight you played an impressive game, a lot of corner kicks, a lot of just being on the field. And you played amazingly. What are you going to do next week going onto the road? Castillo: No. There was no reason to change. We need to maintain playing at this level. The team needs to play at the same level as well. How I played today would not have been possible without the help of my teammates.

Eric Hassli Media: Eric you came in on that second half and got that corner kick and you scored that first goal, how was that. I mean it was amazing. Just timing and opportunity or...? Hassli: Well it's easy to come in the game when it's already 4-0. Juicy did amazing and the defense was tired kind of and I'm just here to finish the work. But they did great.

Media: Well you always need that person to come in and relieve those people who are tired. I mean but soccer is a very hard game physically. Now you've gone to several different games. How long have you been here with the Scorpions? Hasli: 8 months. Media: How are you liking San Antonio? Hassli: It's great. My family is happy. So happy wife, happy life. Media: You guys are about to hit the road, so what do you look forward to most on being in Indianapolis and Minnesota? Hassli: Oh it's three points. Every single game. That's why what we work for the whole week. We have a very competitive mentality everyday at practice. We show up and just fight in practice. We just want 9 points. I mean its three games left so we take 9 points. We don't have to worry about the playoff game. We're already in The Championship, so why not?

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