Scorpions Will Face Houston Dynamo in 3rd Round of U.S. Open Cup

Published on May 22, 2012 under North American Soccer League (NASL)
San Antonio Scorpions News Release


SAN ANTONIO, TX (May 22, 2012) - The San Antonio Scorpions defeated the visiting Laredo Heat in a 2-0 shutout win in the second round of the U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday night at Blossom Athletic Center.

The Scorpions will now host the two-time Major League Soccer champion Houston Dynamo next Tuesday, May 29th at Heroes Stadium with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m.

Pablo Campos and Kevin Harmse were the goal scorers for the Scorpions, who converted two opportunities in the second half to send San Antonio into the third round of the tournament. A crowd of 3,601 was on hand to witness the Scorpions' first ever U.S. Open Cup game.

"It was great to see those goals in the second half," Scorpions head coach Tim Hankinson said. "They gave a great effort in the second half and now our guys have a chance to showcase their talents against MLS."

Scorpions' midfielder Walter Ramirez had one of the first opportunities of the match for San Antonio in the 21st minute, sprinting down the left side and firing a shot that sailed high of the crossbar.

Minutes later, the Laredo Heat had a close opportunity when midfielder Omar Lopez took a shot that went just wide of the left post in the 25th minute.

Shortly after the shot, Ramirez was sent off with a straight red card in the 25th minute that left the Scorpions down a player for the rest of the first half.

In the 29th minute, forward Hans Denissen crossed a ball to Pablo Campos in the box for another chance, but his shot went wide of the goal and into the side of net.

Denissen created another Scorpions opportunity two minutes later, delivering a pass to midfielder Wes Knight, who crossed it immediately back to Denissen for a shot, but it went over the crossbar in the 31st minute.

The Scorpions continued to put pressure on the Laredo backline, and Denissen's cross in stoppage time of the first half nearly broke the tie, but midfielder Ryan Cochrane's diving header went wide of the goal.

The one man advantage for the Heat disappeared early in the second half when Campos sprinted up the middle of the field towards the goal and was tripped from behind by Laredo defender Adan Villavicencio, who received a red card in the 46th minute to even the playing field.

In the 67th minute, the scoreless tie was broken when midfielder Wes Knight delivered a well-placed cross into the Laredo box and Campos knocked the loose ball into the back of the net that gave the Scorpions their first goal of the match.

The Scorpions struck again in the 74th minute when Harmse when he took a pass from Denissen and put the ball past the Laredo goalkeeper to give the Scorpions a two-goal lead.

In the 83rd minute, Heat forward Irving Villanueva pushed for another scoring opportunity, brought up the ball to the San Antonio box and shot it towards the Scorpions keeper who prevented the goal with a diving save.

Scorpions' goalkeeper Daryl Sattler recorded another shutout for the Scorpions, this time making four saves in the victory.

Tickets for the third round U.S. Open Cup game against the Dynamo can be purchased at https://www.sanantonioscorpionstickets.com/vsHoustonDynamo.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



North American Soccer League Stories from May 22, 2012


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central