Wild second-half goal flurry sends Tormenta into next round of US Open Cup
The Isis stay perfect (5-0-0) at home in US Open Cup matches with 3-2 win over FORO SC
After a pretty normal first 60 minutes of Lamar Hunt US Open Cup soccer in Statesboro, the match went wild with four late goals and lots of ebbs and flows to see the hosts advance to round three.
With the game deep in stoppage time, Tormenta forward Sebastian Vivas snapped a header down past the frozen FORO SC keeper to grab the victory and settle the free-flowing, end-to-end soccer match.
The first half had been a game of cat and mouse played by Tormenta where the hosts sat back and studied the patterns and style of play from the UPSL Texas visitors. This was the plan according to Tormenta Head Coach Ian Cameron to “test ourselves as a staff and players to see if we can adapt to their tactics within the game.” FORO SC already with one Cupset in the US Open Cup first round was ready for the moment and asked question after question of the Tormenta defense in the first half of play.
Adaptation came in the 38th minute as Aaron Walker found a free header inside the crowded south end penalty box to nod the hosts ahead in the match. Tormenta was unlucky that Walker didn’t net another goal just minutes later as he rattled the cross bar with a shot off a quick combination play at the top of the box.
In the 60th minute is when the game became an instant classic as Tormenta thought they had the second goal of the night but it was ruled offside and not allowed. FORO SC then put together a passing sequence in the 67th minute sweeping the ball across the field from left to right across the top of the Tormenta penalty area before cutting the ball back where streaking right back Gibran Rayo hit a curling shot into the back post upper 90 to level the match at 1-1.
The tying goal energized both teams as the tempo of the match elevated with both teams pressing for the game-winner. Tormenta substitute Yaniv Bazini was then slipped a ball at the top of the box in the 85th minute as he perfectly timed his run with the weight of the pass to calmly slide the ball past the onrushing FORO SC keeper low to the left post for the 2-1 Tormenta lead.
FORO SC threw everything forward after the Tormenta goal and a scrambling save by Austin Pack in the 90th minute seemed to preserve the result. The sequence of play immediately following the Pack save saw FORO SC win the loose ball at the edge of the Tormenta box and then duck inside the area to draw a penalty on a trip to send US Open Cup first round hero Brayan Padilla to the spot. Padilla converted the penalty at 90+2 minutes and for the second time in match, FORO SC had leveled the score and looked to be sending the match to extra time.
Tormenta forward Sebastian Vivas didn’t have extra time in mind and he scored the decisive goal for the hosts at the 90+4-minute mark that took all the wind out of the Cupset-minded FORO SC attack. Tormenta served the ball down the right flank where a very physical 1v1 duel resulted in the Tormenta winger breaking free to serve a ball into the head of Vivas where he nodded the ball down at a close range past the frozen FORO SC goalkeeper.
Tormenta then killed off the final minutes of the match in the corner and claimed the victory to advance to Round Three.
“I thought they (FORO SC) were terrific,” said Tormenta Head Coach Ian Cameron after the game. “Their touch, their movement, their togetherness…they are all on the same page. They made it really difficult. It wasn’t just spirit, or their World Cup Final with them playing up; it was proper football they played. It was really cool to see.”
The win keeps South Georgia Tormenta’s home US Open Cup undefeated streak perfect at 5-0-0 in home matches played inside Tormenta Stadium which opened in the fall of 2022.
The Round Three draw will be held on Thursday, April 3 where Tormenta will discover their next opponent in the 2025 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.