MIDLAND – San Antonio FC scored three second-half goals and easily defeated Midland -Odessa Sockers FC 4-0 at Grande Communications Stadium in the second round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open on Wednesday night.
The win sees SAFC advance to the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup tournament and it is their third win in franchise history by four goals.
“The professionalism of the players tonight to play from the first whistle to the last whistle was evident for everybody to see,” SAFC Head Coach Darren Powell said. “I thought we need to tidy a few things up as always on both sides of the ball, but it was nice to hit the back of the net in quick succession.”
SAFC got on the scoreboard in the 34th minute when Darnell King put home a header from point-blank range past the Midland goalkeeper to give San Antonio a one-goal lead going into the second half.
San Antonio added three more goals for insurance in the second 45 for good measure. Mikey Lopez put SAFC up 2-0 in the 87th minute with a free kick from outside the box, then Maxi Rodriguez and Omar Gordon capped off the scoring with goals in stoppage time.
With the victory, SAFC advances to the next round of the tournament to face the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC at Toyota Field next Wednesday.
“It is a great home field advantage at Toyota Field,” Gordon said. “It’s always an advantage in our home field. It’s a great feeling in front of our home fans to try and pull off a win in front of them.”
UP NEXT:
San Antonio FC is 3-2-4 (13 points) on the season and will return to the pitch on Saturday when they resume USL play against Tulsa Roughnecks FC (0-4-5, 5 points) at Toyota Field with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m.