PDL - DFW Tornados 2 El Paso Patriots 2
Published 5/26/2007 5:55:41 AM by staff from dallas
The El Paso Patriots are into the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup after their second straight draw, this one 2-2 against the DFW Tornados in suburban Dallas. El Paso, now 3-2-2, tied Mississippi Brilla FC last Saturday night in El Paso, 0-0. But the Patriots went 3-0-1 in Open Cup qualifying matches, the best record in the Southern Conference, and earned their way back into the competition that has seen some of the franchise’s greatest successes. El Paso jumped to an early lead as a turnover in the DFW center backline led to a quick counter and goal. The Tornados had come out and put early pressure on the Patriots, but the turnover and goal shifted momentum greatly. The El Paso side took control as the Tornados were unable to gather themselves. Shortly after another turnover in the DFW half of the field led to a cross that wasnt dealt with in the Tornado penalty area. The ball took a big hop on the turf and Victor Omar Mora-Gomez finished a nice bicycle kick into the left side of the net for a 2-0 lead. The lead would hold into halftime as the Tornados lost goalkeeper Stuart Robinson to a hamstring injury just prior. The second half opened with the Tornados on the front foot as they earned numerous set piece opportunities near the El Paso goal at one point claiming 4 corners in a row. However, the El Paso defense held strong and with 25 minutes to go it was El Paso that had the chance to put the game away as a loose ball from a corner was driven off the crossbar but rebounded out. DFW Tornados introduced fresh legs into the match and shortly thereafter Chris Ross delivered a quality cross that Bruno Guarda rose and finished to draw the Tornados within a goal. The DFW side was energized and began pushing for the tying goal. in the 89th minute a long shot from Adriel Adibi was blocked at the top of the 18 but the loose ball fell right to Guarda who buried a strong shot to tie the game at 2.
Label: US Open Cup soccer, El Paso Patriots, DFW Tornados, PDL, Bruno Guarda, Chris Ross, Adriel Adibi
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