A ten round penalty kick shootout led to an Orlando City Lions advancement in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday, following the defeat of longtime adversary the Charleston Battery in a closely held game.
A hard fought fourth round matchup from the rivals ended in a 4-4 draw before the two teams took to the goal, where an exchange of successful kicks stopped at the hands of Lions goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr.
Only a handful of shots on goal broke through the first half, leaving the score 0-0 after a quiet 46 minutes of play. Orlando City’s Carlos Rivas made the first moves of the game at the 4th and 9th minute, where the defender fired two shots on goal to Battery goalkeeper Odisnel Cooper. Eric Avila sent a corner kick to center field at the 15th, allowing defender Seb Hines to go for the header. Hines’ shot challenged Cooper but would be sent back into play.
An eventful second half would open up when Charleston found a lane and managed a header into the goal. Orlando responded with a sprinting mid-air header from Lewis Neal to equalize the score. Charleston picked up the tempo two minutes later with a shot that drove past the goalkeeper and into the net.
Carlos Rivas tallied a second point for the Lions, sending the ball into the corner and out of Cooper’s reach at the 75th minute. Rivas would return to make two more goals off of penalty kicks, bringing the score to 4-2 and leading Rivas to account for 3 out of the 4 goals the visiting Lions made in game time.
Not to be left out, Charleston Battery’s Justin Portillo broke free to make it a one point game in the 105th minute, and a tied match in the 115th off of a penalty kick. Five minutes later, the referee whistled the end of the match, beginning the ten round shootout.
The Lions pulled through as the victor of the sudden death situation with a score of 8-7 after ten rounds, settling the 4-4 score earned during 120 minutes of play.
“It was a difficult night for us – I knew it was going to be,” stated head coach Adrian Heath on the matchup. “You could tell as soon as we arrived at the stadium, Charleston were up for the game […]. In the end, obviously I’m delighted we got through. I feel for the Battery a little bit – I’ve got to be honest. I thought they put so much effort in it to come back from 4-2 down. I’ve been in the game a long time to know that in cup competitions the most important thing it to get it through. For our youngsters, it’s another bit of experience for them. I thought one or two of them showed well. At the end of the day we got through, and we live to fight another day.”
Orlando City resumes league play on Saturday, June 20th, to face the Montreal Impact at Saputo Stadium. The Lions will welcome the Colorado Rapids at the Orlando Citrus Bowl on June 24th at 7:30 p.m.
