Tormenta Manager Ian Cameron wants his team to face a Major League Soccer team. 

The first step of that mission was taken Thursday night as Tormenta defeated Harbor City FC 3-0 in the first round of the U.S. Open Cup to advance in the knockout tournament. 

“I want these boys to get the chance to play an MLS club. They’re probably going to have to win another two games, maybe a third before they get that opportunity.” 

Niall Reid-Stephen’s two second-half goals broke the game open for South Georgia even as they seemed to be in control of the match from the start. 

It didn’t take long for Reid-Stephen to make an impact once he stepped on the field.

He came in as a substitute in the 71st minute and scored twice in a nine minute span to put the game away for Tormenta as they defeated Harbor City FC 3-0 Thursday night in the first round of the tournament.

“I just feel amazing,” Reid-Stephen said following the match. “I think coming into the game, I just had to make a big impact.” 

Four minutes after entering the game, Tormenta’s Conor Doyle found Reid-Stephen with a long ball down the left side, Reid-Stephen was able to get behind the defense and blast a shot past the Harbor City goalkeeper to extend Tormenta’s lead to 2-0 and give him his first professional goal.

While credited with an assist, Doyle was quick to give all the credit to his teammate.

“I mean, if you want to call that an assist,” he said. “That was all Niall. It’s just putting the ball in the channel and I looked up and all of a sudden he was 12 yards from goal. It was all Niall and it’s a great finish. He came on and made a difference and we needed it.” 

Just five minutes later, Reid-Stephen stepped up to take a free kick from 25 yards away following a foul on Yaniv Bazini. Reid-Stephen’s free kick curled around the Harbor City wall and past the goalkeeper to put the game away for Tormenta. 

He said he stays after training each day to work on his free kicks and the practice paid off with his second goal.

“When you’ve got guys who can outrun people up top, it makes the game so much easier,” Cameron said of Reid-Stephen. “Just watching him run is a joy because his mechanics are so smooth.”

“He’s a top, top player and someone who’s going to have a big career,” he said of Reid-Stephen.

Tormenta jumped out to an early lead in the 23rd minute when a cross from Taylor Gray found the head of Sebastian Vivas near the back post. The ball then fell to Nyanjo 10 yards from goal and he struck into the back of the net to give Tormenta the early lead.

Tormenta dominated the amateur side from Florida all night, maintaining possession for nearly three quarters of the game and only surrendering five shots on the night with none of them being on target. 

“To be able to go out and get an early goal and be able to kill it off is what you need in these types of games. I thought we played well and stuck to our game plan and were obviously able to come out with a win and that’s what matters in these cup competitions,” Doyle said. 

Tormenta, meanwhile, had 13 shots, six on target, and were able to move the ball around the field almost at will as Harbor City tried to play a compact defense and look for opportunities to counter attack.

“Certainly in the second half I thought we got a better handle of just how to position ourselves to play through them a bit more easily,” Tormenta Manager Ian Cameron said. “We moved the ball well, some of our attackers scored goals and that’s always good. We build upon that and keep clean sheets and that’s a good place to start from.”

Tormenta’s next opponent hasn’t been announced yet, though it’s likely to be a team from Florida as the tournament takes team proximity into account.

Since 2022, Tormenta is now 8-3 in the Open Cup and they’ve never lost to an amateur team. Two of their three losses have come at the hands of an MLS team (Inter Miami in 2022 and Charlotte FC in 2023). Last year, with an opportunity to face Atlanta United if they won, Tormenta fell to USL Championship side Charleston Battery 3-2 in double overtime. 

Tormenta will continue its Cup run at home April 1 as Foro FC comes to town for a 7 p.m. start.