For the second year in a row, South Georgia Tormenta upset a USL Championship side in the second round of the U.S. Open Cup, this time defeating Rio Grande Valley 2-1 in the first Open Cup game to be played at Tormenta Stadium.
“We showed the capacity, again, as an organization, that we can upset bigger clubs and we can do special things,” Manager Ian Cameron said following the win.
Tormenta came in to the Open Cup game struggling offensively, but were able to find the back of the net in the 39th minute. Mukwelle Akale was able to get to the endline and then cross the back across the box where John Murphy Jr. was able to beat the RGV defender to the spot and get a foot on the ball and send it past the goalkeeper for an early 1-0 lead.
Murphy Jr, whose dad made the trip from New Jersey to watch him play, said it was an awesome feeling to be able to score in front of his father in a U.S. Open Cup game.
He said he’s worked in practice this week to make late runs into the box and in this case, he saw Akale and was able to call for the ball. “All I had to do is try to get it on goal and thankfully it worked out.”
Rio Grande Valley looked to equalize in the 56th minute when a scramble in front of the goal resulted in a loose ball that goalkeeper Pablo Jara couldn’t corral. A Toros player was able to get a shot on goal, but central defender Daltyn Knutson was able to slide and kick the ball away, saving a goal.
The Toros had another golden opportunity to score in the 69th minute when Tormenta’s Tobias Otieno was called for a foul in the penalty area which resulted in an RGV penalty kick.
Jara was able to stop Taylor Davila’s strike and then the followup shot went wide of the net to preserve the 1-0 lead.
“I’ve never scored a goal, but I would say (saving a penalty kick) is like scoring a goal. For goalkeepers, saving a goal gives you a boost and it’s a reminder of why we chose the position,” he said. “It’s an amazing feeling.”
“The way he leads every day is honestly great,” Murphy Jr. said of Jara. “He’s such a good club captain and the way he leads on the field without being vocal. The penalty save was pretty unbelievable so we’re thankful to have him.”
Clinging to their one-goal lead, Tormenta played defensively for much of the second half as they looked to be strategic on their counterattack opportunities. Late in the second half, they found a good one as Kingsford Adjei was able to make a back post run and arrive just in time for Nick Akoto’s cross. Adjei was able to strike it one time to give Tormenta a 2-0 lead in the 82nd minute.
“It’s my job to always be at the back post,” he said. “You have to arrive at the right time, every time. Even though you don’t get it sometimes, you always have to be there.”
When he saw the goal, he felt a sense of joy, but also said it gave the team a lift, especially after the offensive struggles of the previous two games in USL1 action.
“The last couple of games, we couldn’t get the end product, but today, getting it in the net is like ‘yes, we’re back,’” he said. “We’re out here again. Let’s keep this going.
The Toros added a goal in the first minute of stoppage time by Ricky Ruiz to cut the Tormenta lead to one, but South Georgia was able to hold off the Toros charge in the final six minutes of the game to advance to the next round of the US Open Cup.
“I think this game landed at the perfect time because whether it was the league or in the Open Cup, we were desperate for a win,” Murphy Jr. said.
Cameron said he was pleased with how the team played and saw several good things from his club.
“We’ve always been a team that, in open space and in transition, we score a lot of goals. What we need to get better at is breaking teams down and scoring goals through the run of play,” he said. “But in transitional moments, we’ve always shown the capacity to score goals.”
Cameron said soccer can be a tough sport to figure out as this past Saturday Tormenta had possession of the ball 65 percent of the time and lost but on Wednesday, they only had the ball 34 percent of the time but were able to come away with the victory.
“This group, this organization, Tormenta FC, show up at these events and we always have the belief that we can upset anybody,” Cameron said.
Tormenta will find out its next opponent tonight as they await the draw for the next round of the U.S. Open Cup.
They will return to USL1 action Saturday when they host Greenville Triumph at 7:30 at Tormenta Stadium.
“Come Saturday there’s going to be a lot of tired legs on the field. There’s going to be a lot of cramping and it’s going to be a case of who’s got the will to win and that’s what we’re going to have to bring on Saturday,”
