For the second time this season, the El Paso Patriots forgot the date and celebrated the Fourth of July early. On a hot Memorial Day clash, the El Paso Patriots destroyed division 3 Tucson Fireballs 7-1. The match was El Paso’s final game in the U.S. Open Cup Qualifying tournament. The match was a meaningless game for both teams, however, as the Patriots had already qualified for the US Open Cup. The Patriots, which out shot Tucson 22-5, were led by Salvador Mercado, who scored two goals. Carlos Farias, Luis Macias, Mark Rowland, Jose Lomeli, and Mike Griego scored a goal each. Chris Scotti was the Fireballs only bright spot of the game, scoring a goal on a PK. The match started off with El Paso and Tucson starting play on the Fireballs side of the field. From the beginning, El Paso held all of the offensive opportunities during the first half. However, that did not stop the Patriots from continuing their weekly custom of being the first team to get disciplined. At the 8th minute, Carlos Farias received a yellow card for what the referee deemed as an overly aggressive tackle.
The Patriots’ first offensive opportunity came at the 20th minute. Carlos Farias made a beautiful cross to Mark Rowland who barely missed it with a sliding kick. A couple minutes later, Esmundo Rodriguez almost put El Paso on the scoreboard. Rodriguez received a rebound at his feet and had an open net in front of him. However, three Tucson defenders quickly got in the way to block his shot. El Paso’s offensive opportunities finally started paying off when Jose Lomeli headed in a Mark Rowland pass in the 28th minute. The goal set off the usual fireworks display. Four minutes later, El Paso struck again when Lomeli returned the favor and set up Mark Rowland for the Patriots second goal. Finally, before the end of the half, Michael Griego scored the final goal of the half. At halftime, the Patriots were leading an out manned Tucson 3-0.
Before the start of the half, Tucson goalkeeper Freddy Hasse and forward Aaron Dwyer switched positions. One minute into the second half, Luis came into the game in place of Mark Rowland. Even though El Paso still had all the offensive opportunities, Tucson did manage a pair of chances, even though they did not really come close. At the 59th minute, Sal Mercado reopened the score with a well taken shot at goal. With a 4-0 lead in their favor, El Paso was looking as they were running on all cylinders. However, Guillermo McFarlane made a foolish mistake when he knocked down an Tucson player in the penalty area. After the penalty kick was awarded, Victor Mora entered the game for Mike Griego. Chris Scotti then went on to score his team’s only goal, with a well taken kick that went in through the upper right corner of the goal.
The 4-1 score began to take is toll on Tucson’s player, with their frustration becoming more apparent. Andreas Papohisis received a yellow card at the 69th minute. At the 70th minute, El Paso substituted Jose Abarca into the game in place of Jose Lomeli. Tucson countered with a substitution of it’s own when their only bench player, Liam Oshea entered the game for Benjamin Kasosick at the 73rd minute. A minute later, El Paso struck again when Luis Macias got his second goal of the game. Then at the 75th minute, Dranzenko Pendic received a yellow card for a hard tackle on an Patriot’s player. However the worst happened two minutes later when Tucson goalkeeper Aaron Dwyer was expelled from the game for knocking down Salvador Mercado. Mercado looked certain to score had it not been for Dwyer’s knockdown.
The final substitution of the match came around the 80th minute when El Paso goalkeeper Jesse Llamas was replaced by Jesse Llamas. Looking at an ugly defeat, Tucson just gave up. That allowed Salvador Mercado to score once again in the 85th minute. Finally, to end off the game with a bang, Carlos Farias saw that Tucson goalkeeper Freddy Haase came out of his box a little too much. Taking advantage of Haase’s mistake, Farias took a shot from midfield that found itself in the back of the net. The amazing half court shot set off a wild celebration in the stands among the 1,865 spectators at the match.. Up next for the Patriots is well deserved two and a half week break. The El Paso Patriots next match is a home game against the Seattle Sounders on June 15th at 7:30 at the SAC.
El Paso Patriots 7
Jose Lomeli - 29th, Mark Rowland - 33rd, Michael Griego - 44th, Salvador Mercado - 59th,85th, Carlos Farias - 87th, Luis Macias - 74th
Tucson Fireballs 1
Chis Scotti - 61st (PK)
El Paso Patriots
Jesse Llamas GK (79th, Cesar Mata)
Carlos Martinez D
Severo Hernandez D
Guillermo McFarlane D
Paul Cabrera M
Esmundo Rodriguez M
Jose Lomeli M (70th, Jose Abarca)
Carlos Farias M
Salvador Mercado M
Michael Griego F (61st, Victor "Omar" Mora)
Mark Rowland F (46th, Luis Macias)
Tucson Fireballs
Freddy Hasse GK
Mate Kozul D
Marty Flores D
Dave Ochoa D
Mike Ochoa D
Erik Begazo M
Dranzenko Pendic M
Andreas Papohisis M
Chris Scotti M
Benjamin Kasosick F (73rd, Liam Oshea)
Aaron Dwyer F
Cards
8th EPP Carlos Farias
69th TF Andreas Papohisis
75th TF Dranzenko Pendic
77th TF Aaron Dwyer (RED)
Shots on goal
El Paso 22
Tucson 2
Attendance - 1,865
