SAN ANTONIO, TX (June 9, 2012) - The San Antonio Scorpions moved into sole possession of second place in the NASL table with a 3-0 victory over the Atlanta Silverbacks to finish a challenging home stretch that included four games in a 12-day span.
Pablo Campos scored two goals and Walter Ramirez added another to help the Scorpions defeat the visiting Silverbacks and extend the team's unbeaten streak in NASL competition to eight games.
The victory over the Silverbacks in front of a crowd of 7,007 gave the Scorpions 19 points on the season and allowed the team to keep pace with the first-place Puerto Rico Islanders.
The Scorpions will have a chance to finally take over first place when they face the league-leading Islanders on Saturday, June 16.
"Our possession got better as the game wore on," Scorpions head coach Tim Hankinson said. "I thought we pressured them throughout and I think the play of Pablo [Campos] was the best it's been in a few games."
The Scorpions applied some pressure early on in the match but both defenses did their part to avoid giving up a goal in the early stages of the match.
That was until the 27th minute when Campos fired a shot out of the reach of Silverback keeper Daniel Illyes after a fancy spin move inside the box to avoid a defender for the first goal of the match.
Eight minutes of back and forth play would elapse before the Scorpions struck again with a Walter Ramirez goal in the 35th minute. Campos brought the ball up the field and found forward Esteban Bayona, who drew the defense in and delivered a cross to a wide open Ramirez, who put a shot into the open net to notch another goal for the Scorpions.
In the second half, both teams ratcheted up the physical play as the fouls began to add up. Neither side was able to find the goal in the beginning part of the second half even though opportunities were there.
The Silverbacks threatened the Scorpions defense more in the second half, but the Scorpions defense held firm and did not allow the Silverbacks a quality chance on goal as Scorpions keeper Darly Sattler remained relatively untested.
San Antonio held Atlanta to just three shots and none on goal as Sattler collected his fifth shutout in NASL play and improves his record in goal to 5-2-0 on the season.
In the 83rd minute, the Scorpions put the game to bed when Campos connected on his second goal of the night to put the Scorpions ahead 3-0 with another fancy move in the box. Campos now has a team-high five goals this season, moving him to second in the league.
The final goal by Campos put the match out of reach the Silverbacks as the time ran out on the game and the Scorpions climbed another step closer to the top of the league.
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| Standings | |||||||
| TEAM | GP | W | T | L | GD | PTS | |
| Carolina RailHawks | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 11 | |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 11 | |
| Atlanta Silverbacks | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 10 | |
| Minnesota United FC | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | |
| FC Edmonton | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | |
| San Antonio Scorpions | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -4 | 5 | |
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -6 | 4 | |