PC's Goal At The Death Sends Strikers To Open Cup Quarterfinals
Photo credit: Jose Armando/Deporte Total USA
The Fort Lauderdale Strikers advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with a dramatic 2-1 win over Orlando City SC at Camping World Stadium on Wednesday night. The Strikers were just seconds away from going to a third straight penalty kick shootout in the Cup until Brazilian midfielder PC struck the game-winner in the 120th minute.
Facing their first of two Florida opponents this week, the Strikers opened the scoring in the 12th minute through forward Jose Angulo. The New Jersey native beat Orlando’s offside trap and finished calmly past Lions goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. The lead didn’t last long, though, as the hosts evened the score just four minutes later when Kevin Molino slotted home from inside the box.
Molino would then be involved in an incident with Strikers forward Maicon Santos midway through the second half, resulting in each player being shown a red card. Playing 10-v-10, neither club could find the back of the net, which resulted in yet another game going to extra time.
Thanks to more heroics from goalkeeper Diego Restrepo, Fort Lauderdale was able to keep the game even going into the dying moments. With penalty kicks looming, PC danced his way past a few Orlando defenders before firing a right-footed drive past Edwards to make the score 2-1.
Fort Lauderdale is the first NASL club to reach the Cup Quarterfinals since the Atlanta Silverbacks and Carolina RailHawks did it in 2014.
For more on the game, visit strikers.com.
