It took extra time, two more goals and a whole lot of grit, but Sounders FC 2 left Starfire Stadium Wednesday night living to fight another day in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup after defeating Kitsap Pumas SC 4-2 in the Second Round.
S2 advances to the Third Round, where it will host Portland Timbers 2 at Starfire Stadium on Wednesday, May 27 at 1:00 p.m. PT.
Defending its perfect record at home, the S2 starting XI – which featured four current Sounders Academy players – dominated possession for a majority of the second half, with Sierra Leone native Nate Tongovula holding down the right side of the pitch in his first appearance for the squad.
It was Tongovula’s effort in the 26th minute that led S2 to its first-ever Open Cup goal, when his cross found the head of Qudus Lawal, which sent the ball back to Sounders FC Homegrown Player Vic Mansaray for the match’s opening goal.
Tongovula and Lawal would again contribute to the team’s second goal when Lawal dummied Tongovula’s through-ball to set up Pablo Rossi one-on-one with the keeper. Rossi made no mistake and scored on his second touch.
Kitsap’s Mike Ramos netted twice in the second half to mount the comeback and take the match to extra time. His first goal in the 66th minute careened off the crossbar and in, and his second-half equalizer in stoppage time was a half-volleyed shot from 25 yards out.
It didn’t take long into the first period of extra time for Pablo Rossi to find his second. Three minutes in, a free kick put Rossi just outside the box, a spot he has been dangerous from all season. His curling free kick left Kitsap keeper Matt Grosey stunned, as it found the back of the net.
With two yellow cards in extra time, Pumas SC’s Rene Dezorzi was ejected from the game in the 101st minute. With the man-advantage, S2 grazed the side-netting a number of times, but didn’t find the fourth goal until the dying minutes of the second period of extra time, when Andy Craven caught Grosey well out of his net. Craven, with no one within 20 yards, was free to run the ball to the back of the net. The whistle blew just as the ball settled, sending S2 into the Third Round.
S2 faces T2 twice in six days, as they play Portland on Friday, May 22 at Merlo Field in USL regular-season play. The teams have only played once before in USL play with S2 taking a 2-1 victory at Starfire Stadium in Week Four.
Tickets for S2’s Round Three match are available here.
