Miami FC Communications
Paulo Araujo Jr. scored four goals in the final 10 minutes of in a thrilling 5-1 victory over the Central Florida Kraze at Central Broward Regional Park to help Miami FC advance to the second round of the U.S. Open Cup, where they will take on the FC Tampa Bay Rowdies in a high-stakes rivalry match. The Blues will return to regular season play on the road against the Austin Aztex on June 19.
“It got complicated and then they got tired. We were patient and we kept working and working and got one,” Miami FC Head Coach Victor Pastora said. “Our guys never lost their heads. We stayed focus and at the end we had a feast.”
The Blues got a quick break when Edward Santeliz was taken down by a hard foul by John Sosa in the first minute, setting up a free kick for Christian Gomez from the left flank not far from the box. JP Rodrigues came charging into the box as Gomez delivered the kick and deflected the ball past the Kraze goalkeeper to give Miami FC an early 1-0 lead.
Both teams had a number of scoring opportunities in the half as Gomez had a chance to pick up a goal on his own in the 28th minute when he found himself all alone in the box in front of the net and received a perfect cross from Jair Cabas, but his header missed the net to keep the score unchanged.
The Kraze nearly tied the game just minutes later when Sergei Raad fired a shot that wrung off the crossbar in the 30th minute and the score remained 1-0 heading into the half.
Central Florida came out firing in the second half and scored the equalizer when Josiah Millar beat Miami FC goalkeeper Caleb Patterson in the 57th minute to even the score.
The Blues went right back on the attack, looking to regain the lead as Paulo Jr., a minute after entering the game, boomed a shot on goal in the 61st minute but was denied. Four minutes later, Gomez fired a shot on goal but was also turned away.
Despite a number of golden opportunities for both squads, the score would remain even through the end of regulation as the game was sent into 30 minutes of added time.
With the score still tied heading into the final 10 minutes of extra time, Paulo Jr. erupted and scored four goals in the final minutes of the game to take the Kraze out of the game and lift the Blues to a four-goal victory, sending them into the next round of the U.S. Open Cup.
With Miami FC winning and the Rowdies defeating Legends FC 3-0 in their first round match, the two teams will square off with an opportunity to move on in the competition and keep their chances of earning a CONCACAF Champions League berth alive. The game will be played at Lockhart Stadium on June 22. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.