It was a historic night for San Antonio FC as it faced its first Open Cup opponent, Laredo Heat. It was the first time San Antonio and Laredo faced off in club history, but that wouldn’t be the only firsts of the night in Round 2 of the 2019 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.
It was a wave of young talent on the field for San Antonio FC as three of the club’s academy prospects took the pitch for the first time, and 21-year-old Pascal Eboussi scored one of the team’s two goals in a 2-0 win. 31-year-old veteran Ever Guzman scored the other goal as San Antonio advanced to Round 3.
Leo Torres, Jose Gallegos and Carson Price each saw their first action as San Antonio FC started getting chances early and often as Billy Forbes and Cheno Guzman had a strong connection.
Laredo Heat goalkeeper Carlos Herrera did a great job at keeping the match scoreless. Laredo had a great chance in the 12th minute off a corner kick, but San Antonio FC would be the first to get on the board.
Jack Barmby placed a great corner at the top of the six-yard box in the 17th minute and Eboussi, a defender, was able to head the ball into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.
Catch the highlights from @SanAntonioFC taking care of business 2-0 against @LaredoHeatSC in the 2nd round of #USOC2019 pic.twitter.com/VbjfBgaq53
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) May 15, 2019
That wouldn’t be Barmby’s only assist as he followed that up with a short pass from a corner kick that found the foot of Guzman, who ripped it in just under the post.
“It was always going to be a scrappy game,” Barmby said. “Credit to them. They played well, but we got the win and we’re through, which is what we wanted.”
Laredo Heat would receive a total of four yellow cards — three in the second half — and were unable to slip one past San Antonio FC keeper Jonathan Viscosi who had a clean sheet.
San Antonio FC will face the Austin Bold in Round 3 of the Open Cup at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday May 29.
Three professional debuts last night. Five local boys playing for our city! 2️⃣1️⃣0️⃣ #Defend210 pic.twitter.com/AZyTK4Nj7G
— San Antonio FC (@SanAntonioFC) May 15, 2019