Austin Bold FC head coach Marcelo Serrano knew the risks of putting two aggressive forwards out for the first Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup game in Austin in four years. His decision paid off big time.
Sonny Guadarrama opened the scoring in the first half and his attacking partner, Andre Lima, doubled the lead late in the second half to help the Bold down the Tulsa Roughnecks 2-0 on Tuesday night.
“It was a great performance, we had so many chances,” Serrano said. “We had a clean sheet and we’re moving forward as a team.”
Austin will get a rematch when it hosts San Antonio FC — a team they beat 1-0 earlier in the USL season — in the Third Round of the US Open Cup on May 29.
.@AustinBoldFC takes the victory 2-0 over the @RoughnecksFC and will move on to compete against the @SanAntonioFC or @LaredoHeatSC!?#USOC2019 | ? Highlights ⤵ pic.twitter.com/kIjeSfUu2O
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) May 15, 2019
Tuesday was a dominant performance by the Austin offense, which was largely the same lineup that beat the OKC Energy FC in league play the previous Friday. The Bold outshot the Roughnecks 25-10 and had seven shots on target.
Pulling the strings was right back Sean McFarlane, who assisted on both goals.
His first assist saw his pass get dummied by Kléber and allowed Guadarrama to take one touch and find the bottom corner of the net in the 34th minute. He then sent in a low cross in front of the net for Lima to tap in the 74th minute.
“Every game, he’s becoming more and more dangerous, and it can be hard to find players like that,” Guadarrama said. “He’s obviously got talent, and coach is helping him get even more out of what he can give.”
Bold academy singing Beto Avila, an 18-year-old Austin native, made his professional debut in the match, subbing in for Guadarrama in the second half and picking up the second assist on the goal by Lima.
Despite signing less than a month ago, former Lonestar SC and Houston Dynamo Academy player has proven he can make an impact.
“I’m glad that coach is strong enough to give the kids a chance,” Guadarrama said. “A lot of coaches don’t because they’re worried about the result. he’s keeping his word on playing local talent. I think they deserve it.”
Austin has yet to lose a game at Bold Stadium at Circuit of the Americas. The winner of the next round could see an MLS team come to the brand-new soccer stadium.
“It’s always fun to play against San Antonio, and it’s a big game because we know that if we win, we take that big step that I think every team in the USL wants to go out and play an MLS team,” Guadarrama said.