On paper, Central Valley Fuego were the underdog. Anyone watching would have a hard time determining which club competed in Division 2 and which was from a Division 3 league. The Fuego of USL League One (Div. 3 pro) dominated in their Second Round Lamar Hunt US Open Cup against the USL Championship’s (Div. 2 pro) El Paso Locomotive, 4 -1 on Tuesday night.
Despite not playing in their usual home field of Fresno State Soccer Stadium, CVF attracted many fans to the larger Lamonica Stadium in Clovis, Calif. and made them feel right at home on a memorable night.
The scoring began early as Fuego left back Nathan Smith pumped a long ball down the left flank to Villyan Bijev. The Bulgarian calmly collected the ball and casually chipped the onrushing El Paso goalkeeper to open the scoring in the 4th minute.
Philipp Beigl nearly made the same mistake twice as an almost identical play occurred in the ninth minute. A direct long ball was played up to Fuego striker Christian Chaney as El Paso keeper Beigl ran towards the top of his box. Chaney went for the chip but this time, Beigl made the save.
El Paso Locomotive had their best chance of keeping the game competitive in the 12th minute. Former MLSer Luis Solignac dispossessed Nathan Smith in Fuego’s defensive third, deftly turned the corner at the edge of the 18 yard box, and played a low pass in for Eric Calvillo. But Calvillo’s side-footed effort went directly into Fuego keeper Ofek Antman’s midsection to keep El Paso off the board.
Bijev had a hand in the Fuego’s second of the night moments later, taking the corner and although the ball was cleared out of the box, the clearance was weak. The bouncing ball was met by an onrushing Nathan Smith with a full head of steam, and the former LA Galaxy homegrown fired a terrific shot with his laces from 30 yards out. The ball never stopped rising as it thundered into the top corner in the 15th minute for the 2-0 advantage.
The goal ranked No. 6 on Sportscenter’s Top 10 list on Tuesday evening.
From then on the rate of chances decreased somewhat and was replaced instead by a higher than usual amount of fouls and bookings. Both El Paso fullbacks were booked within a minute of each other. Eder Borelli for bringing down Bijev in the 24th minute and Shavon John-Brown was guilty of pulling down a CVF attacker.
FUEGOOOO 🔥
Just moments into the game – Villyan Bijev arches an incredible ball over @eplocomotivefc and into the net! @fuego_futbol comin’ in hot!
1-0 | #USOC2022 pic.twitter.com/2albbYfPMo
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) April 6, 2022
In the 35th minute as the ball went out of play over the end line, Luis Solignac hit the turf following minimal contact from a Fuego defender. The referee informed Solignac that there was no foul but this incident sparked a small melee that included a lot of pushing and shoving of players from both teams. Ultimately, only a yellow card was produced to El Paso’s Aaron Gomez.
Bijev found his brace in the 44th minute. Adding a lovely solo effort that displayed his technical qualities, Bijev diced up two El Paso defenders and carried the ball into the box. After dancing past the second defender, he wrapped his foot around the ball and guided it past Beigl’s far post.
El Paso manager John Hutchinson attempted to spark a comeback by making three changes during the break but things went from bad to worse for El Paso. Shavon John-Brown was sent off following a challenge that earned him his second yellow card in the 58th minute.
Talk about using your head – up another with the perfect header from Christian Chaney! @fuego_futbol maintaining the lead against @eplocomotivefc in the Second Round.
4-0 | #USOC2022 pic.twitter.com/2hJpMaKRXe
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) April 6, 2022
Fuego almost immediately used their man advantage as they scored their fourth goal of the night in the 62nd. Bijev delivered a corner kick to the back post and Christian Chaney jumped highest to head it home.
In the 83rd minute, Fuego coach Jaime Ramirez opted to sub in his backup keeper Mitchell North for the largely unbothered Ofek Antman. The Fuego fans in the seats at Lamonica Stadium were having a blast all night. They stayed lively and got loud for all four of their goals, even utilizing the classic ‘Olé’ chant following a long bout of possession.
Eric Calvillo did a little to spoil their fun in the 90th minute when he scored El Paso Locomotive’s first goal in the club’s Open Cup history, finding the ball outside the box and finishing strongly past Mitchell North.
That poor, poor soccer ball | ⚽️ @fuego_futbol‘s Nathan Smith working through some stuff in a Cupset of @eplocomotivefc | #USOC2022 pic.twitter.com/jBdHCmiUVG
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) April 6, 2022
