Orange County’s La Maquina defeated NPSL side Sacramento Gold 2-0 at Westminster High School in Westminster on Wednesday in the US Open Cup Second Round.
The game remained scoreless through the first 70 minutes, but La Maquina scored two goals inside of 10 minutes, courtesy of Edwin Borboa and Jose Castro Perez, to grab the result and advance to the third round.
La Maquina, in their first ever US Open Cup tournament, controlled the run of play throughout the night, as second-time Open Cup participant Sacramento tried to hold firm and grab chances when they could.
“Basically, we just told the guys they have to keep playing the same way they have,” said La Maquina assistant coach Edson Martinez on Thursday.
“As soon as they were able to score that first goal, that gave them more confidence to score another one or two, which they did.”
The hosts, who went on the road to claim their first-round win over Portland Timbers U-23s, showed why they have been a successful tournament team in recent years on the local Southern California circuit, with former pros like Borboa, who won two Mexican league titles, meshing well with a core group of players who have been playing together for several years for the team.
Martinez praised Borboa’s “stellar performance” and ability to “always come through for the team,” an important feature in a tournament atmosphere, and also singled out the twin brothers in central midfield, the goal scorer Perez and his brother Rosando.
“They’re the motor of the team that keeps everyone going,” he said. “Those guys don’t stop, they just run, run, run.
“They’re twins, and they know what doing. They play with their eyes closed-type of thing.”
La Maquina will now host fellow UPSL competitors LA Wolves FC in the third round on June 1 at Westminster High School with a match-up against two-time US Open Cup winners LA Galaxy in the following round on the line.