Eric Reed

PROVO, UT – The California Victory used goals midway through each half by midfielder Raul Palomares and forward Yuri Morales to see the USL First Division squad through to a 2-1 win over the BYU Cougars in a Lamar Hunt US Open Cup First Round affair contested at South Field on the BYU campus in Provo, Utah. BYU midfielder Daniel McKinley gave the PDL squad a glimmer of hope with a long-range header in the 89th minute, but time ran out for the home-standing Cougars – a minor feat considering the six minutes of stoppage time tacked onto the second half of the contest.

In its inaugural campaign, the Victory recorded a win in its first-ever US Open Cup match this evening and progress to a Second Round fixture against a fellow USL-1 cohort, the Minnesota Thunder, to be played in St. Paul, Minn. on June 26. Meanwhile, the Cougars bowed out in their opening contest in the competition for a second straight year.

While California would control the bulk of the opening half, the Victory took some time to settle in, midfielder Ricardo Sanchez’s dipping free kick from 24 yards out in the 9th minute marking the game’s first clear chance. The flood gates would open soon after for the professional side, but BYU ’keeper Brandon Gilliam would be up to the task, stopping another Sanchez effort in the 15 th minute and a Morelas shot from the doorstep four minutes later after the striker entered the six-yard box off a well-worked give-and-go.

California nearly opened their account twice in the 22nd minute, as forward Joshua Hansen and Morelas both had cracks at shots inside Gilliam’s goal box, but the Cougars netminder would knock away both shots at his left post to temporarily keep the Victory off the board. But the onslaught would soon pay off for California, as defender Raul Aguilar was rewarded for his run down the right flank when Morelas redirected his cross from five yards out, beating Gilliam to give the visitors the 1-0 lead.

California seemed to take their foot off the gas after the goal, but BYU did little with the possession that ensued, giving the ball away far too easily – and often with little pressure against them. One of the Cougars’ few chances in the first stanza came in the 35th minute, midfielder Steve Magleby’s defensive work in the final third resulting in a turnover, but midfielder Hugh VanWagenen’s first-time blast from distance sailed well over goal. Morelas would get a pair of chances to double the lead in the half’s waning moments, but his 45th minute effort would bounce squarely off the base of the right post, while his downward header at the left post was covered well by Gilliam in stoppage time.

Morelas would pick up where he left off after the halftime whistle, the Victory striker getting wide open for a free header off a corner kick in the 48 th minute, only to send the chance five feet over the crossbar. Later that minute it was the same on the other end for BYU forward Tyson Miller, his header from off a well-placed cross also missing well high. While he played set-up man for California for most of the evening, Hansen had a chance of his own just before the hour mark after finding himself behind the Cougars backline, but Gilliam darted off his line to cut off the angle and smothered the shot from 16 yards out.

For the rest of the match, substitutes from both sides would factor into the equation, starting with California midfielder Chuck Kim, who started the Victory’s eventual game-winning effort with a 50-yard run into the middle of the field. Kim laid off into the right side of the area for Hansen, who took two touches to draw out Gilliam before slotting across the box to a wide open Morelas, who would finally finish to push the Victory advantage to 2-0.

With California content to kill the game off, BYU seemed to find its legs – and each other – as their passing and possession both improved as the half ticked along. A frantic last quarter-hour to the match started with a sign of things to come for BYU, as substitute midfielder Zack DeFrancis pushed a wide-open header from nine yards right to Victory goalkeeper Eric Reed in the 79 th minute. Seconds later it was forward David Clark sneaking behind the defense to get off a 12-yard blast with Reed off his line, but the chance would soar over the vacated California net. Morelas had yet another chance, this one to ice the game away in the 83rd minute, but his foray into the right side of the area ended with a BYU defender deflecting his near-post effort, sending the ball into the outside netting.

It was the substitutes making more noise in the 89th minute, this time for BYU, as midfielder Steven Fellows had a pair of chances near the right post, but Reed saved the first effort and Fellows sprayed the second shot so wide left of goal that it stayed inbounds. Midfielder Justin Norton – another bench choice for BYU coach Chris Watkins – would gather at the endline and send a cross into the back side of the area, where a waiting McKinley would lunge into a textbook header from 15 yards out, sending it across the box and into the left side-netting to keep the Cougars chances alive at 2-1.

Soon after the goal, a peculiar decision from the referee resulted in six minutes of added time, causing misery for the Victory and even more hope of an equalizer for the Cougars. And California Head Coach Glenn Van Straatum would grind his teeth until the bitter end, as Hansen would again supply passes that nearly found a partner, but his low cross in the 95 th minute would go wanting through the 18-yard box, while his dangerous corner kick a minute later sailed past the left post, marking the last gasp effort for BYU.

Scoring Summary:
CAL – Raul Palomares 1 (Luis Aguilar 1) 23
CAL – Yuri Morales 1 (Joshua Hansen 1) 67
BYU – Daniel McKinley 1 (Justin Norton 1) 89

Discipline Summary:
CAL – Cameron Dunn (caution; Reckless Foul) 70

BYU Cougars Lineup (USL PDL) (4-4-2): GK-Brandon Gilliam; D-Andrew VanWagenen, D-Morgan Gilliam (Daniel McKinley 87), D-Clay Christenson (Zack DeFrancis 69), D-Richie Bindrup; M-Curt Graham, M-Hugh VanWagenen, M-Brock Trejo (Captain), M-Steve Magleby (Steven Fellows 43); F-Tyson Miller (Justin Norton 58), F-David Clark.

California Victory Lineup (USL-1) (3-5-2): GK-Eric Reed; D-Luis Aguilar, D-Christopher Shwarze (Captain), D-Cameron Dunn; M-Ricardo Sanchez, M-Kiel McClung, M-Matthew Fitzgerald (Ricky Herron 84), M-Raul Palomares (Michael Munoz 56), M-Hugo Casillas (Chuck Kim 64); F-Joshua Hansen (Dominik Jakubek 84), F-Yuri Morales.