The Atlanta Silverbacks came from a goal behind twice, once to force extra time and again to force penalty kicks, to sneak past the Austin Aztex U23s in a PK shootout after a 2-2 draw.
After facing several good scoring opportunities from the Silverbacks, it was the PDL Aztex who held the lead at halftime. With only stoppage time remaining in the half, Jamie Watson poked home a loose ball from 12 yards out for a 1-0 advantage.
At the 79th minute, Atlanta was handed a chance to level the game, but a David Hayes penalty kick was saved by goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo. Just three minutes later, Atlanta did find the equalizer, when Mac Kandji beat Gallardo for the tying score.
In the 99th minute, Atlanta were reduced to ten men when Chris Mahaffey was shown a straight red card for what was deemed a reckless challenge while attempting to score by sliding for the ball in the penalty area. Austin took advantage immediately as Willy Guadarrama put the Aztex up 2-1 on a goal on his first touch of the game after entering as a sub.
With just seven minutes remaining, Hayes found himself at the penalty spot again, after being pulled down in the box. Hayes didn’t miss the second time around, leveling the score at 2-2 for the shorthanded Silverbacks.
In the penalty shootout, all of Atlanta’s kick takers converted, while Austin’s second shooter, Beto Papandrea missed his chance. Hayes, for the third time that night, stepped up to the spot again, and beat Gallardo to send the Silverbacks to the Second Round to face Miami FC.