24 Feb MATCH RECAP AS LOS ANGELES FEBRUARY 23, 2020
February 23rd, 2020 — ASC SAN DIEGO GRABS WIN TO START THE SEASON WITH A BANG.
ASC San Diego got its 2020 season off to a fantastic start by securing 3 points in conference play with a win against AS Los Angeles. The first match of the season was an exciting one for the home crowd at Mission Bay Stadium as ASC finished 2-1 under the lights.
The first half was action packed. Both sides worked diligently to get the first points on the board. There were plenty of hard drives to the net by both teams, but ASC had more control of the pitch as well as the pace of the match. It was also evident that there was a certain level of anxiety by the home and away teams. Amid a pack of penalties from both sides, ASC saw two of it’s players get shown yellow within the first 15 minutes of the match. But they were able to settle themselves and continue dominating the half.
This adjustment and strong play allowed them to be the first between the pipes. The 25th minute saw ASC midfielder Brandon Cortez take the ball into the middle of the pitch and give a sweet pass to fellow midfielder Wilton Quintero. Quintero made a lovely cross to the waiting boot of Angel Sanchez who was able to slot the ball past ASLA’s keeper right to the back of the net giving San Diego’s team the lead.
ASC midfielder Andrew Miranda also had several strong drives up the right side along with a couple unsuccessful attempts to get on the scoresheet. But he was eventually able to get in a position to loft a perfect ball to the waiting head of teammate Garmina Paygar-Flangiah who deftly knocked it past ASLA keeper Andreas Armando Figueroa Flores to go up 2-0 over AS Los Angeles.
The away side had a couple solid attempts to light up their team’s side of the scoreboard in the first half but ASC’s strong defence prevailed and they were unable to get on target, with most of their shots going wide of the net. ASC net minder Matthew Escareno only had to get his hands dirty a couple times in the first half and was able to keep the ball from seeing the inside of his net before the whistle blew at the end of the half.
When the teams returned from the lockers after the break there was an obvious renewed energy and the hope of taking home the W in this first match of the season. The play of the second half mirrored that of the previous one. Both teams doing all they could to get within scoring range, though ASC retained most of the control as they did in the first half. They were well on their way to a clean sheet but unfortunately ASLA was able to find their way into ASC net off of a free kick the 82nd minute. ASC San Diego was able to hold off their opponents for the remainder of the match, including more than 4 minutes of stoppage time, and get their first win on the books for the 2020 season.
Photo credit : Keith & Michelle Dereld
—– MATCH RECAP PRESENTED BY SOCCER AMERICA —–
