Winning its first playoff game in club history with style, the Black & Gold move on to the Eastern Conference semi-finals
Tampa, Fla. (October 21, 2023) – Coming into a tense game at Al Lang Stadium on Saturday night, no. 7 Birmingham Legion FC made a roaring statement against the no. 2 Tampa Bay Rowdies. Nobody in the league expected the Black and Gold, who conceded the fifth most goals in the regular season, to batter the second highest scoring team in the league 3-0.
Now eyes are on Legion FC as Championship contenders.
“When you factor in the whole game — the defensive part, how organized we were, how we turned that into chances, and finishing the chances, it was just a complete performance and something that we’ve been waiting for with this group,” said Head Coach Tommy Soehn on tonight’s victory. “I kind of sensed over the last few games that it was coming, and, this time of year, I was real pleased and said this before — I wouldn’t want to play us right now because its heading in the right direction.”
In the opening of the game, it took a while for both sides to adjust to the flow of the match. Thirty minutes into the first half, however, and it was clear Legion controlled the game. Birmingham registered five shots in the first half compared to Tampa’s one, and the scoreline reflected that.
Come the 41st minute, Legion found its opener through Preston Tabort Etaka. Starting with Enzo Martinez in the midfield, the ball found Juan Agudelo who beat a defender with a clever turn and gave a through-pass to Etaka. After missing the target minutes earlier with a great chance, Etaka was not going to make the same mistake again. Etaka took the ball, accelerated past two defenders, and buried his shot into the far post with confidence.
“I think the playoffs are a different phase of the game,” said goalscorer Etaka. “It is now that every player has to step up, and I’m grateful for the goal that I got and to get this opportunity to show my skill. Thanks to my teammates for pushing me because that’s what we ask from each other.”
“The field was a little wet, so the ball was faster than you thought,” said Etaka on having to adjust to the game. “Everyone, even the Tampa players, also had that difficulty so it’s for you to adapt as a professional. You go to a field that is uncomfortable, you just have to adapt.”
Legion came out of the locker room at halftime up 1-0. The team did not alter its game plan like many lower-seeded team would do, and opt to play more defensively and hold onto to its lead. Instead, Birmingham kept putting on pressure and ran up the score like they were the favorites.
In the 57th minute the Legionnaires would go on and score their second, with Etaka again making an impact. Getting Tampa on a counter-attack, Etaka fed a wonderful low cross to Diba Nwegbo that exposed Tampa’s defense. Nwegbo, 21 years old, calmly tapped the ball into an open net.
Birmingham still had more to say, and twenty minutes later scored its third goal of the game to close it out. And who else to score, but Prosper Kasim, Legion’s first-ever goalscorer from its debut 2019 season, who also scored the winning goal against MLS’ Charlotte FC in this year’s Open Cup.
“We were just organized,” said Head Coach Tommy Soehn on how Legion played so well defensively. “We were so hard to break down. They survive on the flanks, and we did a really good job of congesting that. They have two good forwards, JJ and Cal, and we really shut them down.”
“It was just a really, from a coach’s perspective, just a complete performance,” continued Soehn. “And I look at the entirety of the group, and it was everybody. Everybody pitched in and did the dirty work. And then when it’s time to play, we really picked them apart. And then when it’s time to get the goals, the chances we created, they were pure quality. So just an all-around really good performance.”
The players are not satisfied with tonight’s win. They are hungry for more, and look now to Legion’s Eastern Conference semi-final clash next week. While the players are remaining cool, however, the rest of the league is looking at this Birmingham team and asking themselves if they are dark-horse contenders for the title.
“It’s one game at a time, right?” said Soehn on Legion’s upcoming semi-final game. “We don’t even know who we’re going to play, but it’s playoff soccer and we know that they’ll be ready and then we have to continue to grow in the parts that I feel like we have been over this last little stretch, and if we keep going like we are, I wouldn’t want to play us because I think we’re in a good place.”
Birmingham’s next opponent will be the winner of the Charleston Battery vs Indy Eleven quarter-final game on Sunday, October 22. Note this Legion nation: because of Detroit City’s upset against Pittsburgh, if they go on to beat Louisville in the semi-final and Birmingham beats its next opponent, the Eastern Conference final will be played at Protective Stadium.
Match Details
| Box Score | 1st Half | 2nd Half |
| Tampa | 0 | 0 |
| Birmingham | 1 | 2 |
Goals:
BHM – 41′ – #28 Preston Tabort Etaka (assisted by #9 Juan Agudelo)
BHM – 57′ – #7 Diba Nwegbo (assisted by #28 Preston Tabort Etaka)
BHM – 77′ – #10 Prosper Kasim (assisted by #11 Neco Brett)
Starting XI:
BHM – 4-1-4-1 – #1 Matt VanOekel (50′ – #18 Trevor Spangenberg); #13 Jake Rufe, #33 Moses Mensah, #21 Alex Crognale, #4 Collin Smith; #19 Enzo Martinez (c); #10 Prosper Kasim, #15 Tyler Pasher (84′ – #17 Matthew Corcoran), #9 Juan Agudelo, #7 Diba Nwegbo (84′ – #16 Gabriel Alves); #28 Preston Tabort Etaka (68′ – #11 Neco Brett)
To keep up to date on all things Legion FC, Legion encourages its fans to follow @bhmlegion on social media and keep an eye on bhmlegion.com and the Legion FC app. Download the Legion FC app today on Apple or Android, and sync our 2023 schedule to your calendar HERE.
