GREENVILLE, SC – On Saturday, July 9 Fuego FC traveled to Greenville, South Carolina for the second time to take on the east coast team for the third meeting this season. To start out the half, Greenville pressured the Fuego defense and in the third minute, Greenville scored, however, it was called offsides. Fuego began implementing their style of play, and Greenville continued to look for an opportunity to score. Goalkeeper, Ofek Antman made many quality saves. Both teams ended the first half scoreless.
In the second half, Fuego worked to create chances to score. Early on there were shots on goal attempted by Villyan Bijev and Michael Hornsby. Antman continued to keep the home side scoreless. However, in the 66th minute, Greenville scored as a result of a rebound ball. Fuego struggled to get the equalizer. A final attempt in stoppage time by Jordan Chavez who took a shot outside of the box but it was just off the mark.
UP NEXT: Central Valley Fuego FC travels back to Northern Colorado for the first edition of the Ice and Fire Cup against Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC on Wednesday, July 13 at 6 PM. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.
Match: Central Valley Fuego FC at Greenville Triumph SC
Date: July 9, 2022
Venue: Legacy Early College Field
Weather: 84 degrees and isolated thunderstorms
Notes
– Jesus Partida made his first start as a center midfielder during Saturday’s match. He played the complete 90 minutes and recorded a 93% passing accuracy, 67% of ground duels, one interception, and six recoveries. This match marks the eighth total appearance for Partida.
– Academy player David Diaz made his first start as the right midfielder during Saturday’s match. Diaz recorded 88% passing accuracy, two shots on goal, and five recoveries.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN
| Scoring Summary | 1 | 2 | F |
| Central Valley Fuego FC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Greenville Triumph SC | 0 | 1 | 1 |
GVL– Venton Evans 66’
Stats Summary | CVvGVL
Shots: 9 | 18
Shots on Goal: 0 | 1
Corner Kicks: 0 | 3
Possession: 57% | 43%
Fouls: 11 | 11
Offside: 0 | 3
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CV– Diego Casillas (CAUTION) 80’
LINEUPS
Central Valley Fuego FC (1-4-4-2): Ofek Antman, Michael Hornsby, William Gillingham (Marco Torralva), Jordan Chavez, Nathan Smith, David Diaz (Diego Casillas), Victor Falck (Alexis Cerritos), Ozzie Ramos, Jesus Partida, Christian Chaney (Maxi Schenfeld), Villyan Bijev
Subs not used: Mitch North
Greenville Triumph SC (1-4-1-4): Paul Christensen, Nate Shultz, Brandon Fricke, Evan Lee, Tyler Polak (Jimmy Filerman), Allen Gavilanes, Aaron Walker, Don Smart (Miles Fenton), Lucas Coutinho (Noah Pilato), Jake Keegan (Venton Evans), Jacob Labovitz (Nico Brown)
Subs not used: Jaime Smith, Noah Pilato, Peter Pearson
TEAM PERSPECTIVE
“It was a very tough game against the first-place team in the standings. We played under difficult conditions and at times were able to impose our game. We had two to three clear chances to score but couldn’t capitalize,” said head coach Martin Vasquez. “We need to improve our finishing and improve our defending.”
“It’s difficult to lose. We are both two tough teams. Usually whoever scores first keeps the result. Unfortunately, Greenville did that. They are a good team. It was also difficult because of the humidity,” said Ofek Antman. “We are also a strong team with the best players in the league and we’re going to keep working hard. The guys gave everything they had. We created our chances and I’m sure the next game we will win.”
“I felt like we were the better team and it shows in the game. I just think we need to finish the opportunities we get but other than their goal that they had we were the better team,” said David Diaz. “We just have to turn this around on Wednesday and we will.”
