Charleston Battery 2–2 The Villages SC (Villages win 4–2 on penalties)
We beat a professional club in South Carolina last night and we are still not entirely sure how to write about it.
Carlos Araujo put us ahead in the twenty-fourth minute, finishing past Alex Tambakis. For the rest of that half Charleston came at us in waves and found chance after chance, and Paulo Pita would not let them through. Dante Marini eventually beat him with a bending left-footed strike into the bottom corner, and we went in level.
They kept coming. We went ahead again on sixty-six — Danilo Dias with the cross, Araujo with the header, his second of the night.
Then on eighty-one, Chris Tsonis got on the end of a Maikel Chang corner and it was 2–2.
Extra time was theirs. We spent most of it in our own third and Pita kept saving. Shot after shot. There is no version of this match where we are still in it at the end of extra time without him.
Penalties.
He saved their first two.
Garbanzo and Williams converted their third and fourth. We scored all four of ours.
4–2. We are through.
Charleston are a club that makes deep runs in this tournament. This is the third year running they have gone out of the Open Cup on penalties to a team from Florida.
To Paulo Pita — we do not have the words, so we will just say thank you. To Carlos Araujo, two goals away at a professional club in your first Open Cup. To every single player who defended for thirty minutes of extra time. And to everyone who followed this from home: thank you.
Third round: EverBank Field, Jacksonville, against NASL side Jacksonville Armada.
