Courtesy Photo, SCV Storm Soccer

Santa Clarita, Calif. – Storm finished strong with a 4-2 victory over Deportivo Coras U.S.A U23 Sunday at Golden Valley High School for the second leg of the team’s United Premier Soccer League Admiral Cup Second Round fixture. Despite the win, the Storm fell in the leg after losing game one 4-1, unable to hold Deportivo off the scoreboard in game two.

The hard fought victory saw the Storm put on a show for the home crowd in which Brett Croft (midfielder), Scott Landon (defender) and Zach Klindworth (striker) scored in the failed comeback. The Storm saw their Cup dreams in peril early allowing DCU’s Tony Trevino to dribble through their backline splitting the defenders scoring in the 17th minute.

With the Storm down a goal they began to press the action on DCU’s side of the field. In the 29th DCU began to play chaotic defense giving up a penalty kick to the Storm on a hand ball in the box. Croft converted the penalty kick when the keeper could not reach the low ball tying the game.

 DCU’s defensive troubles began to mount with the half nearing an end in the 45th minute they surrendered another penalty in the box taking down a Storm player in the box. Croft made easy work of the keeper fooling him into diving the wrong way to give the Storm a 2-1 lead they would not surrender.

The Storm started the second half scoring a third goal by Klindworth who used some fancy footwork to firing the ball along the ground from just outside the box flying past defenders and the keeper to reach the back of the net.

The Storm were eliminated from the Admiral Cup chase when they had mental lapse losing formation in their defense only to watch DCU’s Gilbert Castrejon score in the 60th.

With away goals having more value and DCU having two to the Storm’s one the chase was on with the Storm now needing three more goals to advance. Head coach Oscar Moreno changed his lineup to get the team fresh legs finding the spark his men desperately needed yet too late.

 After getting a bunch of opportunities the Storm failed to convert as they managed just one more goal when Landon let go a rocket that flew from eighteen yards out that left the DCU keep motionless. Falling short losing their bid to hoist the Admiral Cup, the Storm will regroup with their UPSL regular season kicking off next month.