Greenville, SC – The Greenville Triumph persevered through a long, strange evening of soccer to defeat Orlando City B 1-0 in their first match back in the Upstate in nearly a month. The two sides met just 15 days ago, as Greenville notched a 2-0 shutout in Monteverde, FL.
The Triumph were welcomed back home to Legacy Early College Field with strong vocal support from the crowd, only to be stifled in the 20th minute when lightning in the area sent the match into a delay that would last nearly three hours.
Just before the delay, Greenville was awarded their first penalty kick of the season, however Jake Keegan’s attempt was stopped by the reach of 6-foot-7 OCB keeper Christian Herrera.
The match resumed shortly after 10:05 PM in an empty stadium, as fans were sent home during the long delay and credited for a future match. The two sides battled through a persistent drizzle and seemed destined for a 0-0 draw for the balance of the second half until the two Triumph co-captains connected to produce a surprise match-winner. Tyler Polak fed the ball to Aaron Walker, who produced the club’s first strike from outside the 18′ to put the Triumph on top 1-0. The club held on through an extended period of stoppage time to grab their second straight win against OCB.
“To come through in the last few minutes like that shows the character of this team,” said midfielder Aaron Walker. “Having a long delay like that and responding like we did was great and I’m really proud of the guys.”
“There was something in our guys tonight that made them dig deep,” said Head Coach John Harkes. “Evan (Lee) and I told Aaron he was going to be the first to score from outside the 18′ for us, and he’s been striking the ball well in training so we knew he was about to turn the corner. Credit to Orlando tonight, they gave us a big challenge. I’m so proud of the way the guys fought through the circumstances tonight.”
The Triumph (5-5-5) return to Legacy Early College Field next Saturday, July 20, to face FC Tucson for the first time this season. The Pregame Fan Fest begins at 5:00 pm, gates open at 6:00 pm and kickoff is at 7:00 pm. Tickets can be purchased by clicking here.
STATS
Shots:
Greenville – 14, OCB – 10
Possession:
Greenville: 58.4%
OCB: 41.6%
Corners:
Greenville – 3, OCB – 3
Scoring Summary:
GVL: Walker – 89′
Misconduct Summary:
OCB: Herrera (caution) – 83’,
GVL: Mohamed (caution) – 79′, Bermudez (caution) – 90′
Ejection Summary:
N/A
