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Roughnecks Oust SAFC in Shootout

By CHARLIE CORR - charlie.corr@uslsoccer.com, 05/31/17, 11:11PM EDT

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Cerda converts, saves two as Tulsa advances in Open Cup


Photo courtesy of Tulsa Roughnecks FC

TULSA, Okla. – For Tulsa Roughnecks FC and San Antonio FC, Wednesday came down to the goalkeepers, and the Roughnecks’ Fabian Cerda stepped up in more ways than one.

In a penalty kick shootout, Cerda came up with two saves and converted a goal of his own to help his side win the shootout 7-6 against Western Conference-leading SAFC on Wednesday in the Third Round of the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at Hurricane Soccer & Track Stadium.

With the win, Tulsa will now visit Major League Soccer’s FC Dallas in the Fourth Round on Wednesday, June 14 at Westcott Field in Dallas. Kickoff is at 8 p.m. ET.

Following a scoreless regulation and two 15-minute overtimes, Wednesday’s match went into a shootout, and Cerda stole the show.

San Antonio was actually ahead in the shootout at one point, 3-2. Then, Tulsa’s Ian Svantesson converted to tie it up and Cerda made a clutch save against SAFC’s Mark O’Ojong. It was after that attempt when Cerda scored one of his own to make it 4-3 at the time.

Tulsa and San Antonio traded off, and then it came down to Cerda’s counterpart Diego Restrepo of San Antonio. Cerda notched his second save to continue the Roughnecks’ Open Cup run.

All the drama was preceded by a feeling-out type of match for most of regulation as both sides lacked the scoring punch.

The first half opened up for a stretch though. San Antonio’s best chance came in the 37th minute. Rafa Castillo forced a tough save and Shawn Chin’s follow-up went over the bar in one of SAFC’s better sequences.

In the 41st minute, the Roughnecks had a nice buildup through Jaime Ayala, setting up Svantesson for a high-percentage chance, but he didn’t get enough behind his shot as Restrepo made a fairly routine near-post save.

Tulsa held the brunt of the possession battle throughout regulation, but the Roughnecks didn’t have anything to show for their efforts until the shootout ensued.

Chicago Fire General Manager Nelson Rodriguez was on hand to watch the club’s MLS partner Tulsa on Wednesday.

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