Juan Agudelo, Enzo Martinez, and Tyler Pasher all scored in the 3-0 victory to propel BHM to the fifth round of the tournament for the first time ever
BIRMINGHAM, AL (May 10, 2023) — Birmingham Legion FC trounced its arch-rivals Memphis 901 FC 3-0 in a dominant performance on Wednesday night in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 32. Two goals in the first half at Protective Stadium set the Black & Gold en route to victory and a third goal in the second half capped off the night.
Former United States Men’s National Team forward Juan Agudelo opened the scoresheet for Birmingham in the 20th minute. Midfielder Enzo Martinez fed a ball in off a Chick-fil-A Corner Kick and Agudelo delivered a cheeky finish that threw his fellow former USMNT international, Memphis goalkeeper Bill Hamid, and found the back of the net.
Legion’s second goal came in the 39th minute of the first half. Off a shot from Tyler Pasher that was saved but not fully cleared by Hamid, Martinez beat a defender with a cut back and sneakily placed the ball at the near post into the bottom right corner.
In the 64th minute the Black & Gold would score again to shut down any chance of the visitors making a comeback. After strong hold up play by Agudelo to spring the counterattack, 2019 Team MVP Prosper Kasim connected with Pasher in the box, and Pasher powerfully curled the ball past the hands of the Memphis goalkeeper from short distance.
“I feel like we have a really good counterattacking team,” said Agudelo. “When we have space on the ball, we’re very dangerous, speed-wise and things like that. We struggle a little bit whenever we’re trying to be a possession team. When we sit, conserve our energy, and then just blast off like a rocket on the counter attack with the pace we have — it’s a very tough team to deal with. I liked how we played today.”
Defensively, the Three Sparks were solid throughout the entire match. The best chance by Area Code FC came in the 5th minute, when former Legionnaire Akeem Ward hit the post after a long spell of Memphis passes. The Boys in Black would go on to finish out the night on a shutout and deliver a clean sheet against its rivals from Tennessee. Defender Alex Crognale was a particular standout from the back, leading the team in clearances (8) and interceptions (6), while goalkeeper Trevor Spangenberg earned his second shutout of the season.
“I thought we handled them quite well tonight,” said Head Coach Tommy Soehn. “It was a really professional performance. They started the game really well and I think getting that goal really kind of changed the momentum and we were able to put a stamp on it and really control the game both possession-wise and in chances created. And we put in a really good defensive performance tonight too.”
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Thanks to tonight’s win, Birmingham advance to the Round of 16 in the U.S. Open Cup for the first time in club history! The drawing for the Round of 16 matchups will be live streamed on the Bleacher Report app or B/R Football Youtube channel on Thursday at 1pm CT, and the matches will take place on May 23 and 24.
“Yeah, it means a lot for Birmingham,” said Agudelo, when asked about Legion FC reaching the Round of 16 for the first time. “[For] The club, the crest. It’s been an effective season of hard work to get to the next round. As you can tell, a bunch of the guys are pretty excited to see who we’ve got up next. Hopefully it’s a home game. As you can tell, the team is clicking offensively. We’re becoming a little sharper and it’s looking good. I’m really excited to see how far we can take this team and keep fighting with my brothers. As you can tell [as he holds out a busted lip], it’s going to be blood sweat and tears and that’s what it takes to be a champion.
“Myself, a couple of other guys, they’ve had opportunities and been denied from some MLS teams, so I think they’re gonna have a chip on their shoulder — I know I do a little bit — so I’m excited. I’m hoping we draw an MLS team.”
Box Score:
| 1st Half | 2nd Half | |
| Birmingham | 2 | 1 |
| Memphis | 0 | 0 |
Goals:
BHM – 20’ – #9 Juan Agudelo (assisted by #17 Enzo Martinez)
BHM – 39′ – #17 Enzo Martinez
BHM – 64’ – #15 Tyler Pasher (assisted by #10 Prosper Kasim)
Lineup:
BHM – 4-4-2 – #18 Trevor Spangenberg; #3 Phanuel Kavita, #16 Gabriel Alves, #21 Alex Crognale, #4 Collin Smith (64′ #13 Jake Rufe); #6 Anderson Asiedu, #5 Mikey Lopez (45′ #17 Matthew Corcoran), #10 Prosper Kasim (81′ #7 Diba Nwebgo), #15 Tyler Pasher (68′ #2 Ben Reveno); #16 Enzo Martinez, #9 Juan Agudelo (73′ #11 Neco Brett)
Legion FC take to the road this Saturday to face off against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds for the second time this season. Last time the two sides met it ended in a draw, and this time Legion will be looking to get a win against its playoff rivals. Tune in to watch the match on My68 or ESPN+, and follow @bhmlegion on twitter for live match updates!
The squad is back at home on Saturday, May 20 to face the El Paso Locomotive at Protective Stadium at 6:30pm and fans can get tickets for the match right here.
For all club news and updates fans are encouraged to follow @bhmlegion on social media and keep an eye on bhmlegion.com and the Legion FC app. Download the Legion FC app today on Apple or Android.
