EDMONTON, Alberta (May 27, 2012) - The San Antonio Scorpions overcame a two-goal deficit in the second half to earn a 2-2 road draw against FC Edmonton on Sunday, May 27 at Clarke Stadium. The draw helped the Scorpions extend their unbeaten streak in NASL play to six games.
Second half goals from Josue Soto and Aaron Pitchkolan helped the Scorpions earn a pivotal road point in NASL play to inch closer to the top of the league table. San Antonio now sits just two points behind the first-place Puerto Rico Islanders.
The Scorpions will now head back home to take on the Houston Dynamo in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday, May 29 at Heroes Stadium.
"The players needed to force their game on the opponent and be more aggressive and we did a better job of that in the second half," San Antonio Scorpions head coach Tim Hankinson said.
The Scorpions established a strong defensive presence in the early stages of the match, breaking up a number of FC Edmonton opportunities while developing a strong midfield presence to disrupt the Edmonton attack.
Ilja Van Leerdam delivered a shot on goal in the 22nd minute, but Sattler made another save to keep FC Edmonton off the scoreboard.
In the 27th minute, the Eddies seemed to take the lead when Paul Craig knocked in a header off a long cross. But Craig was offsides, and the goal was waived off to keep the game scoreless.
The Scorpions fell behind in the 37th minute when Shaun Saiko delivered a cross into the box, where Yashir Pinto slightly headed the ball past Sattler to give FC Edmonton a 1-0 lead late in the first half.
San Antonio came close to tying the match in the waning moments of the first half when Walter Ramirez delivered a dangerous cross into the box, but it was deflected away just before the whistle blew to signal the end of the first stanza.
Saiko scored the second goal of the game for FC Edmonton in the 54th minute, rifling a shot past the diving Sattler to give the Eddies a two-goal lead.
But Josue Soto put the Scorpions right back in the game with a shot from the edge of the box that made its way past the diving FC Edmonton keeper Lance Parker in the 61st minute. The goal was the first of the season for Soto.
Saiko nearly picked up his second goal of the afternoon when he sent a dangerous free kick from 30 yards out on goal in the 70th minute. But Sattler punched the shot over the crossbar to keep the Scorpions alive.
The Scorpions increased pressure on the FC Edmonton backline and it paid off in the 83rd minute, when Aaron Pitchkolan earned his second goal of the year, knocking in a free kick from Hans Denissen with a header to tie the game at 2-2 with less than 10 minutes to play.
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