One week after opening their season on the road with a 0-0 draw against Atlanta, the San Antonio Scorpions returned home to play their inaugural game in the Alamo City on Sunday, April 15, against the Puerto Rico Islanders.
The anticipation for the game was such that the roads to the stadium backed up and the game had to be pushed back from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. to accommodate the capacity crowd of 13,151.
Unfortunately for Scorpion supporters, the game did not live up to expectations as the Islanders scored two goals in the first 20 minutes and then scored two more in the second half to prove why they are atop the North American Soccer League table with a 2-0 record good for six points in the standings.
The game began with the Scorpions controlling possession before the Islanders broke through in the eighth minute with a goal from Jonathan Fana.
The Scorpions had a chance to equal the score when Hans Denissen was brought down by an Islander defender in the penalty box, but the Pablo Campos penalty kick hit the crossbar and the Scorpions were turned away.
The Islanders got their second goal in the 20th minute when David Foley kicked the ball past Scorpion goalkeeper Pat Hannigan.
The 2-0 advantage would see the Islanders into the half.
Nine minutes elapsed in the second half before the Islanders struck again for their third goal in the 56th minute when Nicholas Addlery ran past the Scorpions defenders and booted the ball past the Scorpion keeper.
The Scorpions continued to fight and received another penalty kick in the 68th minute but this shot was punched away by the Islanders’ keeper Richard Martin and with it went the Scorpions’ scoring chances.
The game was marked by physical play from both teams with a lot of second half plays ending with a little shoving by both teams.
As the crowd began to head for the exits, the Islanders got their fourth and final goal in the 73rd minute when Fana struck again for his second goal of the evening.
The Scorpions will return to Heroes Stadium on Saturday, April 21, when they host the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers at 7:30 p.m.
The public is encouraged to arrive early due to traffic.
