September 3, 2022 – United Soccer League Championship (USL) – Birmingham Legion FC News Release
Miami, FL – Miami scored first at FIU stadium, but Birmingham bounced back in the second half to secure a draw after being on the front-foot for most of the match with an expected goal ratio of 1.63.
The first half opened with pressure on both sides of the pitch. Birmingham led the attacking front and earned a penalty kick in the 15th minute, but forward Juan Agudelo’s shot from the spot was saved by Miami’s Jake McGuir.
The Three Sparks were on the front foot from then on out, until Captain Phanuel Kavita went down after taking an elbow to the eye, resulting in him having to get off the pitch and Birmingham temporarily being down to ten men.
It was in those few minutes with one less man when Miami scored the opener. A corner kick saw the ball punched out to Miami’s Lamar Walker who smashed the ball through the defense and into the back of the net.
With Captain Kavita out, the Three Sparks had to make positional adjustments during the match with midfielder Zachary Herivaux dropping back to play as a center back to cover for the squad. The Haitian put up a battle in the back, displaying solid defensive work along with the other members who adjusted keep Miami’s lead at one.
“I think we had to adjust a little bit with tons of thing,” said Legion FC Head Coach Tommy Soehn. “You don’t always expect Phanuel to go out, so we had to make multiple changes, which is disruptive to a team that’s found a groove. Enzo had to play three positions, Mikey played three positions, Rufe played three positions. We had to keep adjusting for the circumstances, and that made it difficult.”
Legion FC equalized in the 69th minute after brilliant build-up play saw the ball travel from midfielder Anderson Asiedu, deflect in the box, and reach the Brazilian maestro Bruno Lapa who smashed it into the side netting. Lapa, who has been in terrific form as of late and was recognized on the USL’s Team of the Week for Week 25, netted his fifth goal of the season to set himself as the fourth most prolific goal scorer for the Magic City.
“We sorted out some details at halftime and came back pushing the game for a goal,” said Lapa. “We knew if we were more patient in our attacks and look for combinations, we were going to have chances, and we were able to find one. We tried to find another one to come out with three points but, unluckily, we did not,” said Lapa.
Birmingham would dominate the second…