August 11, 2024 – United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Birmingham Legion FC News Release
Birmingham Legion FC’s Kobe Hernandez-Foster
(Birmingham Legion FC)
SEASIDE, Calif. – A week after letting a two-goal lead slip away in the second half, Birmingham Legion FC once again found itself in a similar situation and, if anything, the odds of history repeating itself seemed not just possible, but even probable. Up a goal, but down a man for the final 19 minutes of regulation, The Three Sparks dug deep on the defensive end in not allowing another shot on target from Monterey Bay FC en route to a dramatic 2-1 road victory.
“Just an incredible team effort,” Legion FC coach Tom Soehn said after his club pushed its away record to 6W-3L-3D. “We seemed to find a way to bounce back after we let ourselves down. It showed a lot of character because we had a hard meeting after the last game and our guys responded to it, so I was really pleased and proud of them after a great performance where we were defensively sounds and created some really good opportunities.”
With its 10th win of the season in tow, Birmingham keeps pace in the USL Championship Eastern Conference standings as it remains tied on points with fourth place Indy Eleven and stays three points ahead of Rhode Island FC.
Kobe Hernandez-Foster registered his scoring account for 2024 with a long-range strike in the 33rd minute, while Stefano Pinho opened the second half with quite possibly the goal of the season in the 48th minute to push his team-high up to six goals in USLC play.
“When you go on the road and score two goals, you should win the game,” Soehn explained. “We had some looks that we missed on, but happy those went in, especially because they were really good goals that began with good ball movement to create them.”
Looking for a quick strike out of the second half, Dawson McCartney dribbled in from the left side and spotted Pinho at the top of the box, but the ball was deflected by a Monterey defender. Unfazed, the Brazilian forward reached back with his left foot to pop the ball in the air, setting him up to unleash a scissor kick that rippled the top right corner of the net to emphatically make it 2-0.
“That one was amazing and I had a perfect seat for it because I was right there,” Hernandez-Foster said of his teammate’s golazo. “He’s been scoring a lot for us and that one was a fantastic one because of the skill it took and it gave us the win.”
The scoring output was just enough to hang on.
Monterey…