Denissen's three goals rally Scorpions

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In many regards, Scorpions coach Tim Hankinson had every reason to be upset with his team's performance Sunday.

His defense had too many breakdowns, and his offense — plagued by missed scoring chances — was hampered by selfish play. Those issues, Hankinson said, will be addressed at a team meeting Monday.

Imagine how he would have felt if the Scorpions hadn't rallied to beat Oklahoma City FC 4-3 in an exhibition before 4,024 at Toyota Field.

“You could see that our guys were still under a palm tree,” Hankinson said, referring to his players having five days off before the game. “When you play an amateur team in an exhibition, and you know there's not three points on the line, there's got to be a tendency to play at a lower level. I think this will be a good kick in the ass to us, because we've got to regain that form that we finished the regular season with.”

One person who had little trouble keeping his rhythm was forward Hans Denissen. He scored three times, including the tying and winning goals in the second half. His penalty kick after an Oklahoma City handball in the penalty area in the 66th minute tied it at 3-3. Denissen tallied the game-winner in the 74th minute when he put in a corner kick from Javier Saavedra.

“I hope to continue this throughout the whole season and bring many more goals and many more points to the team,” said Denissen, who scored six goals in the team's last four regular-season games and was NASL player of the month for June.

Fabrice Noel of the Scorpions puts a pass from Javier Saavedra past Oklahoma City goalie Jennings Clark (0) in the first half. Fabrice Noel of the Scorpions puts a pass from Javier Saavedra past Oklahoma City goalie Jennings Clark (0) in the first half. Photo: Marvin Pfeiffer / San Antonio Express-News Photo: Marvin Pfeiffer / San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close Denissen's three goals rally Scorpions 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

The Scorpions needed every bit of Denissen's scoring prowess. They trailed 3-2 early in the second half when Danny Frid scored his second goal off a pass from Niall Crick in the 52nd minute.

Oklahoma City had pulled even at 2-2 in the waning moments of the first half when Nicolas Alberto put in a pass from Crick in the 45th minute.

The Scorpions rebounded from an early 1-0 deficit with two goals in two minutes midway through the first half.

tthomas@express-news.net