Myrtle Beach gets win in first meeting with Lionsbridge FC

The two highest-scoring teams in the South Atlantic met Saturday night in Virginia and the Mutiny came out on top.

Miguel Timm storms down the field in the Mutiny’s Open Cup match back on May 9. (Photo by Ian Livingston Brooking)

The PDL Game of the Week did not disappoint as the Myrtle Beach Mutiny defeated Lionsbridge FC 2–0 in Newport News, Virginia, Saturday night.

Coming into the match, the Mutiny led the South Atlantic Division in goals scored with eight and Lionsbridge FC was right behind them with seven. But it would be the Mutiny defense that propelled the team to a 2–0 victory.

The Mutiny struck early as Jon Ander played a beautiful ball in to Miguel Timm who, after dancing around in the box, powered the ball into the back of the net to make it 1–0 in the fifth minute.

Ander fancied getting on the scoresheet as well and nearly doubled the Mutiny lead midway through the first half, but the shot went just wide and the Mutiny held onto their lead going into the half.

The Mutiny started the second half much like they did the first. They were aggressive and offensive-minded, trying to quickly add a second goal so that Lionsbridge couldn’t get an equalizer. For about a half hour both teams went back and forth trading chances but neither team could find the back of the net.

With just over a quarter of an hour to play, a harsh foul outside the box led to Ander finally getting his goal. Ander caught Lionsbridge FC off guard and buried the free kick to make it 2–0 to the Mutiny.

The final 15 minutes were dominated by Lionsbridge FC as the team looked to make a comeback. The Mutiny defense, orchestrated by goalkeeper Jose Santos, held their own and kept the Lionsbridge offense at bay. Santos finished the match with five saves, but the key defensive moment was just before the 90th minute. Lionsbridge had a great chance to get a goal back but Jose Gonzalez put his body on the line and took a shot to the gut, sending the ball out for a corner.

The Mutiny held on in the end and extended their unbeaten streak to three matches.

Up next

For a team that three weeks ago took a gut-wrenching US Open Cup loss and fell in their PDL opener, the Mutiny are now on top of the South Atlantic Division. Myrtle Beach will play host to Tobacco Road FC 7:10 p.m. Wednesday at North Myrtle Beach Park & Sports Complex.

Tobacco Road fell to the defending PDL champion Charlotte Eagles last Wednesday. TRFC will want to get back in the win column this week and play spoiler to the Mutiny’s 2018 PDL home opener like they did last season, when they handed the Mutiny their only regular season loss.

The Mutiny will need to continue their attacking efforts and strike early. The back line for Myrtle Beach will have to continue their aggressiveness and confidence in each other if they want to extend their unbeaten run to four games.

It will be interesting to see how the Mutiny will respond to Tobacco Road, a team that has had a week off. The Mutiny have also been traveling all over the East Coast in the first four games of the PDL season, journeying over 900 miles.