Story by Jorge Corrales

Photos by Maria Soledad Lorenzino

San Lorenzo of Argentina defeated Atlético Nacional of Colombia by a score 2-0 at FIU Stadium on Saturday. It marked the second time that Atlético Nacional makes the trip to Miami and loses. The club also traveled to Miami in July of 2014 and lost a 4-2 decision to AS Monaco.

San Lorenzo was spurred by two first half goals from Martin Cauteruccio and Enzo Kalinski. They got off to a quick start as Emanuel Mass centered a ball to an unmarked Cauteruccio who tapped it in with only three minutes gone by.

“Scoring is always a good thing,” said Cauteruccio. “It’s good to start the new season on such a positive note. I think this was a good step forward for the club.”

Despite the early lead, San Lorenzo continued to pressure the Nacional defense and they found the back of the net again with Kalinski’s goal in the 37th minute. Kalinski headed a shot past the diving Nacional goalkeeper Franco Armani.

The game was briefly delayed at the start of the second half as Atlético Nacional fans showered the pitch with paper and fireworks. The Nacional fans, who were seated in the East end zones stands, were warned that the game would be suspended if their antics continued.

The delay was the most exciting part of the second half. Neither club was able to net a goal in the second.

San Lorenzo arrived in Miami on Wednesday January 14 and practiced daily at the FIU Soccer Stadium while Nacional arrived on January 16 and was only able to fit in one practice before Saturday’s match. Both teams noted that the artificial turf of Ocean Bank Field would be a new challenge for them.

“The pitch was the same for both clubs so you can eliminate that as a reason we lost. Neither club is used to practicing, much less playing matches on artificial turf,” said Club Atlétco Nacional Coach Juan Carlos Osorio