Mexican team C.F. Pachuca defeated the Atlanta Silverbacks 2-0 last Wednesday. The reigning CONCACAF Champions Cup holders scored in the 27th and 85th minutes to win the friendly exhibition. Leobardez Lopes scored the first goal while substitute Jose Cardenas put the game away with the second goal. After the game, the Tuzos headed to Los Angeles for the SuperLiga Competition and a match versus Chivas USA. The SuperLiga is a competition between American and Mexican clubs. Pachuca is the defending champion.
The Silverbacks then took on the Argentinean club Atletico Independiente on Saturday night in another friendly. The Reds took a hard-fought match 2-1 with a goal in the 90th minute by Damian Ledesma. Atlanta actually led the match for over 50 minutes before Independiente equalized in the 77th minute on a penalty kick by Leandro Gioda. The Silverbacks’ Ansu Toure assisted forward Jason McLaughlin on the team’s only goal, as Toure played the ball to McLaughlin from near midfield and the forward controlled the pass and scored on a blast past Reds’ keeper Adrian Gabbarini. Independiente tied the match in the 77th as substitute Victor Sosa was fouled in the penalty area, which resulted in a penalty kick for the team from Argentina. The Reds threatened several times in the final 13 minutes, finally connecting on a corner kick from Hernan Fredes that Ledesma was able to convert into a score.
The sixth-place Silverbacks return to USL action at home against the Portland Timbers on Friday at 7:55 p.m.
WOMEN TAKE DIVISION
The Silverbacks Women improved their record to 12-0-1 with a 4-2 win at Charlotte and, in the process, clinched the Atlantic Division title. The second-place Lady Eagles could have tied the division with a win but were thwarted by a dynamic performance by the team from Atlanta. Forward Ashley Latham scored a hat trick in the game with goals in the 45th, 47th, and 67th minutes. Midfielder Jillian Porto netted her first goal of the year as well. Latham is now second on the team with 13 goals, six behind team-leader Sarah Steinman.
The team actually fell behind for only the second time all year when Charlotte scored in the 43rd minute. However, the Lady ‘backs would only trail for two minutes until Steinman connected with Latham for the team’s first goal. Atlanta would not look back from there, as the team scored three straight goals to take an insurmountable 4-1 lead. Charlotte would score again to cut the lead to two with 13 minutes to play, but could not catch the Silverbacks.
The division champs will now close out the regular season with a game against West Virginia at 3 p.m. on Saturday. The regional playoffs are scheduled to begin on July 25 and will last through July 27. The Silverbacks will be one of four teams competing for the regional title. The other three teams had not yet been decided at press time.
Black can be reached at sblack@scoreatl.com.
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