BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – In an effort to replicate an away match feel and, hopefully, away match success, Tom Soehn had Birmingham Legion FC dress in the smaller locker room at Protective Stadium Saturday evening. After a dominant second half secured a 3-0 victory over Orange County SC, The Three Sparks may be using that locker room more often going forward.
“I think we have to, right?” laughed the Legion FC coach following his squad’s fourth home win in USL Championship play this season.
Stefano Pinho continued his torrid form with goals in the 51st and 89th minute for a brace, pushing his team-leading goal tally to five in USLC and nine overall. Tyler Pasher, who assisted Pinho’s second goal, capped off the Birmingham onslaught with a stoppage time goal in his first match back from injury.
“We came in wanting to build off our last performance in New Mexico and we showed that with the effort and tactical execution,” said Soehn as Legion FC pushed its record back over .500 and moved up to fifth place in the Eastern Conference table with 31 points.
“(The second half performance) is what we strive to get to at the end of the season and we are starting to see glimpses of it. We just need more of it going forward.”
After a couple of close calls in the first half, Birmingham flexed its muscles in the latter 45 minutes with all three goals coming from the run of play and set up by a beautiful string of passing.
Pinho’s first of the night began with a long diagonal from defender Alex Crognale that found Moses Mensah down the left side. The play continued with Dawson McCartney making a run inside the box with the cutback pass finding Pinho, who one-timed it into the back of the net.
“I’m just always trying to be in the right place at the right time,” he explained. “I said to Dawson before the goal that when he has the ball just cross it and I’ll get to it with my movement. I was happy to be able to get to it first before the defender and get a good shot.”
Pinho then added to his account with another goal on the first touch after a sequence of six passes involving six different Legion FC players cut through the Orange County SC midfield and defense to secure the victory and the three points.
“When I step on the field, it’s my duty to always give 100 percent,” said the 33-year-old Brazilian forward who had two of Birmingham’s game-high 11 shots on target. “So tonight I was happy to get two goals and help the team win because at home, that feeling is always good for us.”
Pasher then made sure to send the fans home happy with a tap-in that was set up by Preston Tabort Etaka to beat his defender on the run and send in the low cross.
“It felt good to be back out there, although I’m a little tired now,” Pasher joked after grabbing his seventh goal across all competitions. “Things happen and I’ve been working hard to get back to playing as quick as I can, so I’m just glad to be back out there with the guys.”
After having to miss the last three matches, a relieved and hungry Pasher returned to the pitch when he subbed on the 77th minute and quickly made his mark with his involvement in Birmingham’s final two goals.
Saturday also marked the return for goalkeeper Matt Van Oekel after a seven-match injury absence. The veteran picked up right where he left off, and then some, with four big saves en route to his fourth clean sheet of the season and first at Protective Stadium.
“Matt is such a rock in the back with his leadership and calmness,” Soehn said. “He’s irreplaceable and then you see what Pasher brings in a short amount of time. When you miss key guys like that, it’s hard, but credit the guys in how we’ve been able keep trucking forward in their absence, so it gives us more options as these guys get back.”
Birmingham’s first big opportunity of the evening occurred in the 23rd minute when Pinho was pulled down right outside the top of the box by Orange County captain Markus Nakkim, drawing a yellow card. On the ensuing free kick, AJ Paterson launched a shot with blistering pace off his left foot that forced goalkeeper Tomas Gomez to punch it wide with both hands.
The end-to-end action continued with Orange County SC springing a counterattack that freed forward Ethan Zubak in front of goal. His right-footed curler got past Van Oekel, but glanced off the post.
Van Oekel was called into action again just three minutes later where – following a turnover in midfield – Zubak again found himself in on goal. The veteran netminder was up to the task with a strong save and watched as the follow-up shot off a rebound sailed high.
“We still had some hairy moments,” explained Soehn. “We’re still trying things with our lineup as we get guys back and have a lot of guys in limited minutes, but we learned a little bit about what works and what doesn’t work tonight.”
Legion FC appeared to have broken the deadlock right before halftime with Pinho winning a header over two defenders, setting up McCartney to turn on his man and fire one by Gomez. However, it was waved off with referee Matt Thompson motioning that McCartney used his arm to settle the ball as the two teams went into the half with the match still scoreless.
Match Details
| BOX SCORE | 1ST HALF | 2ND HALF | FINAL |
| OC (8W – 10L – 3D) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| BHM (9W – 8L – 4D) | 0 | 3 | 3 |
LINEUPS
OC: Gomez – GK, Fox, Chavez, Nakkim – C, Lambe, Powers (Norris 59′), Flood, Scott (Dunbar 75′), Chattha (Hegardt 59′), Jamison (Miles 75′), Zubak
BHM: Van Oekel – GK, Paterson (Tabort Etaka 60′), Kavita – C, Crognale, Dodson, Mensah, Hernandez-Foster (Perez 77′), Hamouda (Kasim 45′), McCartney (Pasher 77′), Martinez, Pinho
GOALS
OC:
BHM: Pinho 51′, 89′; Pasher 90+5′
DISCIPLINE
OC: Flood (Yellow) 3′; Scott (Yellow) 10′; Nakkim (Yellow) 23′; Lambe (Yellow) 86′
BHM: Martinez (Yellow) 85′
NEXT UP
With four points in its last two matches, Legion FC will be right back in action in a week with a chance to build off of this newfound momentum. The squad returns to Protective Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 3, for a date with Hartford Athletic.
“We want to continue this,” said Pasher of winning at home. “As long as we can keep it up, it will only build our confidence. This is the place where we got to get all the points and make this a tough place for opponents to come to play. Tonight we solidified but we have to keep it up.”
Kick-off is set for 6:30 p.m. CDT as Birmingham looks to avenge a 1-0 loss it suffered at Hartford in the second match of the 2024 campaign. Tickets can be purchased HERE.
