Kenny Teijsse scored his first goal for San Francisco, and Kyle Bekker scored two as the Deltas pulled away from Puerto Rico FC in Puerto Rico for a 3-1 win Saturday night.
The victory continues the Deltas impressive record away from home with three wins, three draws, and no losses.
San Francisco started once again in a 4-3-3 formation with winger Maxim Tissot earning his first start since joining the team. Defender Patrick Hopkins also made the starting lineup in place of the injured Nana Attakora.
The Deltas scored a controversial first goal after Puerto Rico defender Rudy Dawson was injured as his teammates went on a counterattack instead of kicking the ball out. After being dispossessed the Deltas attacked despite Dawson continuing to lay on the ground. Defender Teijsse took a shot from distance that went inside the right post in the 17th minute.
In the 31st minute, Bekker took a pass from Michael Stephens in the box and smacked a sharp shot to the near post past Puerto Rico keeper Austin Pack.
Puerto Rico struck back in the 61st minute when Jair Puerto took advantage of a Deltas mistake to get a goal. However, Bekker restored the two-goal lead with a shot outside the box in the 65th minute that he slammed into the upper right corner of the goal.
“We stayed disciplined during the full game. We started the game well, and it was important to come to half with the lead,” said SF Deltas head coach Marc Dos Santos. “The first 15 minutes of the second half were difficult. Puerto Rico put us under pressure, but Bekker’s goal was important and came in the right moment. It was a well-deserved win for everything that we did during the 90 minutes.”
San Francisco’s win moved them up to third in the table with 17 points, behind Jacksonville, with 19 points, and Miami FC with 24 points.
The Deltas return to the Bay Area to take on the MLS’s San Jose Earthquakes in a highly anticipated US Open Cup match that has been dubbed the “101 Derby.” The game will be played at Avaya Stadium in San Jose on Wednesday, June 14th at 7:15 pm.
