Kennesaw, Ga. (Sept. 15, 2024) – Huntsville City Football Club earned a 6-3 win against Atlanta United 2 at Fifth Third Bank Stadium, with forward Woobens Pacius recording the third hat trick in club history.
The Boys in Blue got on the board in the 12th minute when Jony Bolaños’ cross found Pacius at the top of the 18-yard box, who fired the ball into the net. Watch Pacius’ first goal here.
Huntsville doubled its lead 10 minutes later when Bolaños grabbed an errant pass from an Atlanta defender before crossing the ball to Forster Ajago, who tapped it in for his team lead-tying seventh goal of the season. Watch Ajago’s goal here.
The Boys in Blue added another in the 35th minute when Ollie Wright picked the pocket of Atlanta’s goalkeeper and passed the ball to Bolaños, who sent the ball into an empty net for his team-leading eighth goal of the year. Watch Bolaños’ goal here.
Pacius got his second goal just two minutes later when Ethan O’Brien passed the ball to Ajago, who tapped the ball to Pacius before the forward struck the ball into the near corner for his second goal of the day. Watch Pacius’ second goal here.
Atlanta got one back before halftime through Noble Okello, a second in the 49th minute through Karim Tmimi, and a third in the 82nd minute from Ashton Gordon. Huntsville restored its two-goal lead in the 85th minute when Jonathan Pérez received Joey Akpunonu’s pass and fired the ball into the net from well outside the box. Watch Pérez’s goal here.
Pacius scored his third goal of the afternoon from the spot after being tackled inside the box in the 88th minute. Watch Pacius’ third goal here.
The Boys in Blue will return home for the final time this season to host FC Cincinnati 2 on Sunday, Sept. 22 at 6 p.m. CT at Wicks Family Field at Joe Davis Stadium. Tickets to the match can be purchased here.
Notes:
- Huntsville City FC
- tied its most goals scored in one match
- have scored first in five of its last seven matches
- scored the most first-half goals in team history (four)
- is unbeaten all-time at Atlanta United 2 (2W-0L-0D)
- Forster Ajago
- scored his seventh goal of the season
- has scored three goals against Atlanta United 2 this season
- recorded his second assist of the season
- Joey Akpunonu recorded his first assist of the season
- Jony Bolaños
- served as team captain for the 21st time this season
- scored his team-leading eighth goal of the season
- recorded his team-leading sixth and seventh assists of the season
- Sean Davis made his Huntsville City FC and MLS NEXT Pro debut
- Woobens Pacius
- recorded the first hat trick of his MLS NEXT Pro career
- became the third Boy in Blue to record a hat trick (Azaad Liadi, Jony Bolaños)
- scored his fifth, sixth, and seventh goals of the season
- recorded his second brace of the season
- Jonathan Pérez scored his second goal of the season
- Joey Skinner made his 30th all-time start for Huntsville City FC
- Ollie Wright recorded his fifth assist of the season
- Patrick Yazbek made his Huntsville City FC and MLS NEXT Pro debut
Box Score:
Huntsville City FC (7W-13L-5D, 0SOW, 26 pts.) at Atlanta United 2 (7W-12L-6D, 4SOW, 31 pts.)
Fifth Third Bank Stadium | Kennesaw, Ga.
Final Score:
HCFC: 6
ATL 2: 3
Scoring Summary:
HCFC: Woobens Pacius (A: Jony Bolaños) 12’
HCFC: Forster Ajago (A: Jony Bolaños) 22’
HCFC: Jony Bolaños (A: Ollie Wright) 35’
HCFC: Woobens Pacius (A: Forster Ajago) 37’
ATL 2: Noble Okello (A: Nick Firmino) 44’
ATL 2: Karim Tmimi 49’
ATL 2: Ashton Gordon (A: Luke Brennan) 82’
HCFC: Jonathan Pérez (A: Joey Akpunonu) 85’
HCFC: Woobens Pacius (pen.) 88’
Discipline:
ATL 2: Efrain Morales (caution) 32’
HCFC: Joey Skinner (caution) 34’
HCFC: Woobens Pacius (caution) 53’
ATL 2: Alan Carleton (caution) 57’
HCFC: Jony Bolaños (caution) 66’
HCFC: Julian Gaines (caution) 78’
Lineups:
HCFC Starters: Bryan Dowd, Joey Skinner (Julian Gaines 63’), Joey Akpunonu, Chris Applewhite, Will Perkins (Joel Sangwa 70’), Sean Davis (Patrick Yazbek 46’), Ethan O’Brien (Dominic Gasso 63’), Ollie Wright, Jony Bolaños (C), Woobens Pacius, Forster Ajago (Jonathan Pérez 46’)
Substitutes: Simon Jillson, Tomás Ritondale, Faiz Opande, Axel Picazo
ATL 2 Starters: Jayden Hibbert, Dominik Chong Qui, Ethan Dudley, Efrain Morales, Ramzi Qawasmy (Ashton Gordon 75’), Noble Okello, Nick Firmino (Karim Tmimi 46’), Javier Armas, Alan Carleton, Rodrigo Neri (Luke Brennan 46’), Matias Gallardo (Matthew Dejienne 75’)
Substitutes: John Berner, Jacob Williams, Kaiden Moore, Stephen Hurlock, Landon Zuniga
