Heat Outpaces Tempo 4-0 to Advance in UPSL National Tournament
- Forrest Wimberly
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
Marriott Hat-Trick Sends Heat into National Quarterfinals
It was another Tom Marriott hat trick, this time in the UPSL Premier National Tournament Round of 16, to send the South Carolina United Heat on their way 4-0 over the stunned Tennessee Tempo.
Marriott now has 11 playoff goals on the season (24 total goals) including three playoff hat tricks (Tempo, Electric City, Sporting Soccer Academy) to lead the Heat into the next round.
The neutral-site playoff match was played at MOBA Stadium on the turf in Peachtree City, Georgia. A very warm, sunny afternoon kickoff saw both teams trade attacks over the first 25 minutes leading up to the first hydration break. The half-chances at both ends early on turned into more a physical midfield duel between the two very experienced playoff sides.
The Heat created the first goal of the match in the 33rd minute after a buildup on the left flank provided a square ball to Tom Marriott at the top of the area. Marriott’s shot was turned aside by the Tempo keeper but only as far as the feet of Heat Captain Seth Hanson who immediately played the ball back to Marriott at the top of six-yard box. Marriott didn’t give the Tempo keeper a second chance at a save by roofing the ball into the top of the net with a thunderous right foot.
The match went to the break 1-0 Heat and a very fiery and more physical Tempo team returned to the pitch for the second half. The Heat would match the physical play of Tempo after suffering some hard challenges and late fouls, but the Heat kept their nerve and didn’t get into the emotional trappings of the match staying focused on the job of winning the game.
This pattern of physical play created a Heat free kick in the 67th minute that Max Laudau served deep into the Tempo box. The service was poorly cleared by the Tempo defense to just outside of the box falling to Kazuma Ishizuka who immediately played the ball back forward to the feet of Marriott. Marriott quickly turned and pounded the ball through the Tempo goalkeeper’s hands into the goal for the 2-0 lead.
Just minutes later, a very rash sliding tackle earned a Tempo defender a straight Red Card for his challenge at the top of the box. Up stepped Tom Marriott to take the free kick. Marriott’s free kick came off the wall and bounced to the feet of Emmanuel Arkoh who had followed the shot inside the area. Arkoh basketball-dribbled the bouncing ball around the scrambling Tempo keeper inside the goal box before putting the third Heat goal into the empty nets in the 72nd minute.
Just after the second half hydration break, it was Tom Marriott on his hat trick in the 82nd minute. The 10-man Tempo were pressing numbers higher up the field and this created a Heat 3 v 1 breakaway opportunity. Marriott made his run and was slipped the ball wide left at the top of the box where he squeezed the ball between the near post and the onrushing Tempo keeper for the 4-0 Heat advantage. The Tempo keeper was just shell-shocked by this point in the match and had no answers for the Heat’s goal explosion in the second half.
The final whistle sounded just minutes later, and the undefeated Heat (14W-0L-2T) now advances to the UPSL National quarterfinals.
The Heat will travel back to MOBA Stadium in Peachtree City on July 25 to face the Florida champions Miami United FC who defeated Pelicans FC 5-0 in their Round of 16 match.
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