Snellville, Ga. — Potros FC start off their 2021 United Premier Soccer League season with a 1-0 win against Forest Rovers FC.

After an extensive preseason Potros FC returned to play as the Spring 2021 UPSL season started up in the Southeastern Conference this past Sunday, March 14. The match which took place at South Gwinnett Park started off quite slow for both sides, as they struggled to finish chances and made problematic mistakes.

It took a while for both teams to open up and get into their respective rhythms, but once they started the game picked up steam very quickly.

“First game of the season we have a couple of returning players and a couple of new faces, so there are jitters all over,” said Potros goalkeeper Jorge Valdovinos.”But we have been preparing for a long time for this new season and practice has definitely helped a lot with our chemistry.”

Potros FC ‘s goalkeeper Jorge Valdovinos had great saves throughout this match, and stayed on top of instructing his backline to make sure that no runs got past them.

“The way I manage to keep communication with my back line is to stay vigilant to the field and tell them about their surroundings and when to step, drop or shift,” said Valdovinos. “I myself think I had a good performance especially with my save in the 77th minute, it was all about having composure and staying on my toes. I was very proud of myself about being able to make the save and keeping the score at 1-0.”

Within the first 10 minutes of the match, Potros FC had a couple of clear chances to score a goal, but were unable to finish them off. To make matters a bit more difficult for Potros, one of the starters Abiodun “Dennis” Fasola ended up getting subbed off in the fifth minute with an injury.

Fasola was replaced by newcomer and defender Carlos Sola, who made his debut in the fifth minute when he came on as a substitute. This allowed Potros to change their shape in the back, which opened up their wingers to later intensify the game.

The match ended in a 0-0 draw going into halftime where each team their respective time to analyze their plays and restructure their tactics.

“When we went back to the benches at halftime we knew we should’ve scored and we knew we should’ve not forced our passes, but instead in a tiki-taka way,” said Sola. “I think the defense and myself did really well by not letting them have much space and by always sticking to our man so that he wouldn’t through and make a pass.”

Upon the start of the second half the game intensified rapidly and both teams fought head to head in dismantling each other’s plays.

The game seemed like it was going to end in draw as the minutes were winding down. But that all changed in the 76th minute when Gabriel Koziel do Carmo scored an absolute screamer of a goal. Immediately after Koziel ran to his teammates to celebrate his first goal of the season.

“I have no words to explain my feelings when I scored the goal,” said Koziel. “The feeling of being able to score a goal for your team is already excellent, but being able to score an awesome goal to bring victory to your team is undoubtedly the best thing in a player’s career! I’m 100% sure this goal lands in my TOP 3!”

The game ended with Potros FC beating Forest Rovers FC 1-0, and Gabriel Koziel do Carmo’s goal ended up winning goal of the week for the entire UPSL in week 1. Potros FC end week 1 at the top of the Georgia division standings.

This win means a lot to the team, as it certainly gives them the confidence to look forward to a great season.

“The win for me felt good because it was my first UPSL win and it felt like we won the World Cup,” said Carlos Sola. “All of us put our all into this game and it showed on the pitch and that’s how we should be playing every match that we have left.”

Potros FC are set to take on current UPSL Champions Atletico Atlanta (formally known as Ginga Atlanta FC) on Saturday, March 27, 2021 at 6pm at Clayton State University.