Photo by Jacksonville Armada FC

By AARON CRANFORD

Thanks to a heroic stoppage-time winner from Jacksonville Armada FC substitute Alhassane Keita, the defending champion San Antonio Scorpions remain winless five weeks into the NASL Spring Season.

The two took jabs at each other in the opening moments, as Marcos Flores assisted Pascal Millien in the third minute, giving Armada FC the early lead.

However, once again, the NASL offered fans a splendid goal, and this time, it came from the effort of Omar Cummings. The forward found the immediate answer in the eighth minute for the Scorpions after hitting an acrobatic scissor-kick, which found its way through many Armada FC defenders.

After two halves of physical play, which saw a total of eight yellow cards dished out on the night, the decider finally came in extra time, and Keita was the man of the moment in Jacksonville.

After Cummings netted his third goal of the season— tied for the league lead with Nacho Novo — the home side continued to press forward. Flores almost had a brace in the 29th minute, but Scorpions goalkeeper Daryl Sattler came up big to prevent the expansion side from grabbing the lead in the first half.

The second half was filled with rough play and a handful of chances to grab the game-winner, with 16 total shots being fired by both sides in the half alone.

Keita’s winner came from the good run of Akeil Barrett, but it was Armada FC goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo who had the last crucial play on the night, denying the Scorpions an equalizer in the dying minutes.

Jacksonville will next host Indy Eleven on Saturday, while the Scorpions head home to face the Carolina RailHawks on the same day.