Gone in 60 Seconds

Sure, Tormenta was trailing, but in that moment, things were looking good. 

Down 1-0 to Charleston just before halftime, Niall Reid-Stephen drew a foul inside the Battery box, setting up Tormenta to potentially tie up the game against the USL Championship side heading into halftme.

The two teams had met twice before in the Open Cup, with Tormenta winning in 2022 and then falling in the final minutes of Extra Time against the Battery in 2024, when MD Myers scored in the 120 +1 minute to end Tormenta's 2024 Cup run. Over the past few years, the teams had been equals in the Open Cup and a tie at halftime would only continue that trend. Tormenta had beaten other USL Championship teams over the years, including Birmingham in 2022, Rio Grande Valley in 2023 and Miami FC in 2024. Competing with, and even beating, teams from a division above them is nothing new for Tormenta.

Taking the penalty was Mason Tunbridge. He's scored four times for Tormenta in 2025, leading the team. In just his second professional season, he's become a leader on the field for South Georgia and the man you want at the spot. 

At 45:03, Tunbridge is at the ball. He takes six steps back and slight to his right, preparing for his left-footed shot. His hands on his hips, he takes a breath before beginning to stride forward. 

One step. Two steps. Three steps. His four step is his plant foot and then he shoots low and to his left.

The clock says 45:13 as he strikes it. 

Charleston goalkeeper Christian Garner dove to his right and was able to knock the shot aside. The camera angle shows two Battery players lifting their arms in celebration as the ball rolls out for a corner kick. Garner, however, does not celebrate. He's telling his team to play smart and yelling at his teammates, getting them prepared for the corner kick to come. Despite the failure to convert, Tormenta still is in a threatening position.

That chance, however, would be cleared away. (Let's pretend I'm skipping over this part because nothing important happened and not because I can't find a replay of the game and the highlights skip this part as well.)

What we see next is Charleston on a breakaway. It's 2 v. 2 with players streaming back. Charleston's attacker presses forward on the left before slowing down and moving back towards the middle. A pass gets played to the right, forcing Tormenta goalkeeper Austin Pack, who saved a penalty kick on Saturday in league play, to come forward to cut off the angle for a shot. Charleston, however, is patient, as they take a touch and then pass to MD Myers coming up the middle about 15 yards out. His first touch is a shot through the traffic and into the net. 

The ball hits the net at 45:55 on the clock. 

In less than 60 seconds, the game swung from what looked to be a tie heading into halftime to a 2-0 deficit for Tormenta that they would be unable to climb back from in the second half. 

"I think the score-line was a little bit flattering for us overall because it nearly was 1-1 for the entire first half," Charleston head coach Ben Pirmann told Forrest Wimberly after the game. "Credit to Tormenta, they played a good game, but in the end of it I think we did a lot of good movements and selfless attacks to create those chances and finish them off."

Myers would score two more goals in the second half to seal the win. It's the second year in a row Myers has netted a hat trick in the Open Cup against Tormenta. 

The loss ends Tormenta's Open Cup for 2025 as the team now turns its attention to their road game against Charlotte on Sunday at 4 p.m.