NEWPORT NEWS — Lionsbridge FC cruised to a 4-0 victory over Salem City FC on Friday night at TowneBank Stadium, securing a spot in the USL League Two Eastern Conference Semifinals despite a five-hour rain delay that interrupted play in the first half.
Taig Healy opened the scoring in the 14th minute after a clever flick from Evan Howard, putting Lionsbridge ahead 1-0. Moments later, heavy rain and severe weather forced a suspension of play that lasted five hours before teams returned to finish the match.
When play resumed, Lionsbridge didn’t miss a beat. In the 35th minute, Howard assisted again—this time feeding Gabi Rodriguez, who slotted home the second goal. Rodriguez struck again in the 58th minute, heading in a back-post cross from Healy to make it 3-0.
Ten minutes later, Ricky Louis was fouled in the box, and Sam Hall calmly converted the penalty to cap the scoring at 4-0.
Lionsbridge outshot Salem City 12-8 and preserved the clean sheet to improve to 15-2-3 on the season.
With the win, Lionsbridge advances to host Northern Virginia FC in the Eastern Conference Semifinals on July 20 at 7 p.m. at TowneBank Stadium.
