AMSTERDAM – Halftime sub A.J. Soares opened his Viking FK account to cap the scoring in a 9-0 NM Cupen rout of second-round hosts Varegg on Thursday night.
The former New England Revolution center back fired home a right channel lay-off from 25 yards out with just seconds remaining against the over-matched fourth-division mites. The Dark Blues have now won three straight matches across all competitions for the first time in exactly a year.
Elsewhere, Quentin Westberg made a strong Sarpsborg 08 debut between the sticks in a 3-0 victory away to third-flight Grorud. Making his first senior-team start since he was with Ligue 1 side Évian in 2011, the former US youth international ran his career record in cup matches to 6-3-2.
On the topic of cup aces, Molde FK backstop Ethan Horvath maintained his spotless NM Cupen record with a 2-0 win at third-tier Traeff. The Colorado native had little to do beyond solidly commanding his area to post his fourth shutout victory in as many pro starts.
