Prosper Kasim’s goal lifts Birmingham Legion to 1-0 upset of Charlotte FC in U.S. Open Cup

Birmingham Legion forward Prosper Kasim has been in the history-making business since his debut in the Magic City.

And business is good.

“They had a man out and we were pushing the game,” Kasim said. “There were two guys behind and I felt all I had to do was go inside to my favorite foot. It just happened. Tonight, it was a collective win, everyone was fighting hard, and I happened to be the guy to finish.”

Prosper scored the first goal in Legion FC history and added to his legend, scoring the first goal against a MLS squad in Legion’s 1-0 victory over Charlotte FC in the U.S. Open Cup’s Round of 16 match at Birmingham’s Protective Stadium.

“You look at the atmosphere today and it was second to none,” Legion FC coach Tom Soehn said. “We’ve been here five short years and the game continues to grow, the city continues to back us and it was hard not to enjoy that. I had so many first-time fans come up and say how much they enjoyed that game and how they get another one against the MLS. What a great performance from our guys, they understood what the game meant. We’ve had some ups and downs as far as having so many games. We executed quite well.”

The U.S. Open Cup event drew the largest crowd in Legion FC history with an announced attendance of 12,722 at Protective Stadium.

“It was amazing,” Legion FC captain and defender Phanuel Kavita said. “Especially when we scored, you could tell how loud it was. Even coming out at halftime, I got excited walking out and hearing those fans. It gives us confidence -- it gives us joy and excitement to be playing in front of that many people. Hopefully, we have more fans come out because that allows us to blow up the city and have more people come out.”

Charlotte FC controlled the pace in the first half, owning 64 percent of possession time, taking a 7-5 edge in total shots. Legion’s Trevor Spangenberg grabbed four saves while Charlotte’s Adilson Malanda was issued a yellow card during the half.

Coming out of the break, Malanda received his second yellow card in the 51st minute and Charlotte went down a man for the final 30 minutes of play. Kasim scored his goal 10 minutes later on a solo shot that saw the 5-foot-9, 155-pound Ghana native skirt two defenders before slicing the goal behind the keeper for the 1-0 lead in the 60th minute.

“Once he (Kasim) scored, my mentality completely changed,” Kavita said. “Instead of sitting back -- our last game, we took our foot off the pedal and got scored on. We’ve been sort of inconsistent and there are no excuses. When he scored, my mentality was to make sure that we were on the front foot and not dropping too far back. If you start setting back, it gives them more opportunities and confidence to put the ball in the back of the net.”

Birmingham Legion (9-6-1), a member of the USL Championship league, earned the upset victory in its first match against an MLS opponent. Up next, they will face another MLS squad, Inter Miami CF on either June 6 or 7. They won’t be the only USLC squad in the quarters, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC defeated the Columbus Crew of MLS on Wednesday night as well.

Despite being down a level, Birmingham and Pittsburgh are showing that club uniforms, and league status don’t put goals in the back of the net.

“It’s always going to be an upset when you’re in a lower division,” Soehn said. “We matched them quite well and created a lot of opportunities late. We’re going to continue to push and see how far we take them and give Birmingham another reason to celebrate. by bringing another MLS team here. Maybe even David Beckham will show up.”