Konig Ties League Scoring Record As Energy FC Wins Ninth Straight

Danni König netted his 20th goal of the year, tying the USL record for goals scored in a season, as OKC Energy FC won its fifth straight match, 2-0 over the Austin Aztex, in front of a sellout crowd of 6,089 at Taft Stadium Saturday night.

With OKC up 1-0 in the 88th minute of play, Energy FC’s Chuy Sanchez carried the ball into right side of the Austin box and sent a pass to the arc, where König corralled the ball and blasted a shot past diving Aztex keeper Cody Laurendi, into the top-right corner of the net. König’s goal tied him for the USL record in goals scored in a single season with Kevin Molino, who set the record of 20 last season with now-MLS club Orlando City FC.

Energy FC keeper Evan Newton recorded his fourth clean sheet in five games. With nine shutouts on the season, Newton ranks second in the USL, one behind league-leader Brad Miller of Rochester.

Late in the first half, Energy FC took a 1-0 lead when Sebastian Dalgaard took a pass from Christian Duke in the low-left side of the Aztex box and maneuvered around two Austin defenders before sending a shot that bent around Laurendi and into the lower-right corner of the Austin net. The 39th-minute goal was Dalgaard’s fifth of the season.

In what would be the final play of the match, Energy FC’s Daniel Gonzalez took a pass from König deep in the Austin six and deposited the ball into the Aztex net, but the goal was later disallowed with OKC being ruled offside.

Despite outshooting OKC 19-16, Austin was unable to score, becoming the third straight opponent to suffer a shutout at Taft Stadium.

With the win, OKC improved to 12-5-7 on the season, taking possession of first place in the USL’s Western Conference, pending later results. Energy FC is now unbeaten in nine games, dating back to July 5.

Energy FC’s next match is Wednesday, Sept. 2, when the club travels to Salt Lake City, Utah and takes on Real Monarchs SLC in an 8 p.m. start at Rio Tinto Stadium.