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The US Open Cup – officially the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup since 1998 in honour of one of US soccer’s most influential figures – is the oldest continuing competition in North America. The competition is predated by the American Cup, which began in 1884 and ran for forty years until it was supplanted in importance by the National Challenge Cup, the name by which the US Open Cup began its existence in 1914. The National Challenge Cup was born after the United States Football Association had received official sanctioning from FIFA and was an attempt to create the first nationwide soccer trophy in the US, with teams playing for the Sir Thomas Dewar Trophy, donated by a whiskey magnate heavily involved in the promotion of US soccer at the time. The early years of the cup were dominated by teams from the first American Soccer League, although clubs from the isolated league in St Louis did challenge their supremacy and took the trophy back to Missouri on occasion. After the collapse of the ASL and the launch of the second competition to bear that name, cup wins were more widely spread, with teams from the National Soccer League of Chicago becoming a major force. After World War 2 that spread expanded to include teams from Los Angeles – notably the Kickers – and it was as likely to find teams from the New York-based German American Soccer League in the final as it was from the similarly New England-centred second American Soccer League. When the North American Soccer League was founded in 1968, it opted not to have its teams enter the National Challenge Cup, something that was echoed by the ASL when they sought to ape their richer rivals and go nationwide themselves in the 1970s. After the collapse of both leagues – and of organised outdoor professional soccer in the US – the tournament reverted to an almost amateur basis, existing alongside the US Amateur Cup (which had been launched in 1924). Through the 1980s and into the 1990s, as the cup was renamed to its more familiar moniker, powerhouse clubs such as St Louis Kutis, Maccabee Los Angeles, and the Brooklyn Italians came to the fore, a situation only upset in 1995 when teams from the A League entered, followed a year later by those from Major League Soccer. Since 1996, MLS clubs have won every tournament bar one – when the A League’s Rochester Raging Rhinos carried off the trophy in 1999 – and the reigning champions are Houston Dynamo of the MLS. Ahead of the 2024 season, MLS signalled its intention to withdraw from the competition, quite against the spirit and the letter of US Soccer’s rules. Subsequent negotiations saw US Soccer cave into their golden child and this season will see a hybrid approach from MLS clubs, with some entering, some sending their reserve sides, and some sitting out altogether. It is to Houston Dynamo’s credit that they, at least, will defend their title, but many MLS fans and players are unhappy at the stance their league has taken. The format for this year’s competition has been tweaked as a result, with a first round of 32 matches consisting of professional versus semi-professional clashes in each tie. The 32 semi-professional clubs are a mix of those who qualified through open qualification rounds in the latter half of 2023 and those selected by the two unofficial fourth-tier leagues, United Soccer League Two and the National Premier Soccer League. They are joined in the first round by clubs from the third-tier USL One, National Independent Soccer Association, and MLS Next Pro competitions. Sixteen teams from the second-tier USL Championship will join in the third round, with the remainder and the eight MLS clubs sending their first teams coming in a round later. US Open Cup First Round preview The first round of the competition begins tonight and is spread over the next three days. One club is already into the hat for the second round as one of NISA’s newest clubs – Georgia Lions – was unable to organise itself in time to take part, sending Atlanta-based NPSL side Apotheos FC through with a forfeit win. In tonight’s matches, reigning MLS Next Pro champions Austin FC II host Foro SC of the United Premier Soccer Leagues. The Dallas club won the UPSL National Championship in 2021 but will be up against things at Palmer Field tonight. Brave SC – formerly known as The Villages SC – are based in Summerfield, Florida, an hour northwest of Orlando. The USL-2 side have qualified for the first time since 2019 and will welcome NISA’s Savannah Clovers to their HG Morse Range Stadium. Chattanooga FC moved from NISA to MLS Next Pro this season and had a crowd of almost 5,000 at their opening game on Saturday. They face old enemies from their days in the NPSL in the shape of Miami United, who currently play in the United States Soccer League (sixth tier at best) and reached the last 32 in 2018. USL-1 side Forward Madison have made the third round of the Cup on a couple of occasions and will face NPSL opposition in the shape of Duluth FC from Minnesota, returning to the first round proper after an absence of five years. The second of the MLS reserve sides to take the field are Portland Timbers 2, who will host the NPSL’s El Farolito SC at Providence Park. El Farolito won the US Open Cup in 1993 when they were playing under the name Club Deportivo Mexico and dominated the San Francisco Soccer Football League before stepping up to the NPSL in 2018. USL1 side South Georgia Tormenta have just one point from their two games so far this season which will catch the attention of their UPSL opponents FC America CFL Spurs. If that name sounds unwieldy, the Sandford, FL, club are mostly known as FC America. The NPSL’s Tulsa Athletic have a good recent record in the Open Cup and reached the third round last year after defeating city rivals FC Tulsa of the USL Championship. They’ve been drawn at home to USL-1’s Northern Colorado Hailstorm, who have yet to find their rhythm this season, and it’s probably tonight’s best chance of an upset. There’s a USL-2 versus USL-1 clash in Burlington tonight as Vermont United take on Lexington SC. Both clubs are just three years old, and it will be the first time Vermont – who average over 2,000 fans at home – will compete in the first round proper. Tonight’s final game comes from Pennsylvania, where West Chester United (who were formed in 1976 and play in both the NPSL and USL-2) welcome NISA powerhouse Maryland Bobcats to the YSC Sports Stadium in Wayne. There are twelve games on Wednesday night, down from thirteen after Apotheos FC were given a walkover victory when new NISA side Georgia Lions couldn’t make their tie. Down in Florida, UPSL National Champions AS Frenzi host NISA’s Club de Lyon in Daytona Beach and with CdL being in some disarray last season, the chances of an upset are good. USL-2’s Asheville City make their US Open Cup first round proper debut, welcoming USL-1 sophomore side One Knoxville to North Carolina, with another first-timer in the shape of USL-2 National Champions Ballard FC of Seattle facing the USL-1’s newest club, Spokane Velocity. In the longest distance travelled at this stage, USL-2 side Des Moines Menace travel to San Luis Capistrano in California to face Capo FC, one of the new intake of NISA clubs for 2024. Menace have been in existence for almost thirty years and were awarded a USL Championship spot five years ago, although a series of delays has postponed that indefinitely. There’s a Chicago derby at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois, when Chicago Fire II of MLS Next Pro face Chicago City, the Windy City’s top USL-2 side. Another Chicago team – the cult favourites of Chicago House AC – are at home to Minnesota United 2 and will hope to capture the imagination of the fans in the same way that took the Midwest Premier League club to the third round last year. Over in California, FC Folsom of the UPSL host Jermaine Jones and his USL-1 Central Valley Fuego charges, and another NISA newbie – Irvine Zeta – will play their 2024 season opener against California State League outfit SC MesoAmerica, winners of the 2023 US Amateur Cup. Zeta’s city and league rivals LA Force are also in action, welcoming USL-2 side Redlands FC to their new home in Long Beach. Redlands actually get bigger crowds than the Force and so it will be interesting to see how many fans make the short journey and whether that will negate the NISA side’s home advantage. The Hudson Valley Hammers will make the journey from their Newburgh, New York, base to Montclair, New Jersey, to face New York Red Bulls II of MLS Next Pro having reached the USL-2 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals last season, and there’s another local derby of sorts in the DMV where Richmond Kickers of USL-1 host Christos FC of the Maryland Super Soccer League at City Stadium. Wednesday’s final game comes from Columbia, South Carolina, where South Carolina United Bantams – named for their links to English league side Bradford City – face near-neighbours Greenville Triumph in another USL-2 versus USL-1 clash. Thursday sees the final ten games in the first round, beginning with MLS Next Pro expansion side Carolina Core’s first-ever home game when they welcome NoVa FC – from Leesburg, Virginia (also home of USL Championship outfit Loudoun United) – of USL-2. Brockton FC United of the UPSL have to travel over a thousand miles to face Chattanooga Red Wolves of USL-1, a rare distance at this level of competition and one many times that between Colorado Rapids 2 and Colorado Premier League rivals Azteca FC, who just have to cross metropolitan Denver. In a trans-Carolinas tie, Crown Legacy FC - the MLS Next Pro affiliate of Charlotte FC – play South Carolina United Heat at the Mecklenburg County Sportsplex in Matthews, North Carolina, while another MLS reserve side with a fancy name – LA Galaxy seconds Ventura County FC – host Irvine Zeta 2, the main club having already qualified before their elevation to the professional ranks and subsequently replaced by their amateur equivalent. The last of the four new clubs to join NISA this season, Arizona Monsoon, have their roots in former UPSL side Phoenix Monsoon, and they make their professional debut away to Lubbock Matadors of the NPSL on Thursday. With a name like FC Motown, you’d think the NPSL club are from Detroit, but the name is actually short for Morristown, the New Jersey commuter city where they formed, and their home tie against New York City II will be their eighth straight appearance in the first round proper, having first qualified under their previous identity of Clarkstown SC Eagles. Motown’s NPSL rivals, the equally ace-monikered Steel City FC (who are from where you’d expect them to be, on the outskirts of Pittsburgh) take on Michigan Stars (who are, weirdly, from Detroit) in another first round tie. Langhorne, Pennsylvania, is the unlikely location of Vereinigung Erzgebirge, a team you’d think would be taking part in the DFB Pokal judging by their name but were actually formed in 1931 to represent immigrants to Pennsylvania from the Ore Mountains region of eastern Germany. The sole remaining representative of the United Soccer League of Pennsylvania, they take on USL-1 heavyweight Charlotte Independence. The final first round game comes from the historic soccer city of Ludlow, Massachusetts, where Western Mass Pioneers – who have their roots in the 102-year-old Gremio Lusitano club – of USL-2 host Union Omaha of USL-1.
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Mar 19, 2024 18:44
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US Open Cup round-up Of the nine games that took place last night, each between a third-tier side and one from lower down the (unofficial) soccer pyramid, four saw victories for the lower-ranked teams, a rate of upsets that bodes well for seasoned underdog fanciers. The win that grabbed the headlines was Vermont Green's victory over USL League One leaders Lexington SC. The USL League Two club became the first to host a US Open Cup game in the Green Mountain State, and only the second side from Vermont to take part in the competition's latter stages, and a sell-out crowd of 3,500 was on hand to see the Burlington outfit race into a 2-0 lead courtesy of Zach Barrett and Nick Lockermann (whose corner Barrett had nodded in). Isaac Cano pulled one back for the visitors after 20 minutes had elapsed but Jacob Labovitz added a third for the Green midway through the first half and, with the score at 3-1 at half-time, the upset watch was on. The Vermont fans were in dreamland five minutes into the second-half when Labovitz, a former Greenville Triumph player, scored his second, and even two goals from Cameron Lancaster couldn't spoil Vermont Green's party, a 4-3 win emphatically celebrated by both players and fans. Down in Tennessee, new MLS Next Pro side Chattanooga FC welcomed Miami United to Finley Stadium, the two very familiar from the days they shared in the NPSL. United now play in the United States Soccer League's Florida division - sixth-tier at best - but played a textbook defensive game to restrict the home side to zero shots on target. The visitors managed two, though, and one of them - from Colombian veteran Jhon Pajoy was all it took for the Florida side to move through to the next round. Two other Florida minnows were less fortunate, both in games against third-tier sides from Georgia. USL League Two Braves SC hosted NISA's Savannah Clovers, with both sides playing their first games of 2024, but the visitors' greater experience told with a 2-0 win courtesy of first-half goals from Roderic Green and Vladimir Jokic. The stupidly named FC America CFL Spurs of the fifth-tier UPSL travelled to Statesboro to play South Georgia Tormenta in the USL-1 side's third home game in a row but were undone by Nick Akoto's fifth minute goal for the hosts. With Chattanooga bowing out, you might have thought that the evening's remaining MLS Next Pro sides - the reserve teams of Austin FC and Portland Timbers - might have put up more of a defence of their division, but both were defeated at home. Austin FC II are reigning MLS Next Pro champions but could only draw 2-2 with Dallas-based Foro SC of the UPSL, going behind after 39 minutes when Jonathan Sauceda headed the visitors in front. Jonathan Santillan forced an own goal equaliser early in the second-half but even a red card for Foro's Ivan Muanze-Bengono couldn't prevent the game going to extra-time. Sebastian Pineau looked to have won the game for Los Verde on the stroke of extra-time half-time, but Foro kept pressing and achieved the impossible with an equaliser from Kyle Bennett coming in stoppage time. The game went to penalties and Bennett scored the winner for Foro, sending MLS representatives Austin tumbling out. It looked to be more straightforward for Portland Timbers 2, playing NPSL side El Farolito SC at Providence Park, home of the first team Timbers. Keesean Ferdinand put the home side ahead on the half-hour mark and it stayed that way until the 52nd minute, when former Atletico Nacional man Sebastian Yabur levelled for Farlotio, who won the US Open Cup in 1993 under the name Club Deportivo Mexico. Timbers 2 then had Harvey Neville sent off a minute later, giving Farolito the impetus to press for a winner, which duly arrived when Honduran striker Dembor Benson put the fourth-tier side through. It was business as usual elsewhere as USL-1's Forward Madison defeated Duluth FC of the NPSL 2-0 in Wisconsin thanks to a brace from Christian Chaney, NISA regular Maryland Bobcats won 2-0 away at West Chester United (also of the NPSL, and with Darwin Espinal scoring twice), and Tulsa Athletic couldn't repeat their heroics of a year ago when they hosted Northern Colorado Hailstorm of USL-1. 1-0 up at half-time thanks to Lucky Opara, the visitors put their foot on the gas in the second-half and went 4-0 up thanks to Irvin Parra, Mark Hernandez, and Ethan Hoard, with Athletic grabbing a consolation through Riolan Mello just before the final whistle.
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Mar 20, 2024 18:16
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US Open Cup round-up After four of Tuesday's matches ended in "cupsets," it was business as usual in the majority of Wednesday thirteen ties, with just two lower-league sides progressing (and one of those by default). NPSL side Apotheos FC, formed in 2021 and based 30 miles northwest of downtown Atlanta, were given a walkover win over Georgia Lions, one of a crop of new sides in the NISA league this year who clearly weren't ready to start a club from scratch in such a short amount of time. They will be joined in the next round by Des Moines Menace of USL League Two, who managed to secure a draw away at another of the new NISA teams, Capo FC, and then win the penalty shootout. The Iowa club made headlines by signing former USMNT star Sasha Kljestan, who retired at the end of the 2022 MLS season with LA Galaxy, could only swell the gate to around 100 fans but played the full 120 minutes for Menace and assisted Cyrus Harmon for the opening goal eight minutes into the second-half. Capo hit back through Parker Scalzo 13 minutes later and 1-1 was how it stayed through to the end of 90 minutes. Capo had Daniel Segal sent-off five minutes after the restart and former Sporting Kansas City academy player Leroy Enzugusi thought he'd won it for the visitors with just three minutes left to play, only for Scalzo to equalise with almost the last kick of the game to take it to penalties. After the first four penalties for each side had been converted, Kljestan stepped up to give Des Moines the advantage and it was Scalzo who took Capo's final kick, shooting over the bar to send the USL-2 side through. There were three other games in California last night, all with third-tier clubs successfully negotiating some tricky hurdles. NISA side LA Force welcomed Redlands FC to their new base at Long Beach Community College, with the USL-2 side acquitting themselves well early on, until former Hartford Athletic man Joel Quist opened the scoring for the hosts on 40 minutes. Redlands levelled two minutes later through Ethan Kovach and it looked like penalties might be needed here, too, but Jose Montes put Force through with six minutes to spare. Fellow NISA club Irvine Zeta were playing the first game of their professional era and hosted 2023 US Amateur Cup champions SC Mesoamerica at the Championship Soccer Stadium, also home to the USL Championship's Orange County SC. Japanese midfielder Shin'ya Kadono, who started his career with OC, got an early goal for Zeta in the 12th minute and despite some pressure from the visitors, that's how it stayed (with a red card for Mesoamerica's Gonzalo Salguero for good measure). The third game in the Golden State came from east of Sacramento, where FC Folsom of the UPSL welcomed USL-1's Central Valley Fuego to Folsom Lake College. Jason Ramos put Jermaine Jones's visitors ahead in the 9th minute and that's how it stayed to the half-time whistle despite both sides having their chances. Six minutes into the second-half, Moshi Wilondja headed in from close range to tie the game but the professionals' class showed as Shavon John-Brown fired home to take Fuego through to round two. Up the coast in Seattle, 2024 USL-2 champions Ballard FC were cheered on by 1,800 fans as they took on USL-1 expansion side Spokane Velocity at the University of Washington. It was a tight affair with chances at a premium and it took Andre Lewis's 97th minute strike to separate the teams just as extra-time was beckoning. Over in Florida, 2024 UPSL champions AS Frenzi and NISA's Club de Lyon met in an Orlando-area derby at Daytona Beach College Soccer Stadium and, with CdL having endured a torrid season in 2023, hopes were high for an upset. The pro side went ahead in the 9th minute when Frenzi's Kevin Miranda put through his own net, with Juan Manuel Martinez doubling Lyon's advantage midway through the first half. Miranda headed in on 35 minutes to reduce the deficit and the home side got off to the best possible start after the break, levelling the scores through Jean Forestal two minutes in. Their chances of kicking on were dealt a huge blow, though, when Justin Dorman got two yellow cards in five minutes and was dismissed in the 53rd minute, but it still took Lyon until the 90th minute to find a winner, Martinez notching his second to take the NISA side through. 400 miles north in Columbia, South Carolina United Bantams were facing state rivals Greenville Triumph in a USL-2 versus USL-1 clash. A decent crowd of 600 trekked out to the SEFL Soccer Complex but chances were at a premium in the first half, which ended looked to be ending goalless before veteran striker Leonardo Castro headed Triumph in front. That's how it stayed to the final whistle, despite the Bantams having two good chances in stoppage time. Over the border in North Carolina, USL-2 Asheville City and USL-1 One Knoxville resurrected the Smokey Mountain Series trophy they played for in USL-2 in 2022, with over a thousand fans on hand at Asheville's Greenwood Field stadium to witness the clash. Asheville had the better of the game and dominated the goal chances but it was Knoxville's class that showed, taking the tie (and the golden work boot) thanks to first-half goals from Rodolfo Castro and Callum Johnson. Jalen Crisler saw red for the visitors just past the hour mark. Richmond Kickers won the US Open Cup in 1995 and are one of the biggest sides currently playing at division III level. They hosted Christos FC, based out of a Baltimore liquor shop, at City Stadium and it was only Adrian Billhardt's first-half stoppage-time goal that separated the teams at the final whistle. The final three games all featured MLS Next Pro sides and, with all three of their representatives falling on Tuesday night, a small amount of pride was at stake, as well as a berth in round two. New York Red Bulls II - who really need a snappier name - took on USL-2's Hudson Valley Hammers at Montclair State University, 1,073 fans enjoying a game with 33 shots, 20 of them on target. Six of those were converted, with five of them going to the home side. Red Bulls raced into a 3-0 lead courtesy of Dylan Sullivan, Mohammed Sofo, and Aiden Jarvis, after Dylan Evande saw red for a bad foul 12 minutes in, but Brazilian midfielder Israel Neto pulled one back for the Hammers with 11 minutes left on the clock to give the visitors some hope. It was New York who finished the game strongly, though, adding two more goals through Malick Demebele and Ibrahim Kasule to go through 5-1. The other two games came from Chicago, where Chicago Fire II hosted Chicago City of USL-2, and everyone's favourite second side Chicago House AC (of the sixth-tier Midwest Premier League) welcomed Minnesota United 2 to the Windy City. Fire's reserves had an easy time of it at SeatGeek Stadium, where goals from Giovanni Granda, David Poreba, Michael Nesci, Harold Osorio, Vitaliy Hlyut, and a Aleksandar Labovic own goal completed a 6-0 route, and it was also straightforward for the Loons on the Elmhurst University campus in the west of the city as Jordan Abebayo-Smith put three unanswered goals past Tony Halterman in the House goal. The remaining ten games in the first round are tonight.
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Mar 21, 2024 17:45
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US Open Cup round-up The second biggest crowd on the final night of US Open Cup First Round ties was at the University of North Carolina's Greensboro Stadium, where MLS Next Pro expanside club Carolina Core drew 1,500 for the first ever home fixture. They faced NoVa FC from USL League Two, a club that can trace their history back to 1998 when they formed as North Virgina Royals. Antiguan Barbudan international Drake Hadeed got the opener for Core but Eddie Pope's side found themselves a goal down at the break thanks to Noah Holmes and Alex Abril, with an upset seriously on the cards. Carolina restored party five minutes into the second half with a strike from David Polanco and finally managed to make their domination of the game count when Joshua Rodriguez scored eight minutes from time. Elsewhere in North Carolina, Charlotte FC's MLS Next Pro affiliate Crown Legacy FC welcomed South Carolina United Heat to the Mecklenburg County Sportsplex in Matthews but were undone by their UPSL visitors in the fifth minute of stoppage time when the exotically named former Rochester New York player Wilterlynd Inalien converted a peanlty given for a foul on Hale Lombard. A couple of hundrerd miles west in Tennessee, USL League One side Chattanooga Red Wolves did what their city rivals from MLS next Pro couldn't and despatched lower league opposition, this time in the shape of Massachusetts club Brockton FC United. The visitors play in the UPSL and have a side mostly made up of locals and immigrants with Cape Verdean roots but seemed to be letting the occasion getting to them, going 2-0 down in the 66th minute, both from penalty kicks. Omar Hernandez converted the first after a bad foul on Stefan Cvetanovic, with Chevone Marsh scoring the second when Ropapa Mensah was brought down by Dario Monteiro. Red Wolves' battle plan took a hit ten minutes later when Omar Gomez was shown a straight red for violent conduct and this allowed the visitors back into the game, a header from Wuilito Fernandes reducing arrears in the 89th minute and allowing Leonardo Texeira to head the sides level in the fifth minute of added time. That sent the tie to extra-time where the professionals' better fitness told, two goals from Menash sending the USL-1 side through. FC Motown's big night against New York City II turned out to be a damp squib as the NPSL side found themselves 2-0 after 20 minutes, thanks to goals from Taylor Calheira and Andrew Baiera. Meximo Carrizo added a third midway through the second half to put the Baby Pigeons through. Two of the oldest clubs in USL-2 both faced USL-1 opposition and came up empty, with Vereinigung Erzgebirge losing 2-0 to Charlotte Independence courtesy of late goals from Omar Ciss and Kharlton Belmar, and Western Mass Pioneers conceding twice that at home to Union Omaha, with a Joe Gallardo hatrick and a single from Steevan dos Santos doing the damage. A home defeat was also the end result of the Steel City FC versus Michigan Stars tie, although the NPSL side from Pittsburgh can count themselves unlucky having dominated the game in front of 1,142 fans at Ambrose Urbanic Field. The visitors from the NISA league grabbed the game's only goal in the 83rd minute when Niels Lellouch, playing with Fort William in the North Caledonian Football League a year ago, headed in a free-kick cross from Daniel Wright. The action swung west for the final three ties of the night, with the stop at Lubbock in Texas providing another upset as Lubbock Matadors of the NPSL defeated NISA expansion club Arizona Monsoon. Matadors drew an astonishing 2,258 fans to Lubbock Christian University Soccer Field but went a goal behind in the 37th minute when Izsak Fierro fired home for the visitors. Monsoon then found themselves down to ten men when Giancarlo Canas-Jarquin reacted badly to a foul and was shown a red in the 79th minute, allowing the Texans to find an equaliser through Salvador Martinez just four minutes later. That sent the game into extra-time where Lubbock's Bruno Garcia was dismissed for two yellow cards three minutes in, but the Matadors had the better of the play from there on, finally finding a winner with just one minute on the clock through Toufik Najem. The Denver derby between Colorado Rapids 2 and Azteca FC at Dick's Sporting Goods Park was a one-way affair, with the MLS Next Pro side putting three goals past Gerardo Aguilar Gardea in the Azteca goal. Josh Belluz, Daniel Garcia, and Alec Diaz grabbed the goals for Rapids over their NPSL visitors. The night's final game took place in Carson, California, as the newly-rebranded Ventura County FC - the MLS Next Pro affiliate of Los Angeles Galaxy - took on Irvine Zeta 2. The visitors qualified for the tournament before their accession to NISA, where they were guaranteed a spot as a professional side, and so their amateur reserves took the spot they won. It looked to be a dream start for the visitors when Daniel Baumgartner converted an 8th minute penalty given for a foul on Orlando Erazo, but Joseph Barry put through his own net three minutes later to level things up. A minute into added time at the end of the first half, Ventura's Sean Karani gave the home side their first lead of the night and that's how it stayed, despite chances for both sides in the second half. Eight lower-league sides have made it through to the Second Round, which will take place in two weeks' time. Of the professional leagues, USL-1 lost just one of its twelve entrants in the first round, NISA shed three of its nine competitors, and MLS Next Pro saw just seven of its eleven clubs go through. Of the qualifiers, (unofficial) division IV competition NPSL have the most clubs through - three - while similarly fourth-tier ranked USL-2 have two. The fifth tier UPSL also have two clubs in the hat for the next round, with Florida's USSL - a sixth-tier league - making up the numbers.
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Mar 22, 2024 14:36
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US Open Cup, second round preview The second round (proper) of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup gets underway tonight with the 32 first round winners facing off for a chance to meet sixteen USL Championship teams in round three. There were a number of "cupsets" in the first round, resulting in seven lower-tier sides progressing at the expense of their third-tier opponents. Of those, two will meet and so at least one side from (at least) the fourth tier is going to be in the draw for the next round! Action begins tonight in Virginia, where Richmond Kickers of USL League One welcome NISA's Maryland Bobcats. The Kickers began life in the USL predecessor league USISL in 1993 and actually won the US Open Cup in 1995, the last year before MLS arrived on the scene. They used to enjoy a healthy rivalry with the third Baltimore Bays club and will look to renew that border rivalry with the Bobcats, who are based in Boyds, west of Charm City. The Bobcats were themselves formed in 2016 and moved into the semi-professional fifth-tier UPSL in 2019, joining NISA in 2021. They reached the third round of last year's Open Cup where they were eliminated by Pittsburgh Riverhounds of USL-C, with Kickers reaching the same stage and losing to MLS's DC United. Kickers have not started the season well in USL-1 and have lost two from two, but NISA doesn't start its season until this weekend and so the home side should have a slight advantage in terms of match sharpness. There's an MLS Next Pro derby at Belson Stadium in Jamaica, New York, as New York City FC II take on New York Red Bulls II. The inclusion of MLS reserve sides in this year's Open Cup is disappointing but we are where we are and at least one of them will be eliminated in this clash. Both sides breezed through the last round against fourth-tier opposition. Of far more interest to the neutral is tonight's clash between USL-1's Charlotte Independence and South Carolina United Heat of the fifth-tier UPSL. Very much the second team in the Queen City, Independence started play in the USL in 2015, having acquired the local franchise rights from Charlotte Eagles, and spent time in the second tier USL-C until taking voluntary relegation to USL-1 for the 2022 season. They've won one and lost one so far this season, with the Columbia-based Heat winning their first league game in the UPSL Mid-Atlantic Conference at the weekend when they beat the MLS babies of Charlotte Soccer Academy. They eliminated Charlotte FC's MLS Next Pro affiliates Crown Legacy FC in the last round and will be looking to cause another upset in the city tonight. MLS Next Pro's Minnesota United 2 knocked out everyone's favourite Farley "Jackmaster" Funk tribute club Chicago House AC in the first round and tonight welcome NISA's Michigan Stars - from the Detroit suburbs - to St Paul. Stars were 1-0 winners over Pittsburgh's Steel City FC in the first round but again, as a NISA club, haven't started their league season yet. The Detroit club were officially formed in 2014 but trace their history back through both Windsor Spartans and Dearborn Stars to 1982. They played in the NPSL before turning professional with the establishment of NISA in 2019. The one all lower-tier game on the schedule for this week comes from Texas, where Lubbock Matadors face Foro SC at Lubbock Christian University Soccer Field. Matadors, who are only in their third year of existence and took third place in last year's NPSL national play-offs, beat NISA newbies Arizona Monsoon in the first round, while Foro accounted for MLS Next Pro's Austin FC II. The Dallas club finished fourth in the Fall 2023 UPSL play-offs and are coached by former FC Dallas star Michel Garbini, who also works as an assistant coach at North Texas SC in MLS Next Pro. The final game tonight comes from Fresno, California, where Jermaine Jones's Central Valley Fuego from USL-1 take on El Farolito SC of the NPSL's Golden Gate Conference, who knocked out Portland Timbers 2 of MLS Next Pro in the first round. Formed in 1985 and named after the owner's chain of restaurants in the San Francisco area, they won the Open Cup in 1993 under the name Club Deportivo Mexico and represented the US in the 1994 CONCACAF Champions Cup.
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Apr 2, 2024 17:07
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US Open Cup Second Round round-up 1995 US Open Cup winners Richmond Kickers became the first side into the hat for round three when they beat NISA's Maryland Bobcats 5-2 at City Stadium in Richmond last night. The USL League One club went ahead after just six minutes when Nil Vinyals converted a penalty given for a handball by Luis Almeida and doubled that advantage in the 20th minute through Chandler O'Dwyer. Abdul Kooistra reduced the arrears for the Bobcats four minutes later, but Kickers finished the half strongly, adding a third goal - a header from Dakota Barnathan - to take a two-goal lead into the break. Thriteen minutes into the second-half, Maryland had a chance to come within a goal again when they were awarded a penalty for a foul by Justin Sukow on Darwin Espinal, but Espinal's spot kick hit the bar. Things got worse for the visitors two minutes later when Josselin Possian was dismissed for a second yellow, but they did manage to claw a goal back through Espinal, a distance strike on 71 minutes. From there, Richmond reasserted control, scoring two late goals from Ryan Sierakowski and Barnathan again to ease into round three. The all-MLS Next Pro New York derby also produced a hatful of goals as New York City II beat New York Red Bulls II 4-2 in Jamaica (the New York neighbourhood rather than the Caribbean nation). Mohammed Sofo opened the scoring for the baby Bulls after just six minutes but the baby Pigeons hit back with two goals from Jonathan Jimenez and one from Malachi Jones to take a 3-1 lead into the break. Serge Ngoma put Red Bulls within touching distance two minutes after the restart after Roald Mitchell had an effort saved by Tomas Romero in the City goal but an 87th penalty given for handball completed Jimenez's hatrick and sent the home side through. Down in North Carolina, USL-1 side Charlotte Independence and the UPSL's South Carolina United Heat from across the border, drew 0-0 after extra-time at the American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte. Penalties were called upon and an opening miss by Juan Carlos Obregon for the hosts was negated by two saves by Independence 'keeper Austin Pack to keep Charlotte in the hunt for cup glory. MLS Next Pro met NISA in St Paul when Minnesota United 2 faced Michigan Stars, and it was the 2022 NISA champions who walked away with a 2-0 win, despite the hosts having the . Scores were level after ninety minutes but nine minutes into the first period of extra-time, Sacko Konate headed the visitors into the lead, compounded by Hunter Olson's strike a minute after the half-time in extra-time break. There was guaranteed to be a lower-tier winner at the end of the match at Lubbock Christian University in west Texas, where the NPSL's Lubbock Matadors met Dallas side Foro SC from the UPSL. A crowd of over 2,000 saw a cagey affair, with the teams level until Salvador Martinez struck in the 71st minute to give the Matadors the lead and Foro's problems deepened when Nigel Katawa was red-carded for violent conduct five minutes later, the end result of a pell-mell sparked by Daniel Celi's bad foul on Kodai Kobayashi. The ten men battled back and went very close to an equaliser in stoppage time through Juan Ramirez, but Shuma Sasaki's 93rd minute goal sent the home side through 2-0. The night's final game in the Open Cup came from Merced, California, where USL-1 side Central Valley Fuegos were taking on 1993 Open Cup winners El Farolito SC from the UPSL. The game took place not at Fuegos' usual ground in Fresno but at Bobcat Field on the University of California campus an hour north, but Fuego looked right at home when they took the lead through a Jose Carrera-Garcia penalty on 19 minutes, given for a foul by Jonathan Mosquera. The home side looked happy to sit back and were caught out in first-half stoppage time by Dembor Benson's equaliser. The visitors again had much of the play in the second-half and got their reward two minutes from time, with Benson adding a second to secure the night's first "cupset." There are ten more games tonight, with another four lower-tier sides looking to join Lubbock and El Farolito in the next round.
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Apr 3, 2024 17:19
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US Open Cup Second Round, preview (part 2) There are ten games in the US Open Cup Second Round tonight, completing the round before sixteen second-tier USL Championship sides enter next time out, and four lower-tier teams have the chance to join El Farolito SC and Lubbock Matadors in round three. Although the rankings are far from an exact science (and they have joined the fifth-tier UPSL for 2024), Miami United are the lowest ranked side remaining in the cup, having accounted for MLS Next Pro newbies Chattanooga FC in the first round. They began play in 2013 and spent most of their existence in the NPSL, but recently played in United States Soccer League (Florida). Their opponents at Broward College in North Miami tonight are NISA's Club de Lyon from Daytona Beach in central Florida. Lyon had a season to forget last year, unable even to secure a home pitch for the complete season, but beat 2023 UPSL national champions AS Frenzi in the first round and will be hoping for a more stable 2024. There's a Georgia derby in Statesboro as South Georgia Tormenta of USL League One face NISA's Savannah Clovers at Tormenta Stadium. Tormenta were surprise winners of USL-1 in 2022 and have had a mixed start to the season so far, but - as with all NISA sides - Clovers are yet to start their league season. Tormenta reached the third round last year, where they lost to Charlotte FC of MLS, one stage further than Savannah, who were knocked out in the second round by Charleston Battery. One Knoxville SC have won all of their four league and cup matches so far this season and will relish the visit of USL-1 rivals Greenville Triumph to the Regal Soccer Stadium tonight. This is only their second tilt at the Open Cup, having been knocked out by Memphis 901 in the second round last season, but they will be wary against a Triumph team that won away at Lexington SC at the weekend. USL League Two outfit Vermont Green provided one of the shocks of the first round when they beat Lexington SC in the first Open Cup match ever staged on Vermont soil. The Burlington side began play in 2022 and have an ambition to become a net zero soccer club, the Green in their name more than just a colour. They welcome MLS Next Pro expansion club Carolina Core to the aptly named Virtue Field, which will no doubt be full and rocking again. Core have yet to win a game in 90 minutes in the league (which settles draws with penalties) and squeezed past NoVA FC in the last round, so there's all to play for in the Green Mountain State. Atlanta club Apotheos FC - who play in the NPSL - were given a walkover in the first round when their NISA opponents Georgia Lions were not in a position to begin their season. Apotheos were runners-up in the NPSL national play-offs last year but don't start their season until next month, meaning their clash with USL-1's Chattanooga Red Wolves will be their first competitive game of the year. Chicago Fire II easily dispatched local semi-professional side Chicago City in the first round but face tougher opposition in round two in the shape of Forward Madison from USL-1. The 'Mingos won away at Central Valley Fuego at the weekend, are in decent form so far this term, and will be looking forward to testing their wiles against the MLS Next Pro side at SeatGeek Stadium. USL-1 mainstays Union Omaha have had a stuttered start to the season but have won both their games so far, including a commanding first round victory over Western Mass Pioneers. In tonight's game they will come up against Des Moines Menace, the USL-2 side that made headlines even before they beat NISA's Capo FC in the first round when they tempted former USMNT regular Sasha Kljestan out of retirement for their cup campaign. Kljestan set up a goal and scored the decisive kick in the penalty shootout and Omaha will be wary of his abilities as both a player and a talisman tonight. As in Georgia, there's a derby game in Colorado, too, when Colorado Rapids 2 welcome Northern Colorado Hailstorm to Dick's Sporting Goods Park tonight. The Rapids beat fellow Denver side Azteca FC in the last round, with Hailstorm winning away in Oklahoma against Tulsa Athletic, and it'll be another interesting clash of MLS reserves versus their independent third-tier equivalents. As will Ventura County FC (formerly known as LA Galaxy II) versus NISA's Irvine Zeta at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. Branding itself as the first Chinese-owned club in US Soccer, Zeta were elevated into the professional ranks this season after playing in the UPSL last year and beat 2023 US Amateur Cup winners SC Mesoamerica in the first round, with County seeing off Irvine Zeta 2, the club's semi-professional arm still competing in the UPSL. The final second round game comes from western Washington state, where USL-1 expansion side Spokane Velocity - who beat 2023 USL-2 champions Ballard FC in the first round - welcome NISA's Los Angeles Force to One Spokane Stadium. Velocity have won two and lost two in their debut league campaign thus far but have quality up front with English striker Josh Dolling always a threat. The sixteen winners from round two go forward to the next round on April 16 and 17, where sixteen USL Championship sides await.
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Apr 3, 2024 17:23
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US Open Cup round three preview, April 16 & 17 The USL Championship sides - sixteen of them, at least - have arrived in the US Open Cup, facing the sixteen teams who made it through the first two rounds proper. That latter sixteen includes three teams from the fourth-tier or lower who will be chomping at the bit to get a chance at reigning champions Houston Dynamo, the USL-C big boys, and the MLS also-rans in the Fourth Round. There are five games on Tuesday night, with the balance coming on Wednesday, and two chances of a "cupset" as the NPSL's Lubbock Matadors travel to USL-C side New Mexico United, and Oakland Roots welcome another NPSL side in El Farolito. Lubbock are a fairly new club, former just two years ago but already turning heads in northwestern Texas. They beat NISA newbies Arizona Monsoon in round one, and then ousted fellow Texas amateur side Foro SC in the second round, but face tough competition in New Mexico, who had a weekend off from league competition to prepare. El Farolito are former US Open Cup winners - as CD America in 1993 - but the competition has levelled up a bit since then. Still, they accounted for MLS next Pro's Portland Timbers 2 in round one, and USL League One's Central Valley Fuego in round two, and will fear nothing in their local derby against an Oakland Roots side not really into their stride this season. USL Championship expansion club Rhode Island FC make their US Open Cup debut away at Charlotte Independence, a USL-C side themselves until five years ago. With MLS Charlotte FC across town, Independence may not get big crowds at American Legion Memorial Stadium but they have a hardcore following who will be urging them on tonight having dispatched two amateur sides - Philadelphia's Vereinigung Erzgebirge and South Carolina United Heat of the UPSL - to get here. But for a 3-2 defeat at Charleston Battery last week, Louisville City have been imperious in the USL Championship this season and will represent a tough test for USL-1's Greenville Triumph, especially as the visitors are coming off a defeat to Charlotte at the weekend. Still, Triumph have looked good new head coach Rick Wright and City might have a battle on their hands. Tonight's final game is the Motor City derby between the USL Championship's Detroit City - played four, won four so far this season - and NISA's Michigan Stars. There is considerable ill-feeling between the clubs, with the Stars owner George Juncaj partially blaming their last US Open Cup defeat in Detroit on "darkness, smoke, and smell," and it's sure to be a lively - if maybe one-sided - night at Keyworth Stadium. The other lower-tier side, Miami United, can count themselves lucky to still be in the competition after several of their players were caught betting on them to beat Club de Lyon in round two. That came after they had got through MLS Next Pro independent club Chattanooga FC in the first round, and it would be a shame to have spoiled their impressive run over something as stupid as gambling. In their third round match tomorrow they face Memphis 901 of the USL Championship - as you may have noticed, all these games are USL-C versus the rest encounters - and you wouldn't (in fact, you shouldn't) bet against them doing it again. United's city rivals The Miami FC are at home to 2022 USL League One champions South Georgia Tormenta at FIU Stadium on Wednesday, with the visitors not in the greatest form so far this season, although they did win their last game on April 6th. Miami are undergoing a rebuild of their squad, though, and it may be a good time for Tormenta to play them... There's a North Carolina derby up in Cary, as North Carolina FC, promoted from USL-1 to USL-C over the winter, take on MLS Next Pro independent side Carolina Core. Core beat USL League Two's NoVA FC in the first round before ending USL-2 Vermont Green's cup dreams in round two, and it will be an interesting gauge of their strength against a professional side that isn't made up of MLS reserves. One of the two remaining reserve sides, New York City FC II, visit Hartford Athletic tomorrow night, and it may sound weird to say it but there's a good chance of the second division side causing an upset by beating the third division baby Pigeons. NYCFCII won 6-2 at the weekend, and have already eliminated the NPSL's FC Motown and New York Red Bulls II so far, but Hartford have won three out of four so this season and look a different side to last year. The other reserve side are Chicago Fire II, who have accounted for USL-2 Chicago City and USL-1 Forward Madison so far, and they play their third home tie in a row against Indy Eleven on Wednesday. Fire can score goals for fun, worrying for an Indy side that have conceded nine goals in their last two games.Besides El Farolito - and until Houston Dynamo, Atlanta United, Sporting Kansas City, FC Dallas, Seattle Sounders, and DC United enter in round four - the only other past winners are Richmond Kickers, a historic club with plenty of second-tier experience. The USL-1 outfit knocked out Christos Discount Liquor and Maryland Bobcats on their way to round three and now face the young bucks of Loudoun United in a Virginia derby. Kickers aren't in the best form but this is sure to be hotly contested. Birmingham Legion reached the quarterfinals last year and will be hoping for a repeat of that this year at least. They face USL-1's Chattanooga Red Wolves tomorrow night at Protective Stadium, with Wolves coming off the back of a win at Central Valley Fuego at the weekend, having knocked out the UPSL's Brockton FC United and Apotheos FC of the NPSL to get this far. FC Tulsa welcome Northern Colorado Hailstorm to Oklahoma tomorrow night having earned a great 1-1 draw away at Sacramento Republic with just ten men on Saturday. Hailstorm are usually solid at the back but have been vulnerable there this season and are lacking the goals of Trevor Amann, sold to Republic over the winter. They've already won in Tulsa this year, having eliminated the NPSL's Tulsa Athletic in round one, going on to knockout Colorado Rapids 2 of MLS Next Pro in their next match. It's four games and four wins in all competitions for Union Omaha so far this season, having won two out of two in the league and dispatching Western mass Pioneers and Des Moines Menace of USL-2 on their way to round three. They host El Paso Locomotive at Werner Park on Wednesday, the Texas side sensibly having forgone a home tie, and this would be a good one to keep your eye on, the varying fortunes of each side ripe for an upset. That might also be the case in Seaside, California, where Monterey Bay FC welcome NISA new boys Irvine Zeta to Cardinale Stadium. Frank Yallop's side have started well this season but Zeta have looked very impressive in the cup this year, defeating US Amateur Cup winners SC Mesoamerica in round one before eliminating the capable youngsters of Ventura County FC (LA Galaxy II, rebranded) in round two. Last year, it was Yallop who sprung an upset on his old club San Jose Earthquakes, but the shoe might be on the other foot this year... Finally, we find ourselves in Sin City, where Las Vegas Lights will play USL-1 expansion club Spokane Velocity. Velocity are enjoying life as the newest professional club in the USL third tier and have beaten USL-2 national champions Ballard FC and NISA powerhouse LA Force to get this far, but Lights have generally looked good this year - when they keep eleven men on the field, that is. The sixteen winners will go through to round four, which is scheduled to take place on May 7th and 8th.
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Apr 16, 2024 16:03
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US Open Cup Third Round round-up, April 16 & 17 Medication might be needed if there are any more games like the one between Charlotte Independence and Rhode Island FC that opened the US Open Cup Third Round at American Legion Memorial Stadium on Tuesday night. The visitors, playing in their first Open Cup campaign and seeking their first win ever as a club, made seven changes from the weekend but took the lead after just eleven minutes when Conor McGlynn shot home. Their advantage lasted just fifteen minutes before Juan Carlos Obregon Jr was brought down in the Rhode Island box and stepped up to convert the subsequent penalty. The USL League One side then went ahead in the 35th minute when Tresor Mbuyu finished a slick move, whetting the cupsetters' appetites, but the away side drew level two minutes into first-half stoppage time when Nathan Messer found the net from Mark Doyle's pass. Five minutes into the second-half, Clay Holstad scored a pearler of a goal to give Rhode Island the lead once more, and they had chances to increase that lead before Luis Alvarez levelled for Charlotte on 72 minutes, the game reaching ninety minutes without further goals, although the USL Championship visitors went close right at the whistle. Extra-time, then, and heavy Independence pressure five minutes in saw them take the lead again through Obregon Jr. That lasted until five minutes from the final final whistle when Stephen Turnbull made it 4-4, with no further goals in the last five minutes sending the game to penalties. 2023 USL-C MVP Albert Dikwa had come on as a substitute for Rhode Island during extra-time and he stepped up to take their first spot-kick, firing wide for an uncharacteristic miss. Charlotte put two of their own penalties over and Joel Brito had a chance to secure the win for the visitors but Austin Pack dived to his right to keep it out. Three more kicks were converted until Gabriel Alves stepped up for Rhode Island, knowing that if he missed the lower-league team were through. Pack guessed right again, saved the penalty, and put the first third-tier side through into the fourth round. There were less goals - and slightly less excitement - as Louisville City welcomed Greenville Triumph to a one-third full Lynn Family Stadium, the in-form USL Championship side wasting no time in going ahead thanks to a second minute header from Sean Trotsch. Triuimph are playing well themselves in USL League One and they gave as good as they got, with no further goals seeing the game reach half-time at 1-0. Just as they had in the first half, City made a quick start to the second, the prolific Wilson Harris tapping from close range with 49 minutes on the clock, and both Harris and Wilson Perez went close to increasing Louisville's lead before Triumph dragged themselves back into the contest. That two goal lead looked momentarily vulnerable three minutes into stoppage time when Hayden Anderson finished a set piece move to make it 2-1, only for Jorge Gonzalez to restore City's two-goal advantage at the 97 minute mark. Despite a good chance for Triumph substitute Zion Scarlett, it finished 3-1. It also finished 3-1 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where the USL Championship's New Mexico United took on Lubbock Matadors of the fourth-tier NPSL. For some horrible reason, the game was moved to the gridiron-marked pitch at Rio Rancho High School, which might explain why it took almost an hour to find a goal. That came courtesy of a close-range finish from United veteran Harry Swartz on 58 minutes, and Daniel Bruce - who had made the final pass to Swartz for the first goal - added a second under a minute later, the Matadors' cup dreams looking in tatters. That was pretty much confirmed three minutes later when Mukwelle Akale scored from a free-kick to make it 3-0 but, to their credit, Lubbock never gave up and earned a consolation in stoppage time when the ever-lively Shuma Sasaki was brought down and converted the subsequent spot-kick. Matadors return to league action at the weekend but they've made a name for themselves here. The grudge match at Detroit City's Keyworth Stadium began tamely, although the referee did issue three yellow cards in the first-half. Both sides had their chances but Michigan Stars' Tatenda Mukruva was definitely the busiest of the two goalkeepers. In the second-half, it was almost all one-way traffic, especially once Michigan's Hunter Olson was given his second yellow card for a silly foul in the 78th minute, but it looked like the away side from NISA would at least take it to extra-time as ninety minutes passed at 0-0. There was plenty of stoppage time, however, and certainly enough for Maxi Rodriguez to chase a through ball and give Le Rouge a lead they held onto, despite losing Brett Levis to a second yellow before the final whistle. 1-0 to Detroit City and we're still waiting to hear about the levels of darkness, smoke, and noise present from Stars' owner George Juncaj. The final match on Tuesday came from the West Coast where Oakland Roots welcomed fourth-tier El Farolito to their Hayward, California, home. Something of a local derby (the visitors are based across the Bay in San Francisco) and a repeat of a Second Round game from last year, there was an edge on the field, if not on the terraces, something heightened when the semi-professionals took a 1-0 lead in the twelfth minute through Honduran striker Dembor Benson. Roots stepped up their game at this point but El Farolito held firm, at least until first-half stoppage time when Guillermo Diaz headed home from a set-piece. The chances of an upset began to recede six minutes into the second-half when young midfielder Edgard Kreye was given a second yellow card and ordered off the field, but the visitors still had their chances to win the game, with Benson a constant menace. Roots brought eighteen-year-old Ali Elmasnaouy on with five minutes to go for his first-team debut, but eleven minutes of stoppage time still couldn't separate the teams. Extra-time beckoned and this is when Elmasnaouy wrote his name into the US Open Cup book with a 98th minute close range effort to give Oakland the lead for the first time. 2-1 is how it stayed, despite Trayvonne Lewis picking up a second yellow just after half-time in extra-time. Wednesday eleven matches began with a North Carolina derby in Cary between USL Championship new kids North Carolina FC and Carolina Core of MLS Next Pro. As a test of the independent side's strength against a non-reserve team - MLS Next Pro contains all MLS reserve teams, save for Carolina and Chattanooga FC - it was a very one-sided affair, with the home side registering eight shots on target to Core's none, although Julian Placias's goal on the hour was the only one that found the net, the USL-C side going through 1-0. It was also local derby time in Virginia, where USL League One's Richmond Kickers were hosting USL Championship side Loudoun United at City Stadium. It was a very balanced game, with the visitors shading possession, but goal chances evenly were shared and both defences in good shape, 120 minutes of action unable to find a winner or, indeed, a goal. The penalty shoot-out saw nine straight spot-kicks converted until Richmond's Artur Bosua saw his effort saved by Dane Jacomen in the Loudoun goal to send the youngsters through. It looked like penalties might also be required up in Connecticut, where the USL Championship's Hartford Athletic were at home to New York City FC II of MLS Next Pro. There were over forty shots at goal during the game, with fifteen of them finding the target, but it took over an hour for one to hit the net, Taylor Calheira's left-foot tap-in giving the baby Pigeons the lead. Athletic worked hard to get back into the game and got their reward when Romario Williams was fouled by Alexander Hauschild in the box, picking himself up to convert the penalty. That took the game to extra-time and it was Hartford's turn to take the lead, Deshane Beckford latching onto the end of Williams's header on 92 minutes. Parity lasted for just seven minutes before Calheira grabbed his second, a point-blank header. Hartford's legs began to tire at this point and, just as penalties looked inevitable, NYCFCII scored the winner when sixteen-year-old Maximo Carrizo fired home. There were no more goals and the 3-2 win to the third-tier side was slightly tarnished by a hullabaloo that saw Beckford and Markus Epps see red for the home side, with the visitors' Christopher Tiao also dismissed for his part in the ruckus. The lowest-ranking side still left in the competition, Miami United, were on their travels to Memphis 901 of the USL Championship. United, who are playing in the fifth-tier UPSL this season, knocked out two professional sides to get this far and - in everything other than goals scored on the night - looked as capable as their hosts from three tiers above. It is goals, though, that settle games, and Nighte Pickering's brace in the 31st and 85th minutes was the difference between the sides, the last of the lower-tier teams falling at this hurdle. Another Miami side, The Miami FC of the USL Championship, were at home to USL League One's South Georgia Tormenta and you could have been forgiven for expecting they would short work of the visitors, even if Miami are going through something of a rebuild. However, the apple cart was upset in the twelfth minute when Jake Dengler headed home from a set-piece, and although Luisinho fired home an equaliser eight minutes later, the third-tier side were still very much in the game. That looked to be especially the case four minutes into first-half stoppage time when Khadim Ndiaye was shown a straight red for violent conduct in the aftermath of being fouled by Gabriel Rodriguez, but Miami took the lead almost straight after, going into the break 2-1 up thanks to Luisinho's second. Tormenta took control from the restart and the home side hadn't even had a shot on goal before Irish striker scored a nice equaliser on 69 minutes. There were chances for both sides as the clock ticked down and, just when it seemed like extra-time would be called upon, Tormenta took the lead again, this time through Callum Stretch's header from a corner. Miami didn't have time to pick themselves back up before Sebastian Vivas scored Tormenta's fourth, sending the Championship side tumbling out at the same stage they exited last year, only this time to lower-tier opposition rather than Inter Miami. Birmingham Legion reached the quarterfinals last year and hoped that the visit of Chattanooga Red Wolves would be the start of another cup run. As in Miami, the USL Championship hosts found themselves a goal down after twelve minutes when Leo Folla headed home from a free-kick for Chattanooga, a lead they held through the half-time break before Stefano Pinho's header from a corner - his first goal since his move from Indy Eleven over the winter - brought the sides level three minutes into the second-half. Legion had the better of the action afterwards but Matt van Oekel conceded a second penalty in four days when he brought down Ropapa Mensah in the box on 76 minutes, Ricky Ruiz stepping up to restore Red Wolves' lead. Four minutes later, another corner and another Pinho header made it 2-2, which is how it stayed until the final whistle, extra-time called on in Alabama, but not before Chattanooga's Gustavo Fernandes was shown a red card for a foul on the Brazilian striker. The extra man made all the difference in extra-time and Pinho scored another two - the first from another corner - to send Legion through. With NYCFCII having defeated USL Championship opponents in Hartford Athletic, hopes that MLS Next Pro rivals Chicago Fire II might do the same against Indy Eleven at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgewater, Illinois, and with eleven shots on target to Indy's two, chances were that they'd be warranted. However, as in Memphis, goals are the only statistic that matters and it was Indy's fourth minute goal from Douglas Martinez that separated the teams, despite Lil' Fire's overwhelming dominance of the game. Further into the Midwest, FC Tulsa of the USL Championship hosted USL-1 Northern Colorado Hailstorm at the Hurricane Track & Soccer Stadium having started the season in mixed form. The first clear chance of the game went to the visitors as Brecc Evans saw his header saved by Tulsa goalkeeper Michael Creek in the 34th minute. Four minutes later, Noah Powder fouled Blaine Ferri in the Hailstorm box and Diogo Pacheco put Tulsa 1-0 ahead with the resulting penalty. They made it 2-0 a minute into first-half stoppage time when Milo Yosef got on the end of a set-piece but it was still anyone's game as the second-half kicked off. Sebastian Sanchez and Bradley Bourgeois missed chances to make it 3-0 for Tulsa and that allowed Hailstorm back into the game when Isidro Martinez reduced the arrears in the 65th minute. Ethan Hoard and David Garcia both went close to equalising as the clock ran out, but the home side held strong for a 2-1 win. Another Midwest side - Union Omaha of USL-1 - were at home to a decidedly out of form El Paso Locomotive, and a goalless first 45 minutes was almost upset in the twelve minutes of stoppage time when Amando Moreno fired over from a penalty given to the visitors after a Nortei Nortey handball. The big action in the second-half was also reserved for the very end as Noah Dollenmayer saw red for El Paso after a bad foul on Marco Milanese, with another nine minutes of time added on still not producing a goal. That was the same story in extra-time, despite chances for both sides, and the peanlty shoot-out was called upon. Omaha took the first penalty and ended up netting all five of their spot-kicks, meaning Rashid Nuhu's save from Gonzalo Pelua's third kick for El Paso made the difference, something of an upset (if a low level one). New to NISA this year, Irvine Zeta looked handy in winning through to the third round and have started positively in the league, although they are still to record their first league win. They travelled north to Seaside, California, last night to face a handy looking Monterey Bay FC side that beat San Jose Earthquakes of MLS at this stage last year. Jerry Ayon, signed just three days ago from San Jose's reserve side The Town FC, opened the scoring for the home side on his debut, a header from a Rafael Baca cross in the 32nd minute. Zeta had a couple of chances to equalise either side of half-time and finally drew level just past the hour when George Almeida found the bottom right corner. Parity lasted for just three minutes, however, before Ayon scored again, sending Monterey through to a possible reunion with the Quakes. The final game of the first round came from Las Vegas, where Jose Bautista's Las Vegas Lights hosted Spokane Velocity. Lights look a much better side this season and even put three wins in a row together until defeat at the weekend to Monterey Bay, but Velocity look to be enjoying things as USL-1's newest club. The first half was a fairly even affair and the deadlock was only broken in the 51st minute when Valentin Noel fired home from a Solomon Assante pass to give the home side the lead. Las Vegas had the better of the rest of the game, although both Kimarni Smith and Colin Fernandez had shots blocked for Velocity, and it looked like a home win banker when Derek Waldeck was given a second yellow for his reaction to being fouled three minutes into stoppage time. As it turned out, that extra time added on gave Spokane the chance to level, a long distance effort from Andre Lewis sending the game into extra-time. Both sides had chances to find a winner but it was Lights' Norway-born Dominican Republic international Riki Alba who scored next, his 112th minute strike ultimately the difference between the teams. The sixteen winners - twelve USL Championship sides and four third-tier representatives from USL-1 and MLS Next Pro - will enter tonight's draw, along with the top eight from last year's USL, reigning champions Houston Dynamo, and - to their shame - MLS's bottom seven from the 2023 season.
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Apr 18, 2024 17:19
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The preliminary round of the 2024 Canadian Championship got underway on Tuesday with an all-Canadian Premier League clash between Cavalry FC and Vancouver FC. The winners knew they would be playing Vancouver Whitecaps from MLS in the quarterfinals and so the tie took on added impetus for those wanting to impress on a bigger stage, and - of course - a possible local derby for the visitors. Almost 2,000 fans came out to ATCO Field in Calgary to cheer on the home side, and a scoreless first-half was not without its chances. The game fired into life just past the hour, though, when Cavalry's Shamit Shome was shown a straight red card. What could have been a fatal blow seemed to charge up the home side and they took the lead five minutes later when Tobias Warschewski got his head on the end of a deflected cross. This was the fifth time Vancouver and Cavalry have met, with the Eagles still yet to win. Wednesday's match between Toronto FC of MLS and Simcoe County Rovers, 2023 winners of the semi-professional League 1 Ontario competition, was very much a David and Goliath situation, even if Reds coach John Herdman did make seven changes from the side that beat New England Revolution. This was Simcoe's first foray into the Canadian Championship and they gave a good account of themselves early on, hitting the post and testing Luka Gavran in the Toronto goal either side of the home side's opener from Prince Owusu in the eighteenth minute. After that, though, it became something of a one-sided affair as the MLS side added another three in the first half - Cassius Mailula, Kevin Long, and Jonathan Osorio making it 4-0 at the break. Toronto took their foot off the gas after the break, scoring just once more when substitute Tyrese Spicer found the net, and although the game highlighted the massive gulf between the first- and third-tiers of Canadian soccer, Simcoe will have enjoyed their night out in front of over 11,000 fans. Toronto now await the winners of next week's HDX Wanderers versus CS Saint-Laurent match.
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Apr 25, 2024 17:46
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The preliminary round of the 2024 Canadian Championship concludes this week, beginning with a trio of matches tonight from Ottawa in the East to Vancouver Island in the West. The two midnight kick-offs (all times BST) from Ontario are all-Canadian Premier League affairs, with Atletico Ottawa facing Valour FC, and Forge FC hosting York United. Forge currently top the CPL table after three rounds with a perfect record, having defeated Cavalry, Valour, and York, the latter a 3-0 win in Toronto that rarely saw the visitors troubled. York, though, saw off previously unbeaten Vancouver FC at the weekend with a 3-0 win of their own and will look to restore some pride and hopefully land a plum, two-legged tie against MLS club CF Montreal in the quarterfinals. Ottawa are one of two teams sitting in second, with two wins and a draw so far and will expect to sweep aside the challenge of Valour, last year's bottom side who are yet to earn a point in 2024. The winners of the Atletico-Valour clash will face the winners of the 2am kick-off in Langford, where Pacific FC welcome League 1 British Columbia side TSS Rovers to Starlight Stadium. A semi-professional club based in Richmond on Lulu Island, south of Vancouver, TSS were late replacements for L1BC runners-up Victoria Highlanders (champions Whitecaps FC Academy being ineligible to qualify for the Canadian Championship). Highlanders withdrew from L1BC in April to return to amateur soccer, leaving TSS - formed as the Total Soccer Systems academy in 1997 and beginning league play in the 2017 USL League Two - to take their place. TSS were knocked out by Pacific (who, like Ottawa, have seven points from three games this season) at the quarterfinal stage last year after beating Valour in the preliminary round. The final preliminary round tie comes from Nova Scotia on Thursday, where HFX Wanderers - pointless after three games this season - face Ligue 1 Quebec champions CS Saint-Laurent in an 11pm kick-off. Saint-Laurent celebrated their fortieth anniversary in 2022, originally started as a youth soccer club in the western Montreal suburb of Ville St-Laurent, close to Pierre Trudeau Airport. They only began playing at semi-professional level in 2022, when they finished second in L1Q, going one place better last year to qualify for this trophy. The winners of this match face a two-legged tie with Toronto FC of MLS.
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May 1, 2024 07:13
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The preliminary rounds of the Canadian Championship were completed this week, with three games on Wednesday and the final game last night. Both of Wednesday's games came from Ontario, and it was a party night in the national's capital as Atletico Ottawa put 7 (seven) goals past a sorry Valour FC outfit who have now lost their first four matches of 2024. Effervescent midfielder Ollie Bassett opened the scoring a quarter of an hour in with a penalty given for what was practically an assault by visiting defender Abdou Samake, and it as 3-0 fifteen minutes later, thanks to goals from Spaniards Alberto Zapater and Ruben del Campo. Zapater scored his second to make it 4-0 in the 37th minute and the visitors from Winnipeg went into the break looking broken. Still, they managed to hold out for eighteen minutes of the second-half before Ballou Tabla scored Atletico's fifth, Bassett adding his second two minutes later for 6-0, and del Campo finishing the scoring - thankfully for any Valour fans among the 2,492 crowd at TD Place - with 21 minutes still to play. Sure, two of the goals probably should have been ruled out for offside but there's no doubt that Valour have serious work to do if they're going to avoid the wooden spoon again in 2024. The game at Tim Horton's Field in Hamilton between Forge FC and York United was closer than the 3-1 scoreline suggests, especially as that loan goal for United was very much a consolation with minutes left to play. A crowd of just under 2,500 came out to see the Hammers take the lead in the eighth minute when a Tristan Borges ball found Jordan Hamilton in the York box, the former Toronto FC and Columbus Crew man heading home past visiting 'keeper Thomas Vincensini. Vincensini saved from Borges minutes later but could do nothing to prevent David Choiniere firing in off the bar in the seventeenth minute, doubling the home side's lead. It was three just before the half, outlining Forge's total control of that period, when Hamilton grabbed a second, tapping in after Beni Badibanga's shot came off the post. If the first-half was all about Forge, York had much the better of the second, despite the home side having a goal ruled out for offside, and finally grabbed that consolation through Edgar Huerta three minutes from time. Forge, though, remain unblemished in domestic competition in 2024 and will now play CF Montreal of MLS in the two-legged quarterfinal. League 1 British Columbia side TSS Rovers caused an upset in the 2023 preliminary rounds when they eliminated Valour FC to become the first semi-professional side to win a game in the new era of the Canadian Championship and, but for referee Alain Ruch's generous application of time added on at the end of their visit to Pacific FC on Wednesday, they would have been the second! There were few chances for either side in the first-half but Pacific started to control the game in the second, with Romanian striker Andrei Tîrcoveanu having three good chances to give the home side the lead. To the shock of the majority of the 2,161 in attendance, though, it was Rovers who took the lead, Michael Hennessy latching onto the end of a breakaway ball from Devin O'Hea to slot past Pacific 'keeper Sean Melvin. That was the first goal the Tridents had conceded in four domestic games in 2024 and it opened the game, with chances at both ends, the best of which falling to Pacific's Reon Moore on the six-yard box, the Trinidadian rashly firing over. Rovers' Kyle Jones also had a good chance to put his side 2-0 up, something that proved costly when Moore made up for his earlier error and scored from point-blank range in the eighth of six added minutes. That sent the tie to penalties, with four of the first six missed, and it was substitute Ivan Mejia who had to carry the can, his spot-kick saved by Pacific's Emil Gazdov - brought on especially for the shootout - to give the home side the win and a quarterfinal tie with Atletico Ottawa. The final preliminary round game came on Thursday night in Halfiax, Nova Scotia, where the CPL's HFX Wanderers took on Ligue 1 Quebec winners CS Saint-Laurent. It was the visitors' first tilt at the cup since stepping up as a semi-professional club in 2022 from their youth club roots and they showed that they are more than ready for this stage by taking the game to Wanderers early on. Despite that, it was the home side that took the lead when captain Daniel Nimick stepped up to slot home a penalty kick just before the half-hour, given for a foul on Jeremy Gagnon-Lapere. Four minutes later, Saint-Laurent were awarded a spot-kick of their own when home 'keeper Yann Fillion brought down former Vancouver FC man Mamadou Kane, and Kane cooly fired home to equalise. That's how things stayed until twenty minutes into the second-half when a clever corner routine - and a deflection - saw former Canadian futsal international Loic Kwemi's shot put the visitors ahead. Both sides had chances after that but Halfiax managed to find an equaliser of their own seven minutes from time, Ryan Telfer capping a busy game with the goal. That sent the game to penalties and after the first seven had been successfully converted, Saint-Laurent 'keeper Kosta Maniatis saved Christian Volesky's effort, leaving Kane with the job of winning the game for the part-timers, a job he completed to silence the home crowd. CS Saint-Laurent's reward for their giantkilling is a two-legged tie with MLS side Toronto FC in the quarterfinals, which begin next week.
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May 3, 2024 13:07
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US Open Cup fourth round preview "It's not their fault no-one else came," said Henry Rollins once, in response to a small audience at one of his shows, and it's an attitude we should probably take for the fourth round of the 2024 US Open Cup, which finally sees the entrance of the MLS clubs, or eight of them, at least. The future ramifications of Don Garber's attempt to withdraw his clubs from the country's oldest soccer competition are yet to be fully felt, the eleventh-hour compromise really pleasing no-one, but fans and players were almost wholly united in their opposition to the move. Regardless, there are eight MLS clubs - and the New York City FC reserves, who battled through the last two rounds - in the draw and we should move forward from here, for this season at least. The sixteen fourth round games are split over two days, with seven games taking place tonight. The first of these kicks-off at midnight (all times BST) and sees Pittsburgh Riverhounds welcome FC Tulsa to Highmark Stadium in the Steel City. Having lost five key players during the winter, Riverhounds took some time to get going this season but have won their last three, beating reigning champions Phoenix Rising in Arizona, turning away a previously unblemished Detroit City, and squeaking past The Miami FC at the weekend. Having finished in the top eight last season, this will be Pittsburgh's first match in this year's competition and they face a Tulsa outfit that overcame USL League One's Northern Colorado Hailstorm in the last round. The Oklahomans, too, have had a tentative start to 2024 but won at El Paso Locomotive two weeks ago and drew with Birmingham Legion at the weekend, and will travel to Pennsylvania with some confidence. Charlotte Independence have already won three Open Cup ties this season, defeating Vereinigung Erzgebirge, South Carolina United Heat, and USL Championship new boys Rhode Island FC to get to round four. Their reward is a visit to Atlanta United's Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where they will face the MLS side in a match that kicks off at half-past-midnight. Independence have only lost once this season and have goalkeeper Austin Pack in fine form; they might well need him to be with Thiago Almada, Giorgios Giakoumakis, and Saba Lobjanidze in dangerous form of late, although they did lose at home to Minnesota United on Saturday. It's to be assumed that its to their credit that reigning champions Houston Dynamo agreed to return to defend their trophy this year, despite being one of the nine clubs MLS entered into the CONCACAF Champions Cup, the prime reason given by Garber for his garbage move. They will kick-off at 1am against a Detroit City side that beat local rivals Michigan Stars in the last round and who won their first five league games this season before being beaten by Pittsburgh Riverhounds the weekend before last and drawing a blank at Loudoun four days ago. Dynamo have missed the quality of Hector Herrera in midfield but are generally playing good, attacking soccer, and this should be a game to keep an eye on. Houston's Texas rivals FC Dallas also face USL Championship opposition in the shape of Memphis 901, who beat fifth-tier Miami United in the last round. The game, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, kicks off at 1.30am and will see former Atlanta United coach Stephen Glass attempt to prove his credentials against MLS opposition for the first time since taking over the Tennessee club in 2022. 901 had a big win over ten-man Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday night, which - coupled with Dallas's 3-1 loss at Toronto FC on Saturday - augurs well for Glass's side. San Jose Earthquakes have been in terrible form so far in 2024, winning just one of their first ten games before beating LAFC on Saturday night, and they will be wary of facing USL Championship side Oakland Roots at PayPal Park, even factoring in the Roots' recent woes. Roots sacked head coach Noah Delgado after a home defeat by Colorado Springs switchbacks and interim coach Gavin Glinton led them to a 2-2 draw in San Antonio at the weekend. Quakes fell at the first hurdle last season to USL Championship opposition in the shape of Monterey Bay FC, coached by their former legend Frank Yallop, and will be hoping to avoid a repeat of that disaster when they meet Roots for a 3am kick-off. It's also a 3am start down the coast in Irvine, where Orange County SC face Loudoun United in an all-USL Championship tie. County have been in superb form so far this season, just one defeat to Western Conference leaders Sacramento Republic blotting their record, while Loudoun have been better than in previous years, although a 0-0 draw with Detroit City at the weekend ranks as one of their best results this season. Tuesday's final game is another all-USL Championship affair, this time from northern California where Sacramento Republic host Monterey Bay FC at Heart Health Park for a 3.30am kick-off. Both sides fell at this stage last season, although Republic made the final in 2022, their dream ended by Orlando City. Republic were held 1-1 by Phoenix Rising on Saturday but should have enough to beat a Monterey side that lost at home to Indy Eleven and are very much the underdogs here. The first of Wednesday's games start at midnight, with North Carolina FC facing Phoenix Rising in a meeting of the 2023 USL League One champions versus their 2023 USL Championship equivalents. North Carolina moved up to the Championship during the winter and they've given a good account of themselves without earning too many points, although they did manage to defeat MLS Next Pro outfit Carolina Core in the previous round. Rising have made hard work of their defence of the title, but coming from behind to draw 1-1 with Sacramento Republic at the wekend will have pleased rookie head coach Danny Stone. Also at midnight is another all-USL Championship clash, this time between Indy Eleven and San Antonio FC. Two of the better supported clubs in the USL, both fell to MLS opposition in the third round last year, but Indy at least earned a token measure of revenge by beating Chicago Fire II in the last round. Indy go into this tie in better form, ahving won their last two, but San Antonio are good travellers and have some formidable firepower when called upon. 2022 USL League One winners South Georgia Tormenta won't have enjoyed being drawn at Charleston Battery at this stage of the competition, and that was before Battery beat Las Vegas Lights 6-0 two weeks ago and were efficient in beating Hartford Athletic 1-0 at the weekend. Still, the Statesboro outfit have beaten FC America CFL Spurs, Savannah Clovers, and USL Championship side The Miami FC to get this far and can at least approach the midnight kick-off at Patriots Point with absolutely no pressure on them. The sole MLS Next Pro team left in the competition, New York City FC II, host Colorado Springs Switchbacks of the USL Championship for a 0.30am start at Belson Stadium in Queens and will fancy their chances of another "cupset" having knocked out Hartford Athletic in the third round. Switchbacks started the season in terrible form but have won their last two. Still, they could probably do without this potential misstep... Down in St Petersburg, Florida, the all-USL Championship tie between Tampa Bay Rowdies and Birmingham Legion is also a half-past-midnight affair, and Legion will be looking for a repeat of last year's heroics which saw them beat Charlotte FC of MLS on their way to the last eight. Tampa's Cal Jennings is in fine goalscoring form but the Rowdies defence will be wary of the visitors' Stefano Pinho, who scored all four in their 4-2 defeat of Chattanooga Red Wolves in the last round, especially since they conceded four in Memphis at the weekend. If South Georgia Tormenta are dreading their trip to South Carolina on Wednesday, their USL League One rivals Union Omaha are probably relishing their fourth round tie against Sporting Kansas City, having defeated USL Championship team El Paso Locomotive to get to this stage. A relative local derby, with under 200 miles separating the two, the tie - a 1am kick-off at Union's Werner Park stadium - finds the clubs in differing form, with the home side undefeated so far this season, 4-2 home winners over South Georgia Tormenta at the weekend. Sporting, meanwhile, are stuttering of late, conceding unnecessary goals and losing 1-0 at Real Salt Lake on Saturday. New Mexico United saw off the challenge of Lubbock Matadors in the last round, the plucky Texans finally coming unstuck 2-1 in Albuquerque, but will face tougher opposition in the shape of Real Salt Lake on Wednesday at 2am. The late arrival of Chicho Arango wasn't quite enough to propel RSL to play-off glory last season but he's been working his magic in 2024 and scored the only goal in their win over Sporting Kansas City on Saturday. United have also been in good form, winning five of their last six matches and it should be quite a contest. The final two games are 3.30am affairs and both feature USL Championship teams taking on MLS outfits. Seattle Sounders are four-time US Open Cup winners but haven't reached the final for a decade. They will regard Louisville City as a necessary hurdle to getting back to cup glory but should not take the visitors for granted. One of the USL Championship's top sides, City have lost just once this season, winning 6-0 against Hartford Athletic in their last game, while Sounders have struggled, winning just two games in their eleven league outings this season. Finally, it's the turn of MLS glamour club Los Angeles FC to take to the field, facing Jose Bautista's Las Vegas Lights at Cashman Field in Sin City. Bautista's arrival at the Lights has transformed the club but it's still very much a work in progress, with another home loss - this time to New Mexico United - at the weekend. LAFC, meanwhile, are in generally decent form but lost in San Jose on Saturday, only the second side to fall to the Quakes this season. Canadian Championship quaterfinals preview The quarterfinals of the Canadian Championship also begin tonight with a pair of games that pit Canadian Premier League clubs against their MLS counterparts. Four times CPL champions Forge FC welcome CF Montreal to Tim Horton's Field in Hamilton, Ontario, in a repear of the 2023 semi-final that the MLS side won 2-0. Forge have won all their domestic outings in 2024 so far, their sole blemish coming at the hands of Mexican giants Chivas Guiadalajara in the CONCACAF Champions Cup . They'll be chomping at the bit to get at their visitors, especially given Montreal were well beaten at the weekend, a 4-1 reverse in Nashville their fourth defeat in ten games this season. Tonight's other game takes place at ATCO Field in Calgary, Alberta, where Cavalry FC host Vancouver Whitecaps. The clubs met at this stage in 2022, with Caps advancing on penalties, but all quarterfinal ties are over two legs this season and Cavalry will be up for the cup at home. Whitecaps, though, have talent to spare and it will take a determined performance for the CPL side to get a result tonight, let alone over two legs. The other two quarterfinal ties take place on Wendesday night, with the semi-professionals of CS Saint-Laurent hosting Toronto FC of MLS, and an all-CPL affair between Atletico Ottawa and Pacific FC. Saint-Laurent are reigning Ligue 1 Quebec champions and knocked out HFX Wanderers in a penalty shootout to get a shot at Toronto, who breezed past opposition of a similar standard in the last round, defeating Simcoe County Rovers 5-0. Saint-Laurent have a side with plenty of higher league experience, though, and it will be a match that Reds coach John Herdman probably could do without. With Forge not in action this week, Atletico and Pacific are joint top of the CPL after four rounds with ten points each. Both sides are undefeated in all competitions this year, although Pacific needed a last minute equaliser and penalty kicks to get past TSS Rovers in the last round, while the Ottawans put seven past Valour FC without reply. Three of the second legs take place in two weeks' time, with the Pacific-Atletico Ottawa decider coming a week after that.
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May 7, 2024 19:20
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US Open Cup fourth-round round-up Before we start our rundown of the fourth round action, an observation: For the first three rounds of the cup, comprehensive - and probably a little too comprehensive, if I'm honest - highlights of all games have been available on the US Soccer YouTube channel the morning after the games. Come the fourth round, and the arrival of the MLS clubs, and those highlights are nowhere to be seen. Coincidence or conspiracy? One of the MLS complaints against the Open Cup was a lack of media coverage, which may or may not have had something to do with the fact that it was MLS's own media rights company Soccer United Marketing that was responsible for such things until last year. I might have missed something to do with the new deal US Soccer signed with Turner Sports at the beginning of the year and I wait to be put right if I did. Anyway. With four MLS sides finally making their bow in the US Open Cup fourth round, the chance for "cupsets" looked good, especially in Texas and northern California, where FC Dallas and San Jose Earthquakes are not enjoying the best of seasons so far. In the end, there was an upset, and it did come in Texas, but at the home of reigning champions Houston Dynamo, who fell to USL Championship outfit Detroit City in a penalty shootout that reached all the way to the respective goalkeepers taking kicks. Dynamo coach Ben Olsen made seven changes from the side that drew 0-0 with St Louis City at the weekend but a good crowd of 7,540 still came out to Shell Energy Stadium and saw the home side take the lead in the sixth minute, Griffin Dorsey finding the net from Hector Herrera's corner. The visitors still hadn't had a shot at goal when Houston scored their second, Latif Blessing ending a period of sustained Dynamo pressure with his first of the season. That was a cue for City to come into the game, going close through Matt Sheldon and Abdoulaye Diop before Ryan Williams fired home from outside the box four minutes before the break. At 2-1 there was all to play for and the game opened up, with both sides having opportunities to score before substitute Yazeed Matthews levelled the scores in the 75th minute, a state of affairs that lasted for just two minutes before Houston sub Adalberto Carrasquilla restored Dynamo's lead. Another side might have folded at that point by Danny Dichio's Detroit team are made of stern stuff and grabbed another equaliser seven minutes from time when Maxi Rodriguez was on target. Ibrahim Aliyu had two good chances to win the game for Houston but the tie went into extra-time, where tired legs led to few decent efforts. A penalty shootout was called upon and with scores still level as they reached the goalkeepers, Dynamo's Andrew Tarbell fired his wide and over. That just left Detroit Carlos Saldana, who fired into the bottom left corner to give the USL side a famous win and a fifth round tie away to Indy Eleven. The fourth round had started at Highmark Stadium, home of Pittsburgh Riverhounds, who faced USL Championship rivals FC Tulsa in what - given the 'hounds recent form - should have been a straightforward home win. The game started at a frantic pace, with Pittsburgh 'keeper Gabriel Perotta forced into an early save by Phillip Goodrum in the third minute and Emmanuel Johnson going close for the home side soon after. Once things settled down, the match became a more cagey affair, only coming back to life in the last fifteen minutes when Junior Etou and Bradley Sample had chances to give Pittsburgh the lead, but it was Goodrum who was in the right place at the right time when sub Alexander Dalou picked him out to give Tulsa an unexpected 1-0 win and passage to the next round, where they'll travel to MLS's Sporting Kansas City. The romance of the cup was most alive at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia, last night, where Charlotte Independence of the third-tier USL League One were taking on Atlanta United of MLS. A crowd of over 2,500 were on hand, many of them having made the five-hour journey between the cities, but there was to be no fairytale ending for Independence, even against a United side without Thiago Almada, Giorgios Giakoumakis, and Saba Lobjandize. In fact, United coach Gonzalo Pineda made eleven changes to his starting line-up, although some bigger names such as Dax McCarthy and Nick Firmino did take the field. The visitors gave a good account of themselves in the first-half, keeping a clean sheet while having good chances through Juan Carlos Obregon Jr to take the lead, but their resolution failed seven minutes after the break when Firmino opened the scoring for the hosts, adding a second in the 71st minute. Charlotte still went in search of an unlikely way back into the game but Daniel Rios's close-range shot put the hosts into an impregnable 3-0 lead with just five minutes left on the clock. Atlanta now have to go to Charleston in the fifth round, a formidable prospect on current form. Having beaten Tampa Bay Rowdies 4-1 on Saturday, Memphis 901 were probably quietly confident ahead of their trip to FC Dallas's Toyota Stadium on Tuesday, especially given Dallas had lost 3-1 themselves at the weekend. However, it turned into a one-sided affair, with the visitors unable to even get a shot on target as Dallas field a strong side with just four changes from their last starting eleven. That's not to say Dallas ran riot, Nkosi Tafari's header in stoppage time their only chance in the first-half, but they did find the vital breakthrough in the 73rd minute when Logan Farrington finished a clever set-piece move. Petar Musa had two good chances to extend that lead late on but it ended 1-0 to send Dallas away to Tampa Bay Rowdies in round five. After going out of the cup to USL Championship opposition last season, San Jose Earthquakes must have been wary of the threat posed by Oakland Roots on Tuesday night, even if Roots' recent poor form forced them to sack head coach Noah Delgado two weeks ago. Indeed, the visitors were by far the more adventurous side in the first-half, especially as Quakes made ten changes to their side, only Jack Skahan starting both this and their derby win over Los Angeles FC at the weekend. Skahan had the first decent chance of the second-half as the hosts took control, Tommy Thompson hitting the post in the 71st minute and Ousseni Bouda twice going close before Quakes did eventually find the net through Bouda with fourteen minutes left to play. Any hope of a late comeback was dashed when Oakland had Johnny Rodriguez sent-off for a bad foul on Bouda in the 82nd minute, and the game played out in the visitors' half, a 1-0 win probably a fair result on the night. San Jose will now visit Sacramento Republic in the fifth round after the USL Championship powerhouses defeated local rivals Monterey Bay FC 2-0 at Heart Health Park. Republic controlled the game in the first half, having a number of chances to score before forcing Kai Greene into conceding an own goal after 27 minutes. They doubled their lead just four minutes later when Rafael Jauregui sent Kieran Phillips through on goal, the former Huddersfield Town man finding the bottom right corner with a good finish. The visitors were much better after that, forcing Republic 'keeper Danny Vitiello into making several saves to keep his clean sheet, a vital dive to his right putting Mobi Fehr's stoppage time effort out for a corner to ensure Sacramento's passage into round five. Tuesday's final game was another all-USL Championship affair as high-flyers Orange County SC welcomed the youngsters of Loudoun United to Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine. The visitors allowed OC to control the pace of the game, ready to hit them on the break when given a chance, and took the lead after 22 minutes when Wesley Leggett was found inside the box by Kalil ElMedhkar and fired home. It could have been 2-0 just past the half-hour when Tommy McCabe forced Colin Shutler into a diving save, but the home side managed to see out the half just a goal behind. The second-half remained open, with both sides having chances before Thomas Amang scored his third of the season to draw the hosts level, something that lasted just two minutes before Leggett was put through by Gavin Turner for his - and Loudoun's - second. Two minutes after that, Orange County were given a chance to get back in the game when Cameron Dunbar was fouled by Florian Valot in the box, but Dane Jacomen turned Markus Nakkim's spot-kick round the post for a corner. That was as good as it got for the hosts and Loudoun held on for a decent away victory and the chance to meet Los Angeles FC in the next round. The pick of the early action on Wednesday night came from WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina, where 2023 USL League One champions North Carolina FC met 2023 USL Championship winners Phoenix Rising. After North Carolina accepted promotion into the Championship over the winter, the two now share a league but that didn't lessen the spice surrounding the tie, which exploded in an accordingly fiery way. The first goal went to the visitors after just nine minutes, a clever move involving Panos Armenakas and Gabi Torres finished off by Juan Carlos Azucar, and the pace didn't let up with Oalex Anderson and Remi Cabral going close for their respective sides. In the 24th minute, Lawrence Wykes - who'd already picked up a yellow card just before the goal - fouled Anderson and was shown a second yellow, sending Rising down to ten men for the next hour plus change. That put the home side on the front foot, with six attempts at goal in the next fifteen minutes before they, too, lost a man to a second yellow, Paco Craig receiving his marching orders. Things were less frantic in the second-half, with no concrete opportunities before Azucar hit the bar in the 88th minute, forcing the game into extra-time. Four minutes into the added thirty minutes, the home side went down to nine men when Ezra Armstrong received his second yellow but Jake McGuire's save from Rising's Emil Cuello was as near as things got to a goal in that first period. After the turnaround, substitutes Erickson Gallardo and Giulio Doratiotto combined to give Phoenix the lead again, 2-1 turning out to be the final score when Rafa Mentzingen's best chance of a leveller went wide. Phoenix will now travel to Seattle after Louisville City's shot at causing an upset in the Evergreen State were stymied by Seattle Sounders at Starfire Sports in Tukwila, usually home to Sounders' reserve side Tacoma Defiance. Sounders made ten changes from the side that drew 0-0 with Los Angeles Galaxy at the weekend, only Danny Leyva keeping his place, and the first-half was a cautious affair, not a single shot on target before Paul Rothrock opened the scoring for Sounders with a tidy finish in the 41st minute. The second-half was also a cagey affair, with goalmouth action at a premium until Danny Musovski doubled Seattle's lead with a header from a set-piece on 63 minutes. That was the cue for City to wake up, and they went close up the other end before Alex Roldan handballed in the box to give the visitors a penalty, fired into the top right corner by Sean Totsch. Taylor Davila then brought a save out of Andrew Thomas in the Sounders goal but it looked like the home side had done enough to go through until Jorge Gonzalez grabbed an equaliser for Louisville a minute from time, forcing the game into extra-time. City had the best chances of the first period of extra-time, with Thomas having to save from Sam Gleadle and Wes Charpie, while City 'keeper Daniel Faundez was on hand to prevent Danny Musovski giving Sounders the win with five minutes left on the clock. That sent the tie into a penalty shootout, with Totsch missing his opening effort, with two saves from Thomas and three from Faundez leaving things level at 3-3 after six rounds. The seventh penalty from each team was converted, but Thomas saved from Kyle Adams and then stepped up himself to fire home the winning kick to take Sounders through. There was another twist in the Indy Eleven stadium saga ahead of their home tie with San Antonio FC on Wednesday night when the arrival of a wealthy investor seemed to indicate that, if MLS were the grant a franchise to the Railroad City, it would be to Indy Eleven as a club in the planned Eleven Park complex. There's still plenty of water to flow under that bridge and the team got down to business against their USL Championship rivals in quick smart fashion, opening their account just two minutes into the game when Augustine Williams scored his second of the season. The visitors from Texas were left further reeling eight minutes later when Scottish midfielder Jack Blake doubled Indy's lead, but came back into the game strongly, controlling the rest of the first-half and going close to reducing arrears through Machop Choi, Juan Agudelo and Mohammed Omar. It was a similar story after the break, with just one Blake effort finding the target, saved by Kendall McIntosh in the visitors' goal, but San Antonio simply weren't able to break down a resolute home defence, their last decent chance coming ten minutes from time when Hunter Sulte saved from Jose Mulato. Indy move on to face Detroit City in round five. USL Championship leaders Charleston Battery took nothing for granted against 2022 USL League One winners South Georgia Tormenta at Patriots Point on Wednesday, even if they did make five changes from the side that beat Hartford Athletic at the weekend. With six goals from nine league games so far this season, MD Myers led the Battery line and opened the scoring in the 21st minute with the first decent chance of the game, his shot finding a way past Drew Romig in the Tormenta goal. Romig did make saves from Diego Gutierrez and Aaron Molloy, interventions which looked valuable when Pedro Fonseca ran on to a fast breaking pass from Phillip Spengler to level the scores with a shot from outside the box. The visitors no doubt hoped that they'd go in level at half-time but Myers had other ideas, heading in a cross in the third minute of stoppage time to restore Battery's lead. Just past the hour, Charleston coach Ben Pirmann decide to bring on top scorer Nick Markanich to put the game to bed, and his pass found Myers a few minutes later, but the striker saw his effort well saved by Romig. Markanich, Jake La Cava, and Chris Allen all had shots saved as the visitors left themselves vulnerable in search of an equaliser but Tormenta's efforts paid off seven minutes from time when Gabriel Rodriguez scored from close range to send the game to extra-time. Markanich was busy again once play resumed but Tormenta were able to repel anything Battery threw at them, at least until time added on right at the end of 120 minutes when Myers finally grabbed his hat-trick, slotting in from a corner to give Charleston the win and a home tie with Atlanta United of MLS. One of three teams still alive from round one at the start of round four, New York City FC II were the last of eight MLS Next Pro sides to enter this year's competition, in their case at the expense of their MLS first team. Still, they've made a good case for their inclusion, with wins over Motown FC, New York Red Bulls II, and USL Championship club Hartford Athletic, and there must have been a few nervous glances at Colorado Springs Switchbacks when the USL Championship side were drawn away to the baby Pigeons. That was before Switchbacks won their last two, of course, and they'd have gone into Wednesday's match at Belson Stadium in Queens with some confidence. That probably lessened after Mexican winger Jonathan Jimenez opened the scoring for the home youngsters with the first chance of the game in the sixth minute, and didn't get much better when Switchbacks 'keeper Luis Zamudio had to save Drew Baiera's shot two minutes later. The visitors made eight changes from the team that beat El Paso Locomotive 2-0 on Saturday but came back into the game, going close through Tyreek Magee and Jairo Henriquez before the first-half dribbled to a close. The second-half wasn't low on action but only Jonas Fjeldberg for the Switchbacks tested either 'keeper, and the game was as good as done when Aidan Rocha was dismissed for two yellow cards two minutes from time. After completing that 2-0 win, City's next adventure will bring New Mexico United to town after the USL Championship side knocked out MLS opposition in the shape of high-flying Real Salt Lake. True, RSL made eight changes from the weekend, leaving star player Chico Arango on the bench, but that shouldn't take away from a solid performance by United that simply did not allow their more illustrious visitors to grab hold of the game. The home side had the first good chance of the game, Sergio Rivas's thirteenth minute shot saved by Gavin Beevers for a corner, and they took a quick two-goal lead when Zico Bailey shocked the few visiting fans with almost identical goals in the seventeenth and nineteenth minutes. Real were also shocked, this time into action, going close through Zavier Gojo and Braian Ojeda before Fidel Barajas reduced the arrears ten minutes before half-time. Any hope the MLS side might have had of taking a one-goal deficit into the break was shattered four minutes into stoppage time when Daniel Bruce found Nicky Hernandez on the edge of the box, the midfielder firing home to give New Mexico a 3-1 halftime lead. Real coach Paolo Mastroeni didn't panic, declining to make a substitute during the break, and he was rewarded when Diego Luna made it 3-2 four minutes into the second-half, setting things up nicely. Substitutions did come on the hour and Real went close through Berlin Jaqueson five minutes later, but they were still trailing with nine minutes to go, when Arango was brought on. His arrival paid no immediate dividends and his job was made even harder five minutes from time when Nicky Hernandez hit the post from distance and Jacobo Reyes made it 4-2 in the follow-up. That signalled the end for the visitors and it was United who went closest to adding to the score as the game petered out, a night to enjoy for the 5,266 fans in attendance, a half-full stadium the only blemish on the night for the USL Championship club. If six goals in Albuquerque seems excessive, then what happened down in St Petersburg, Florida, was beyond the pale. Hosts Tampa Bay Rowdies had been on the rough end of a 4-1 defeat at Memphis 901 at the weekend and the visit of USL Championship rivals Birmingham Legion could have been either the best or worst thing for them. It turned out - eventually - to be the former but they were given a hell of a scare in an incredible game in which both teams fully played their part. It all looked simple for Rowdies, up 3-0 at half-time thanks to two Cal Jennings goals after Damian Rivera's opener, with the visitors not even registering a shot on target. Prosper Kasim did force a save out of Rowdies 'keeper Jordan Farr just after the break and Tyler Pasher drew a corner with a shot midway through the half, but Rowdies held firm. Jennings completed his hat-trick in the 79th minute after being headed through on goal by Danny Christodomo and you'd have forgiven even a Rowdies fan for leaving early to avoid traffic at that point. Three minutes later, though, Legion's talismanic midfielder Enzo Martinez grabbed a goal back with a shot into the bottom left corner, the deficit reduced to two with a distance shot from Kobe Hernandez-Foster a minute from the end of normal time. The fourth official signalled for five minutes of stoppage time, enough for Pasher to bring the gap to just one goal with his 93rd minute effort. As the clock ticked towards the final whistle, Legion went forward again and Pasher was brought down in the box by Eddie Munjoma, picking himself up to level the scores with the final kick of the game and send the tie into the unlikeliest of extra-times. That Herculean effort seemed to deplete Birmingham's reserves and Rowdies controlled the first period of extra-time, going ahead once more when substitute Manuel Arteaga fired home, and he grabbed a second for 6-4 once play had resumed for the second period. That wasn't the end of his game, though, as he received a second yellow card three minutes into stoppage time. Rowdies not get to host FC Dallas in round five and local fans should miss it at their peril! Wednesday's final two games provided two more chances for a "cupset", with USL League One's Union Omaha in great form at home to an inconsistent Sporting Kansas City of MLS probably the best chance of a third-tier versus top-tier giantkilling in some time. Yet to lose in eight games this season, Omaha drew a near 5,000 crowd to the borrowed Caniglia Field at the University of Omaha and gave the fans something to cheer just past the half-hour when Lagos Kunga opened the scoring. Sporting, who made eight changes to the team that lost 1-0 to Real Salt Lake at the weekend, had earlier forced Rashid Nuhu into making saves from both Felipe Hernandez and Erik Thommy, and kept up the pressure afterwards, Nuhu again called into action to deny Zorhan Bassong just before the break. They did manage to get back on level terms three minutes into the second-half when Marinos Tzionis fired in off the post from distance and then introduced first-team regular Alan Pulido, Johnny Russell, and Daniel Salloi in search of a winner. The Omaha defence, though, held fast and it wasn't until two minutes from time that Nuhu was tested again, tipping a curling effort from Russell around the post for a corner. The game went into extra-time and calmed down once more, with chances at goal rare and wasted, although Russell did hit the post. The nearest Omaha came to finding a winner was when Adam Aoumaich's shot was saved by Sporting 'keeper John Pulskamp and it seemed we were heading for penalties when Tzionis found Pulido on the edge of the box, the striker finding the bottom corner to give Sporting a home tie against FC Tulsa in round five. The rebuilding job being done by former MLB star Jose Bautista at Las Vegas Lights is still very much a work in progress but he will have enjoyed the visit of MLS giants Los Angeles FC to his re-shaped Cashman Field last night, even if the result didn't quite go the way he'd have wanted. LAFC head coach Steve Cherundulo showed that he respected the Lights by picking a side that included both Denis Bouanga and Timothy Tillman, giving Kei Kamara his second start at the head of an attack built to score goals. The first-half brought just two shots on target, both of them well-saved by Lights 'keeper Nicholas Ammeter, but the 0-0 deadlock was broken just two minutes into the second-half when Kamara headed home from Tillman's corner to give the Black & Gold the lead. Bouanaga had a shot saved straight after but the home side managed to get back on level terms in the 56th minute when Shawn Smart headed home from the back of the six-yard box. LAFC went forward again, Bouanga going close just before the hour, and regained the lead on seventy minutes when Cristian Oliveira scored from close range. The game was wrapped up a minute into stoppage time when Oliveira grabbed his second and LA's next hurdle on their way to US Open Cup glory will come in the shape of a home tie against Loudoun United. Canadian Championship quarterfinals first-legs round-up Forge FC had already declared May 7th to be a School Day Match, although it was scheduled to be a Canadian Premier League game against HFX Wanderers. When they drew CF Montreal in the Canadian Championship quarterfinals, the 10,000 schoolchildren who'd bought tickets to see what was most likely their first professional soccer game were instead treated to MLS opposition and certainly made themselves heard, even if the pitch of those cheers was higher than usual. In the end, a total of 14,923 were in attendance at 11am local time on a Tuesday morning to see the CPL champions take on their more senior opponents. The home side gave them something to cheer half an hour in when Beni Badibanga laid on a pass for David Choiniere - whose younger brother Matthieu was in the Montreal line-up - to fire home. The visitors tested Forge 'keeper Christopher Kalongo towards the end of the half but the Hamilton side held on for a 1-0 lead at the break. Montreal made four changes at half-time and two of those - Raheem Edwards and Bryce Duke - combined for an equaliser seven minutes into the second-half. Forge went very close to finding a winner in the last few minutes but it ended all square, perfectly set up for the return in Montreal in two week's time. Poor weather in Calgary didn't prevent a crowd of over 4,000 flocking to ATCO Field to see local CPL side Cavalry FC take on MLS Western Conference high-flyers Vancouver Whitecaps on Tuesday night, and they were rewarded with some decent action and a glimmer of hope for the second leg. Caps made several changes from the 0-0 draw with Austin FC at the weekend but fielded a strong side that was led from the front by Brian White. The first half was very even, at least until Levonte Johnson fired in a shot from 25 yards that left Cavs 'keeper Marco Carducci stranded. Being down 1-0 forced the home side to open up and they went close through Lleyton Brooks midway through the half, but that also left them vulnerable, with a speculative long ball forward from Bjorn Utvik not dealt with by Callum Montgomery, allowing Johnson to score his and Caps' second. Both sides had chances to score as the lock ticked down and Cavs finally got a reward for their efforts in the third minute of stoppage time when Malcolm Shaw scored from a difficult angle to reduce the arrears, and they even could have drawn level when a free-kick caused chaos in the Whitecaps box before eventually being cleared. The teams meet again in Vancouver in two weeks. The all-CPL tie between Atletico Ottawa and Pacific FC, both topping the table with ten points from four games so far this season, turned out to be every bit as close as the statistics would have suggested, the proverbial fag paper finding it difficult to slide between the two. In a game of few chances, a crowd of just under 2,000 saw Ottawa have the best of what concrete goal chances there were, but it was no surprise to see Pacific's defensive midfielder Cedric Toussaint given man of the match, largely for his efforts in breaking up Ottawa's attacks. It's advantage Pacific, then, as the teams play again in Langford in three weeks' time, by which time they will have also met in the league... Almost 6,500 fans flocked to Complexe Sportif Claude-Robillard in Montreal last night to see Ligue 1 Quebec qualifiers CS Saint-Laurent take on MLS opposition in the shape of Toronto FC. Toronto had breezed past semi-professional opponents in the last round, dismissing Simcoe County Rovers 5-0, but Saint-Laurent were expected to provide tougher opposition, fielding a side sprinkled with players with professional experience. To their credit, Toronto picked a strong side, despite making eight changes from the team that beat FC Dallas 3-1 at the weekend, and the home crowd were buoyed by a goalless scoreline at half-time, possible due to Saint-Laurent 'keeper Konstantinos Maniatis making saves from Cassius Mailula and Deandre Kerr, and a clearance off the line by young defender Nathan Goulet from Jonathan Osorio. A triple substitution at half-time by the Reds paid dividends five minutes into the second-half when Matty Longstaff fired home, and DeAndre Kerr made it two just before the hour when he latched onto a long ball to shoot past Maniatis, although there was a clear handball by TFC defender Aime Mabika in his own area seconds before, waved off by the referee. Saint-Laurent's heads never dropped, although they were caught out by Federico Bernardeschi's quick free-kick fourteen minutes from time for a 3-0 final score and will rue not getting a rub of green, especially from referee Michael Venne who seemed keen to give things the way of the professional side more often than not. They play again in Toronto in two week's time.
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May 9, 2024 17:35
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whypick1 posted:Correction: Josh Atencio was the lone starter in both games. Cheers!
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May 10, 2024 10:45
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