2011 US Open Cup Real Salt Lake bracket preview: Charlotte Eagles at Wilmington Hammerheads
Posted on 20. Jun, 2011 by Gerald Barnhart in First Round
SECOND ROUND
Charlotte Eagles at Wilmington Hammerheads
Legion Stadium – Wilmington, N.C. – 7:30 p.m.
Broadcast: None
THIRD ROUND
Charlotte Eagles / Wilmington Hammerheads at Real Salt Lake
June 28, 9 p.m. ET Rio Tinto Stadium; Sandy, Utah
Wilmington Hammerheads
The club has been a member of USL’s professional third division league since its founding in 1996 with the exception of its hiatus in 2010. The club was at its peak early in the 2000’s, finishing first in the division in back-to-back years and reaching the final in 2002 and 2003, claiming the title on the second try.
Path to Open Cup: Automatic entrant from USL Pro.
First Round: Wilmington Hammerheads (USL Pro) 4:0 Central Florida Kraze (PDL)
The Hammerheads blanked the visiting Central Florida Kraze 4-0 in the First Round Tuesday with first half goals from Jyler Noviello and Luke Mulholland. Andriy Budnny tallied twice in the second stanza put put the match out of reach. Full Recap [+]
League Form: Wilmington returned to league play on Saturday at Orlando City, nabbing a late draw 1-1 on the foot of Budnny. The Hammerheads are in fifth place in the American Division with a 5-3-3 record.
Open Cup History: The club’s second quarterfinal appearance in eight trips to the tournament in 2009 was followed up with the club taking a hiatus last year due to financial issues. The run began by downing state rivals Charlotte and Carolina. They blanked league rival Eagles 2-0 in the First Round and downed the second division RailHawks in the Second Round via penalties after a 3-3 draw. Wilmington then surprised the Chicago Fire of MLS, 1-0, in the Third Round before being knocked out by second division Rochester, 2-1. The previous quarterfinal campaign in 2003 also included upsets as Wilmington downed second division Atlanta Silverbacks, 2-1, in the Third Round and MLS’s FC Dallas in a stunning 4-1 result in the Fourth Round before falling, 1-0, to DC United. FC Dallas would avenge the loss in the Third Round in 2005, but needed overtime in a 3-1 decision. The club’s other MLS contest was a 2-1 loss to New York in the Fourth Round in 2006, following another 2-1 upset of the Silverbacks.
PRO ERA RECORDS: 12-8-1 (1-0 in PKs) overall | 6-7-1 (1-0 in PKs) vs. pro teams | 2-0-0 vs. 3rd Division teams (both wins vs. Charlotte Eagles in 2006, 2009)
Charlotte Eagles
Founded in 1991, the team joined USL in 1993 and has been a professional club since 1995, playing primarily in the pro third division with a stint in the second division from 2001-03. The club won the third division title twice (2000, 2005) in six appearances and missed the playoffs last year for the first time since 2003 (second division), the only previous time they missed the playoffs since their debut season. The club is also well known for its sports ministry philosophy of sharing the message of Christianity through soccer.
Path to Open Cup: Automatic entrant from USL Pro.
First Round: Charlotte Eagles (USL Pro) 3:1 Carolina Dynamo (PDL)
Darren Toby gave Charlotte the initial First Round lead Tuesday with Carolina equalizing before the break. Diego Martins and Alan Sanchez added second half strikes to lead the Eagles to the 3-1 win. The win avenges a 4-2 upset by the Dynamo over the Eagles in the Second Round of the 2004 competition. Recap [+]
League Play: Charlotte returned to league play action Saturday at home against Dayton, winning 2-0 on goals from Darren Toby and Salieu Bundu. They are currently in sixth place in the American Division with a 4-4-3 record.
Open Cup History: The club had only one appearance prior to its current run of seven straight dating back to 2004, but were knocked out in the Second Round in 1998 by second division Worcester Wildfire, 2-0. All four tournament victories have come against lower division opponents, three from the USASA. Two of the USASA clubs hailed from Florida (2007, 2008). Last year the Eagles were eliminated by fellow North Carolina club, the second division Carolina RailHawks, in a narrow 1-0 decision.
PRO ERA RECORDS: 5-8-0 overall | 0-7-0 vs. professional teams | 0-2-0 vs. 3rd Division (both losses to Wilmington Hammerheads in 2006, 2009)
Real Salt Lake
How They Qualified: Automatic entrant from top six MLS finish in 2010.
This Month in MLS: [D-D-L-W] Real Salt Lake returned home from a two-game road swing to face DC United Saturday, giving up a late penalty in a 1-1 draw in which they tallied first from the spot via Fabian Espindola. They are now visiting Chicago Fire June 22 and hosting Toronto FC in two more league contests before the Third Round. They opened the month with a 2-0 victory against the visiting Vancouver Whitecaps (under new coach Tom Soehn) on June 4 with Nick Rimando in goal as Jean Alexandre tallied a goal and an assist. Four days later in Columbus, they fell 2-1 to the Crew after Jamison Olave gave them the initial lead seven minutes in. RSL played to a 1-1 draw in Philadelphia June 11 against the Union with Fabian Espindola providing the equalizer in the 53rd minute. Last Five: D-D-L-W-L | Season Record: 6-3-4 (4-1-2 Home), tied for fourth in Western Conference, tied for fifth overall.
Open Cup History: Having last participated in the Open Cup proper in 2006, Real Salt Lake’s qualifying is the longer of the two lists. RSL’s debut in the Cup in 2005 was an epic 6-4 extra time upset loss to the USL’s Minnesota Thunder. After playing the first half to a 2-2 draw, both teams scored twice more to level the score at 4 after 90 minutes. Minnesota scored twice in extra time for the 6-4 win, leaving Jason Kries’ hat trick for RSL on the losing side. 2006 saw RSL needing extra time again in their opening match, this time against the Virginia Beach Mariners. Jeff Cunningham (RSL) and Tim O’Neill (VBM) traded goals in the first half, and Andy Williams’ 93rd minute strike held up for Salt Lake’s first ever Open Cup win. RSL would be eliminated 1-0 in the next round by their Rocky Mountain Cup rivals, the Colorado Rapids. Colorado would keep the Utah side out of the Open Cup in 2007, defeating them 2-1 in the final round of MLS qualifying. 2008 and 2009 saw RSL eliminated in the opening round of MLS qualifying, while in 2010 they fell yet again in the final round, this time to 2-1 to DC United in overtime. This season, RSL avoided qualifying all together by virtue of their second-place finish in the 2010 MLS regular season.
FIRST ROUND
Charlotte Eagles (USL PRO) 3:1 Carolina Dynamo (PDL)
Macpherson Stadium – Browns Summit, N.C. – 7 p.m.
Full Recap [+]
Central Florida Kraze (PDL) 0:4 Wilmington Hammerheads (USL PRO)
Legion Stadium – Wilmington, N.C. – 7:30 p.m.
Full Recap [+]
ELIMINATED TEAMS
Carolina Dynamo
Founded in 1993, the club was an immediate success in USL with championships in its first two professional ranks from 1995-2003 with a hiatus in 1998. The club has since played in the PDL following the opening of its soccer-specific Macpherson Stadium, which opened in 2003.
Path to Open Cup: Of the nine PDL qualifiers, the Dynamo are one of two that finished with a loss in the four-game campaign, advancing via head-to-head tiebreakers with fellow 3-1-0 sides Real Maryland Monarchs and West Virginia Chaos. Carolina opened with a 2-0 win against the Chaos on goals form Hakan Ilhan and Chris Thomas. Ilhan scored again, along with Freddy Gomez, in another 2-0 win at Real MarylandMaryland in the next match before dropping a 1-0 road match to Northern Virginia the next night. The Dyanmo wrapped up the berth with a third Joseph Goodwin shutout, blanking Virginia Beach 3-0 with two more goals from Ilhan.
June News Updates: [PDL, South Atlantic Division: 5-1-0] Rallied from two down to win 3-2 at West Virginia June 9 with three goals in the final 16 minutes, two from Robbie Lovejoy on either side of Freddie Gomez’s 88th minute equalizer… Blanked Northern Virginia Royals 3-0 June 4 with Karo Okiomah tallying goal and assist.
Open Cup History: The Dynamo return to the tournament for an eighth appearance after a four-year absence. The last outing was a success, earning upset victories to the fourth round in 2006. The club opened with a 4-3 win over league foe Cape Cod before surprising third division Richmond Kickers, 1-0, in the second round. They then upset the second division Seattle Sounders in overtime, 3-2, in the third round before falling 4-2 to the Houston Dynamo. The 2004 victory against Charlotte was one of three other upsets the club has registered, although the other two came as a third division side. The Dynamo upset second division New York Fever on the road, 1-0, in 1996 before falling 2-0 to DC United in the quarterfinals. Three years later they blanked second division Orange County Zodiac on the road, 2-0, before a 3-0 third round loss to the Columbus Crew. The club’s only other MLS match was also to the Crew, a 5-1 second round loss in 2001.
PRO ERA RECORDS: 10-7-0 overall | 2-0 vs. Division 3 (as a PDL team)
Central Florida Kraze
Members of the USL PDL since the team’s founding in 1998, the club was at its peak of success with five playoff appearances in six years from 2003-08, winning the league championship in 2004.
Path to Open Cup: Despite finishing perfect, the club had to watch the scoreboard on the final night as Mississippi could also accomplish the feat as well as pass the Kraze in tiebreakers. Fortunately, winless Nashville surprised many with a 2-2 road draw against Brilla. The Kraze got off to a fast start, playing in three of the division’s first four qualification matches. They won the opener 1-0 against Schulz Academy on a Pablo Gutierrez goal in the 88th minute that, in hindsight, was critical. Fredrik Brustad scored twice while leading the club to a 3-1 win in the next outing against Schulz and added another in the third game, a 3-0 victory in Bradenton. Brustad scored in his third straight game as they repeated the 3-0 victory at home against the Academics with Keneil Baker earning his third shutout of the campaign.
June News Updates: [PDL, Southeast Division: 5-1-1] Netted a 1-0 victory over FC Jax June 10 on a goal from Nicolas Russo in the 83rd minute… Fell 3-0 at Mississippi Brilla June 4.
Open Cup History: In the tournament for the second straight year and fourth overall, the Kraze are yet to register a victory. The club nearly registered an upset a year ago, falling 5-1 in overtime against second division Miami FC in which now Real Salt Lake striker Paulo Araujo scored four goals in extra time. In 2007 the second division Charleston Battery blanked Central Florida 3-0 and in 2000 the club was upended, 2-1, by Miami-based USASA club Uruguay SC.
PRO ERA RECORDS: 0-3-0 overall | 0-0-0 vs. Division 3