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After Major League Soccer held the spotlight of Lamar Hunt US Open Cup qualifying midweek, the focus shifts to the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) this weekend. Region II will hold their quarterfinal round on Saturday, May 1 and Sunday, May 2, while Region I will feature four games on Sunday. The winners of this weekend’s matches will advance to the semifinals of their respective regions, and the teams that emerge victorious from the semifinals will qualify for the 2010 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.
TheCup.us will have updates of all of the games on our twitter account (@usopencup).
SATURDAY RECAPS:
KC Athletics (Kansas) 4:4 Des Moines Menace USASA (Iowa)
KC Athletics advance 6-5 on PKs
It was a barnburner in Iowa as the KC Athletics battled back to tie the host Des Moines Menace USASA club, and eventually win in an equally dramatic penalty kick shootout. After scoring the first goal of the match early, Des Moines answered with three unanswered scores, with the third coming just after halftime. Two goals later, KC had tied the game up, and shortly after the equalizer went in, the Menace had regained the lead with Armin Mujdzic’s second goal of the contest. The Athletics wouldn’t give up, as they would bring the game level again, and after playing the remainder of regulation and 30 minutes of extra time without a goal, the game went to penalty kicks. The shootout went nine rounds and the visitors emerged victorious, 6-5.
Detroit United (Michigan) 2:1 Milwaukee Kickers (Wisconsin)
Fernando Gatica scored two impressive goals for Detroit United as the Michigan champions eliminated the Milwaukee Kickers, 2-1. Read a full report of the match by Matt Schroeder of WisconsinSoccerCentral.com.
Aegean Hawks FC (DC/Virginia) 1:2 NY Pancyprian Freedoms (East NY) – After Extra Time
The Aegean Hawks only had 11 players available after suffering injuries in a tournament game the night before, but still made it a game, even taking a 1-0 lead in the second half. New York tied it up late, and scored in overtime and hung on for the win.
PREVIEWS:
In Region II play, the Des Moines Menace (formerly Des Moines Menace Reserves, Iowa Menace) are back in Region I qualifying under a new name, but they will feature some familiar faces. Tomas Boltnar, a 2-time PDL MVP, and Armin Mujdzic, the PDL team’s leading scorer last year will lead the charge against the KC Athletics, a new club from the Kansas City area.
Detroit United, the champions from Michigan will travel to Milwaukee to face the Kickers who beat Open Cup regulars Bavarian SC in the Wisconsin title game.
The AAC Eagles from Illinois will host Fire SC ’00, a Minnesota club making their qualifying debut, on Sunday at the new turf field at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill. The Eagles, who won the Open Cup in 1990, are trying to qualify for the tournament for the fifth time in the Professional Era (1995-present).
Another Minnesota club representing is the Minnesota Twin Stars from the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL). They qualified for the Region II tournament by winning the Midwest Division championship last year. They will travel to Nebraska to face the 402 Academy on Sunday. ‘402’ (the area code where the team is based) qualified for the US Open Cup last year in their first attempt and feature some former Creighton University and professional players.
On Sunday, in Region I, there are three 2 p.m. kickoffs, followed by Go Soccer FC and the Brooklyn Italians squaring off in the 4 p.m. finale. Brooklyn lost their first round game to Emigrantes Das Ilhas, but the USASA disqualified the winners because they ruled that Emigrantes used an ineligible player and another player failed to provide the proper USASA indentification. Emigrantes, who qualified last year for the tournament for the first time, is disputed this and after their appeal was denied, they are considering litigation. TheCup.us will have a full report on this situation soon.
MORE: READ ABOUT THE TWO MINNESOTA CLUBS IN THE REGION II TOURNAMENT ON INSIDEMNSOCCER.com
The remaining three games feature experienced clubs trying to get back to the tournament. Danbury United from Connecticut, who qualified in 2007, will host newcomers Fenerbahce USA from Eastern New York. This is a battle of teams who have not won a qualifying game heading into the Region I tournament. Danbury was the lone entry from Connecticut, and didn’t have to play a game to get in. In the first round, they defeated Boston Olympiakos 2-1 to reach the quarterfinals.
For Fenerbahce USA, they lost a controversial Eastern New York semifinal match to the New York Greek Americans 4-1, but had their protest of the match upheld due to a technicality. They moved on to the final, where they lost to the New York Pancyprian Freedoms 4-1. In the opening round of the Region I tourney, Fenerbahce caught another break when the Erie Admirals of the NPSL dropped out, sending them through on a bye.
Pancyprian Freedoms, the last club to win back-to-back US Open Cup titles (1982, 1983), defeated the Eastern Pennsylvania champions, Phoenix SC, in the opening round to get to the quarterfinals. They will face the Dulles Sportsplex Aegean Hawks, the Metro DC/Virginia champs, who dispatched Jilly’s Bar & Grill from Maryland 3-0 (WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS), in round one. The Hawks have made the Open Cup two of the last three years, and last year, they nearly pulled off an upset over the USL-2’s Real Maryland but the game was stopped in the 74th minute due to bad weather.
United German Hungarians (the runner-up in the 1977 and 1993 US Open Cup) will host their second game in a row, after surviving the Metro DC/Virginia champion, Atletico Virginia in round one. After a 2-2 draw, UGH needed penalty kicks to advance to the next round. The German Hungarians are trying to qualify for the Open Cup for the first time since 1999, while their opponent, Charm City FC (Maryland co-champions), are just trying to get in for the first time. Charm City, a former NPSL club, got to the quarterfinals after Athletic Club from Western Pennsylvania dropped out of the tournament after their main sponsor bailed on them.
USASA Region II Quarterfinal schedule
(Saturday, May 1 unless noted – All times Eastern)
KC Athletics (KS) 4:4 Des Moines Menace USASA (IA) – (KC advance 6-5 on PKs)
Detroit United (MI) 2:1 Milwaukee Kickers (WI)
Minnesota Twin Stars (MN – NPSL) 1:2 402 Academy (NE)
Fire SC ‘00 (MN) 3:8 AAC Eagles (IL)
USASA Region II semifinals schedule
(All games are Saturday, May 15 – All times Eastern)
AAC Eagles at KC Athletics – Site/Time TBA
402 Academy at Detroit United – Site/Time TBA
*Semifinal winners will qualify for the 2010 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup
USASA Region I quarterfinals schedule
(All games are Sunday, May 2 – All times Eastern)
Fenerbahce USA (East NY) 4:4 Danbury United (CT) (Fenerbahce USA advance 4-3 on PKs)
Aegean Hawks FC 1:2 (AET) NY Pancyprian Freedoms
Charm City FC 1:3 United German Hungarians
Go Soccer FC 0:1 Brooklyn Italians
Go-Soccer FC vs. Emigrantes Das Ilhas *Emigrantes Das Ilhas disqualified*
USASA Region I semifinals schedule
(All games are Sunday, May 23 – All times Eastern)
Fenerbahce USA vs. Brooklyn Italians – Site/Time TBA
NY Pancyprian Freedoms vs. UGH – Site/Time TBA
*Semifinal winners will qualify for the 2010 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup