Spartans Futbol Club and Seattle Sporting FC are each one step closer to making the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup in their debut seasons in the National Premier Soccer League’s brand-new Northwest Conference.
The two clubs will face each other in the NPSL Northwest qualification tournament final after winning their semifinal matches this weekend. Spartans pounded SO Samba FC 6-0, while Seattle Sporting saw off city rivals Inter United FC 1-0 in the first competitive fixture for both teams.
Sporting got a goal in the 13th minute from Avimael Castro, who ran down a long free-kick and chipped it past the Inter keeper. Unfortunately for Seattle, Castro was forced to exit the match 14 minutes later with a leg injury. Sporting was the more aggressive team offensively, and they held onto their one-goal lead through a physical second half.
“With the team we played today, only been training together for two weeks,” head coach Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar said. “So we have some chemistry issues, but with time hopefully they’ll start to gel.”
It was the first victory for the Sporting head coach, who previously has played in the US Open Cup with the USL’s Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders.
“We have had scrimmages where we have given up two, three or four goals, so to get a shutout today, the defense stepped up,” Alcaraz-Cuellar said. “They improved from the scrimmages. A win’s a win, and in the first game for the club, it’s even more huge of a win so I’m really proud for the guys.”
The other Northwest finalist had an easier time advancing. On a pouring night in Portland, Spartans FC scored early and never let up, eventually running away with a 6-0 victory over SO Samba. The Vancouver, Wash.-based Spartans were crowned champions of the Oregon Premier Soccer League in January and appear to be continuing their good form.
Spartans, as the winning semifinalist that scored the most goals in its match, will host Seattle Sporting in the qualifying final at 7:30 p.m. tonight, according to Sporting’s website.
According to Seattle Sporting FC Facebook page, the winner of the Northwest mini-tournament will have one more step to qualify for the 101st edition of the US Open Cup. The winner of tonight’s final will hit the road this weekend to play Golden Gate Conference tournament winner CD Aguiluchos USA in what is expected to be a “Win & You’re In” match. There has been no official announcement about the format of the 2014 US Open Cup, so it is unclear how many NPSL teams will be allowed in this year.
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- 2014 US Open Cup qualifying (NPSL)
GOLDEN GATE CONFERENCE
First Round
Sacramento Gold 1:2 Sonoma County Sol
Semifinals (March 1)
Real San Jose 0:2 Sonoma County Sol
CD Aguiluchos USA 1:0 San Francisco Stompers
Final (March 8)
CD Aguiluchos USA 1:1 Sonoma County Sol
CDA wins 4-3 in penalty kicks
SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE
First Round (March 1)
FC Force 5:2 Temecula FC
Santa Clarita Storm 1:0 Del Ray City
Semifinals (March 9)
FC Force 0:3 San Diego Flash
Santa Clarita Storm 1:6 FC Hasental
Final (March 15)
San Diego Flash vs. FC Hasental
NORTHWEST CONFERENCE
First Round
Seattle Sporting 1:0 Inter United
Spartans FC 6:0 SO Samba
Final
Seattle Sporting at Spartans FC
March 13 – 7:30 p.m. PT
NOTE: The 2014 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup format has not been officially announced by the US Soccer Federation yet, so this tournament is operating under the assumption that the number of teams awarded to the NPSL will not change from 2013.