UPDATE (FINAL SCORES):
NTX Rayados vs. Austin postponed due to heavy rain
Harpo’s FC 4:1 Colorado Rovers
San Nicholas W:L Corinthians USA (Corinthians forfeited – not enough registered players)
La Maquina 3:2 Strikers FC South Coast
San Pedro Monsters 9:0 Footballers Academy
LA Wolves 2:1 (AET) Del Rey City
Boca Raton FC 2:1 (AET) Real Miami Club of Football
Colorado Rush 5:2 FC Boulder
San Francisco City FC 2:0 El Farolito
Outbreak FC 5:1 Buena Park FC
Queen City United FC 4:1 Charlotte Sporting Soccer Academy FC
Real Sociedad 2:2 (4:1 PKs) Ozzy’s Laguna FC
Uruguay Kendall 3:0 Red Force
Davis Legacy 1:0 IFX Ballistic
Cal FC 4:0 Valley United
Chula Vista FC 5:2 Temecula FC
Last weekend, the open division qualifying tournament for the 2016 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup kicked off in the Northeast region. This weekend (Oct. 24-25), the rest of the country gets involved as the competition wraps up the opening round with 16 games spread out all over the country.
You can follow all the latest updates with the hashtag #USOC2016 on Twitter and Instagram, and of course, use that hashtag to share all your photos and commentary.
We take a brief look at each game starting with Saturday’s games:
SATURDAY, OCT. 24, 2015 (All Times Eastern)
NTX Rayados (NORTH TX) at Austin Real Cuauhtemoc (SOUTH TX)
San Gabriel Park; Georgetown, Texas – 4 p.m.
Deep in the heart of Texas, Austin Real Cuauhtemoc (ARC) will try to unseat NTX Rayados’ reign as Kings of Texas. Rayados have qualified for the past two US Open Cups, coughing up a 2-0 halftime lead against the NASL’s San Antonio Scorpions in 2014 and falling to Laredo Heat on penalty kicks in 2015. ARC, fresh off a 2014-15 Texas State Cup title run and currently two points out of first place in the Texas State Premier League, will look to use their home field advantage to take down their northern opponents.
Colorado Rovers (CO) at Harpo’s FC (CO)
Dick’s Sporting Goods Park; Commerce City, Colo. – 6:30 p.m.
Colorado Rovers and Harpo’s FC will have the honor of playing at the home of MLS’ Colorado Rapids (Field No. 8). The Rovers will be looking to qualify for their third straight US Open Cup after previously participating in the 2013 and 2014 versions of the tournament. Harpos’ FC, backed by popular Denver brewery Avery, will be hungry for an opportunity for another Cinderella run after they made it to the third round in the 2015 Open Cup during their first-ever trip to the tournament.
La Maquina (SOUTH CA) at Strikers FC South Coast (SOUTH CA)
Lake Forest Sports Park and Recreation Center; Lake Forest, Calif. – 9 p.m.
It’s a battle of “1 vs. 2” as 2015 Spring-Summer UPSL Southeast Division leaders Strikers FC South Coast take on second place La Maquina FC. Both teams are clearly the class of their divison. Strikers and La Maquina have scored 66 goals in 18 games and 65 goals in 19 games, respectively, during UPSL Spring-Summer action.
San Nicolas FC (SOUTH CA) at Corinthians USA (SOUTH CA)
Rialto High School; Rialto, Calif. – 10 p.m.
San Nicholas haven’t had a great Spring-Summer season in UPSL (you’ll be hearing from them quite a bit in this preview) as they currently sit in seventh in the Southeast division with a minus-7 goal differential through 19 games. They’ll try to shake it off against Corinthians USA, who find themselves tied for first in the SoCal Premier League, which features a few clubs US Open Cup fans are familiar with: PSA Elite and Chula Vista FC.
Footballers Academy (SOUTH CA) at San Pedro Monsters FC (SOUTH CA)
Daniel’s Field; San Pedro, Calif. – 10 p.m.
This one features two teams trending in very opposite directions. Footballers Academy find themselves in last place with zero points through three games in SoCal Premier League play while San Pedro Monsters sit in second in the western division of the UPSL with a plus-36 goal differential.
Del Rey City SC (SOUTH CA) at LA Wolves FC (SOUTH CA)
Toyota Sports Complex; Torrence, Calif. – 11 p.m.
This one will also look like a mismatch on paper. LA Wolves FC find themselves atop the Western division in the UPSL with a whopping 76 goals for and 14 conceded in 20 games of league play. Del Rey City SC, meanwhile, are 11th of 12 in that same division with a minus 30 goal differential. Del Rey City are led by their top goalscorer Andy Salguero, who has come out of nowhere to score in every game he has played in so far.
Wolves general manager and head coach Yan Skwara isn’t about to take Saturday’s match lightly though.
“We don’t want to rest on our laurels,”, said Skwara, speaking to SoccerNation.com this week.
“A lot of people, a lot of teams and folks in the soccer community are starting to really recognize the US Open Cup as a high quality, nationally-recognized tournament. So the tournament’s growing and we’re excited to be a part of it.”
SUNDAY, OCT. 25, 2015 (All Times Eastern)
Boca Raton FC (FL) at Real Miami Club of Football (FL)
St. John Bosco Football Stadium; Miami, Fla. – 4:30 p.m.
Through five APSL fall tournament games, Boca Raton find themselves in first place thanks, in part, to the September signing of former Fort Lauderdale Strikers striker Scott Gordon. Gordon has already tallied a goal since joining Boca Raton. Real Miami CF on the other hand, have just four points from their first five APSL Fall tournament games, which puts them in dead last. Boca Raton already beat Real Miami CF earlier this month, 2-0, thanks to a pair of goals from forward Xavier Silva.
Colorado Rush (CO) at FC Boulder (CO)
Pleasant View Soccer Complex; Boulder, Colo. – 5 p.m.
Both teams have wrapped up CASL fall action already. Colorado Rush find themselves in second with four wins, one loss, and one draw. FC Boulder had a more challenging season as they finished fourth with three wins and three losses. Both teams are also still alive in the CASL fall playoffs. Rush defeated the Colorado Rovers’ U-23 side in Round 1 and now face Ahly FC. FC Boulder took down FC Dynamo in Round 1 and will face FC Denver Premier next.
El Farolito (NORTH CA) at San Francisco City FC (NORTH CA)
Kezar Stadium; San Francisco, Calif. – 6 p.m.
San Francisco City FC are on a tear having just defeated the San Francisco Stompers 6-1 on Tuesday to improve to 3-0 in NorCal Premier play. El Farolito will be feeling pretty confident themselves. They sit atop the San Francisco Soccer Football League standings for 2015 with 20 wins from 23 matches played. El Farolito, named after their founder’s chain of Mexican restaurants in 1985, won the 1993 Open Cup playing under the name “CD Mexico.” They switched back to the original name in 1995.
MORE: After debut last year, fan-owned San Francisco City begins new US Open Cup quest
Outbreak FC (SOUTH CA) at Buena Park FC (SOUTH CA)
John F. Kennedy High School; La Palma, Calif. – 6 p.m.
Buena Park FC, founded in 2010 by Kennedy High School soccer alumni, find themselves on hard times heading into their match against Outbreak FC. They could only manage one win in their last ten UPSL games and find themselves in seventh place in the Western Division. Outbreak FC will be feeling much more confident as they find themselves atop the SoCal Premier Major Division standings with three wins in five games and a plus-7 goal differential.
Charlotte Sporting Soccer Academy FC (NC) at Queen City United FC (NC)
West Mecklenburg Stadium; Charlotte, N.C. – 7 p.m.
The two North Carolina representatives in the competition are both entering US Open Cup qualifying for the first time. Charlotte Sporting Soccer Academy and Queen City United FC are two of the five USSSA clubs, with the other three hailing from Colorado. The Charlotte clubs both compete in the USSSA’s National Soccer League Atlantic Division.
Real Sociedad (SOUTH CA) at Ozzy’s Laguna FC (SOUTH CA)
East Los Angeles College; Monterey Park, Calif. – 7 p.m.
Ozzy’s Laguna FC will be feeling confident as they sit in third place in the Southeast division of the UPSL with a plus 11 goal differential. They’ll be starting their fall season two weeks after Sunday’s match with Real Sociedad. Meanwhile, Real Sociedad are third from the bottom in the SoCal Premier Premier Division with just three points from their first three games.
Red Force FC (FL) at Uruguay Kendall FC (FL)
Broward College-South Campus; Pembroke Pines, Fla. – 8 p.m.
Red Force FC will try to qualify for their third straight Open Cup. They’ve been eliminated by PDL teams both teams; Ocala Stampede in 2013 and Laredo Heat in 2014. They’re led by three ex-professional players in David Holguin, Alvaro Franco, and Nicolas Mosquera. So far they’ve only managed four points from their first three APSL games. Uruguay Kendall FC have seven points from their first four and sit in third place. Uruguay Kendall FC’s Juan C. Jimenez is tied for second in the league with three goals while two Red Force players, Alvaro Franco and Victor Flores, are tied for third with two apiece.
Davis Legacy (NORTH CA) at IFX Ballistic (NORTH CA)
Las Positas College; Livermore, Calif. – 8 p.m.
The adult Davis Legacy team was just formed in the spring of 2015, but has already had plenty of success. They won the Spring and Summer NorCal Premier titles and currently sit atop the standings for the fall season with four wins in their first four games. They’re led by a pair of former Second Team All-Big West performers from UC-Davis: Brian Ford and Kevin Schulte. 16 of the current 22 players on the roster are from the UC-Davis club team. Meanwhile, IFX Ballistic are in third place, six points behind Davis. The teams already met back on Oct. 4 with Davis Legacy winning a 3-2 thriller.
Valley United SC (SOUTH CA) at Cal FC (SOUTH CA)
Agoura High School; Agoura Hills, Calif. – 10 p.m.
You might remember Cal FC from the run they went on in 2012 in which they defeated MLS’ Portland Timbers in the fourth round. Back then they were led by head coach Eric Wynalda and star midfielder Danny Barrera. Today, Ross Greaney is at the helm for the Thousand Oaks side as they will try to qualify for the second year in a row. Last year, they edged San Francisco City 2-1 before falling in penalty kicks to the PDL’s Ventura County Fusion. Based out of Granada Hills, Valley United SC were invited to join the UPSL in 2015 and finished third. They also reached the semifinals of the Admiral Cup. The team has a track record of churning out professionals like Kyle Garcia (Pars FC, Orebro -Sweden) and Gabe Dorame (Pachuca FC – Mexico).
Chula Vista FC (SOUTH CA) at Temecula Football Club (SOUTH CA)
Linfield Christian School; Temecula, Calif. – 10 p.m.
Chula Vista were the darlings of the 2015 Open Cup. They took down USL Pro side Arizona United 3-0 in Round 2 before falling to another USL Pro side, Sacramento Republic, in Round 3. Alberto Diaz, who was runner-up for TheCup.us Lower Division Player of the Tournament, returns to lead Chula Vista along with his younger brother, head coach J. Hector Diaz. They’ll take on Temecula FC, who, in addition to their UPSL team, also field an NPSL team. The UPSL team currently finds themselves in eight place in the Southeast Division with nine wins, nine losses, and just one draw in their 19 Spring-Summer games.
Tobacco Road FC (NC) at CD Motagua of New Orleans (LA)
NOTE: Tobacco Road FC have withdrawn (Travel). CD Motagua advances to Round 2
KC Athletics (KS) at International Portland Select (OR)
NOTE: KC Athletics have withdrawn (Travel) IPS advances to Round 2
QUALIFYING: SECOND ROUND (All Times Eastern)
GPS Omens at Southie FC
Lawrence Veterans Memorial Stadium; Lawrence, Mass. – Nov. 15, 4 p.m.
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Lansdowne Bhoys at Worcester FC
Pappas Recreation Center; Auburn, Mass. – Nov. 14, 5 p.m.
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Jersey Shore Boca at NY Pancyprian Freedoms
Belson Stadium, St John’s University; Jamaica, N.Y. – Nov. 14, 7 p.m.
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West Chester United at Salone FC
Marcus Foster; Philadelphia, Pa. – Nov. 15, 4 p.m.
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Aegean Hawks FC at Aromas Café FC
Western Allenade High School; Crozet, Va. – Nov. 15, 3 p.m.
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La Maquina at Chula Vista FC
Eastlake High; Chula Vista, Calif. – Nov. 21, 11 p.m.
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Boca Raton FC at Uruguay Kendall FC
Broward College-South Campus; Pembroke Pines, Fla. – Nov. 21, 6 p.m.
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Colorado Rush at Harpo’s FC
Dick’s Sporting Goods Park; Commerce City, Colo. – Nov. 22, 12 p.m.
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Davis Legacy at San Francisco City FC
Crocker Amazon Field; San Francisco, Calif. – Nov. 21, 4 p.m.
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Cal FC at LA Wolves FC
Mira Costa High School; Manhattan Beach, Calif. – Nov. 21, 10:30 p.m.
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Outbreak FC at San Pedro Monsters FC
Daniel’s Field; San Pedro, Calif. – Nov. 21, 10 p.m.
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San Nicolas FC at Real Sociedad
St. John Bosco Football Stadium; Bellflower, Calif. – Nov. 22, 7:30 p.m.
NOV. 21 or 22
Queen City United (NC) vs. CD Motagua (LA)
Site / Date TBD
NTX Rayados / Austin Real Cuauhtemoc winner vs. International Portland Select
Site / Date TBD
QUALIFYING: THIRD ROUND
April 1-2, 2016
US OPEN CUP FIRST ROUND: May 11, 2016