
Lynchburg FC will make their Lamar Hunt US Open Cup debut on Wednesday. The team is a relative newcomer to the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL), one of the elite amateur leagues in the United States. Current members of the Premier Division of the UPSL, Lynchburg officially joined the league in the fall of 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new club found immediate success in its inaugural season of spring 2021, finishing first in what was then called the Beltway Division with a 10-1-1 record and a plus-34 goal differential, by far the best in the division. They compounded their success by winning the playoffs for their conference and advancing to the UPSL national tournament. While Lynchburg FC exited in the first round to New York Contour FC, they will take comfort in the fact that the same team that ousted them went on to win the championship.
The 2021 fall season saw Lynchburg repeat their past achievements. They finished first in their division, which was re-named and re-aligned as DMV South, with a record of 6-3-1 overall. This included a perfect road record going 5-0 away from home. Once again, Lynchburg FC had the largest positive margin of goal difference with plus-19 and they won the conference tournament, but once again suffered a first round exit in the national tournament.
However, this defeat was to be expected as it came just 24 hours after a US Open Cup qualifying match. Lynchburg FC’s 1-0 victory against FC Maritsa in the fourth and final qualifying round of the Open Division Local qualifyfing tournament for the 2022 US Open Cup. Matthew Zaczyk slipped a pass forward to Tudor Barna in the box who beat the goalkeeper for the game’s only goal, punching the club’s ticket to the US Open Cup.
As for the previous three rounds of qualifying, Lynchburg received a bye in the first round, their second round opponent (Aegean Hawks FC) forfeited and Lynchburg easily dispatched Rockville SC of the Maryland Major Soccer League, 3-0. Zaczyk, Tudor Barna, and Tyler Bullock all scored for LFC.
Coached by Englishman Simon French, Lynchburg usually implements a variation of the classic 4-3-3. The midfield consists of a defensive midfielder operating from the ‘6’ and two central midfielders running the ‘8’. The defensive mid role is often filled by Chris Phillips. Phillips is a vocal leader and sets the pace of Lynchburg’s play. His defensive abilities are admirable, and he effectively shields the backline while putting out fires all over the field.
While one of the ‘8’s is an all-around midfielder, the other will be tasked with more offensive responsibilities. Greg White, who is also the club’s general manager, is usually the go-to-guy for this role. He possesses great technical skill and is capable of both creating and scoring goals. Lynchburg likes to build attacks through each third by retaining possession and trying to find complex passing patterns to unlock opposing defenses. They can rely on their wingers to stretch the field wide with pace and to create numerical overloads.
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Tudor Barna is the prime example of this principle in action. A strong, pacey winger, Barna is able to get in behind and score lots of goals. This can be especially advantageous when Lynchburg counterpresses in the opponent’s defensive third. In close games, Lynchburg will press into the other team’s half and look to force a turnover before playing a long ball in behind up to the front three. However, in games against tougher opposition, Lynchburg will be content to stay compact and retain the ball. In such games, their defensive unit has performed admirably. Credit must be given to center back Josh Hinkle, Lynchburg’s rock at the back. Hinkle is a composed, hard-nosed defensive half who leads the back line.
Lynchburg would not have achieved the same success without stalwart goalkeeper Alonso Gutierrez. Gutierrez began the spring 2021 season as the backup but through hard work and determination he earned the starting spot and has performed exceptionally since then. He is incredibly quick, has good reflexes and is a reliable shot stopper. Gutierrez represents the identity of what Lynchburg FC is all about: relying on hard work, determination, and self-belief in order to achieve success.
When Lynchburg FC joined the UPSL in 2020, they joined with the commitment of tapping into the existing soccer culture present in the Lynchburg area. Although this is the first adult soccer team to represent the city, at any level, there is an underlying soccer culture present in the area.
Lynchburg’s ownership are locals to the area and strived to make the team community driven. Admission to regular season games at Lynchburg City Stadium are free of charge. The team’s players volunteer with after school programs as part of outreach with the city government. They partnered with the local youth soccer club, Central Virginia United, to enhance CVU’s summer camp experience.
“First and foremost we are extremely grateful for the partnerships with Lynchburg businesses and support from the community that inspire our passion to grow the game,” said Lynchburg president and co-founder Carlos Munoz. “Due to our success in our first season we’ve been able to create a competitive culture, and I think that’s why we saw a large turnout at tryouts with some high-level players. We’re thankful people want to be a part of it.”
Lynchburg FC’s bottom line is to provide quality soccer entertainment for local residents while enhancing the existing soccer culture. Although they have goals to evolve as a club long term, the team is focusing on perfecting their grassroots model in the present. They will have a chance to make some noise and garner attention in the first round of the 2022 US Open Cup.
Lynchburg FC will make its US Open Cup debut on Wednesday, March 23 against Northern Virginia FC, a club known for its USL League Two team, but qualified out of the Eastern Premier Soccer League, through the Open Division Local qualifying tournament. The game will be played at Lynchburg City Stadium in Lynchburg, Va. with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
“We’re thrilled for the opportunity to compete in our first ever Open Cup,” said Munoz. “We’re looking forward to the competition ahead of us.”
The winner of Wednesday’s game will play against USL League One’s Richmond Kickers in the Second Round. If Northern Virginia wins, they will host the Kickers, but if Lynchburg wins, they will travel to Richmond, Va.