In a tense “Win and You’re In” matchup against United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) rivals FC America CFL Spurs, Harbor City FC punched their ticket to the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup after an intense battle that ended in penalty kicks.
After 120 minutes of scoreless soccer, Harbor City would qualify for the 110th edition of the US Open Cup with a 5-4 win in the shootout with goalkeeper Bryce Notardonato making the decisive save.
For HCFC, it was a revenge result as both teams made their Open Cup qualifying debut last year and the Spurs eliminated City 1-0 on a Melvrik Fernandes goal in the 76th minute.
“This is one of the things that we’ve been working on,” said Douglas Bonney, head coach of HCFC. “We won our league, and finished second in Florida. This has been a goal of ours since we’ve started the club, to qualify for the US Open Cup because we’re trying to build the club, and work our way up, so this is huge for us as a club.”
The first half was marked with defensive discipline from both sides, with not many chances for either team. The Spurs had the best opportunity of the half when a shot by Pedro Espinola rattled the crossbar on what seemed like a guaranteed goal. HCFC’s Gene Lewis received a yellow card after a gritty first half which set the tone for the remainder of the game.
The second half was full of chances for both sides, most ending in near misses. HCFC earned multiple indirect free kicks but failed to capitalize, sending their shots high or wide. The Spurs also struggled to capitalize, despite some promising opportunities.
In the dying moments of the second half, the Spurs had two golden chances back to back, only to be denied by HCFC netminder Notardonato. In the last minute, Victor Blanco of the Spurs found himself in a 1-v-1 with the former Marshall University goalkeeper, who made another clutch save to keep the match scoreless in regulation and sent the game into extra time.
Overtime brought more drama, leading to a pair of heated 15-minute halves. Both teams had good chances but neither could find a breakthrough, sending the game into penalties.
In the shootout, HCFC held their nerve to win the game 5-4 in penalties, with Jordan Snell, Perrie Nascimento, Mario Licor, Samuel Leighton and Micah Smoak all converting their own goals successfully. The Spurs matched stride for stride until their fifth shooter failed to deliver under pressure, with HCFC’s Notardonato saving the attempt to send his club into the Open Cup.
“We’re just extremely proud of the grit that the team showed to fight for 120 minutes and all the way through penalties,” HCFC co-owners Jordan Snell andn Trey Collins said in a joint statement. “Qualifying for the Open Cup was our biggest goal for the year, so to achieve that is something that gives us a ton of joy. We’re excited for the energy that the community has brought to support us and we can’t wait to debut in the tournament proper in 2025.”
Snell, who played his college ball at Coker University (NCAA Div. 2) in South Carolina, is one of the few players on the roster with Open Cup experience. He spent three summer seasons (2015-17) with the Michigan Bucks (now Flint City Bucks) of USL League Two. In 2017, he assisted on Francis Atuahene’s game-winning goal as the Bucks upset Indy Eleven (NASL, Div. 2 pro) 1-0. Snell is hoping to help lead his amateur team to an upset of a pro team.
“I think the boys just need to enjoy the moment,” said Snell. “This is something that not a lot of people get to experience and we worked hard to earn our qualification. We need to trust that if we continue to put in the work as a collective unit, we can continue to have success against even the best teams.”