On a beautiful night in Hialeah, Fla., two of South Florida’s most historic clubs faced off in a “Win & You’re In” game to punch their ticket to the 2025 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Miami United FC, were victorious over their rival Red Force in a fierce game that went to extra time. Fueled by a goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time of the second extra time period from their Argentine star player, Diego “Cachetes” Morales, “El Equipo del Pueblo” is on its way to the 110th edition of US Soccer’s historic tournament.
With the win, Miami United extends it’s record winning streak in the qualifying tournament to 13 games, and have qualified for the US Open Cup proper for the fourth year in a row and the eighth time in club history (2015, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)
The first half saw Red Force struggle to get themselves in the game, while Miami United had a number of opportunities to break the scoreless draw. After a couple of cautions were showed to each team, Morales was able to slot through the opening goal of the match in the 43rd minute with a beautiful touch over the Red Force goalkeeper. Although, Red Force had a tough time cracking through MUFC defense, they were able to escape the half down by only a goal.
The second half was a different story that saw plenty of chances for both sides, most ending in near misses. MUFC had an opportunity to double the lead, but Santi Frean’s shot hit the crossbar. As the minutes began to dwindle, Red Force’s Santiago Fajardo would have a chance to tie the game, as his shot would go just wide of Sebastian D’Angelo’s goal.
In the 80th minute, Red Force’s captain, David Holguin, tied the game from the penalty spot; with a cheeky shot down the middle. With the game knotted at 1-1, the final minutes of the second half had all of the dramatics you’d expect between two teams fighting for a US Open Cup spot. United’s Serrano had the chance to send his team into the Cup, but couldn’t capitalize on a last minute sitter. As a result, the game was off to extra time.
As the temperatures dipped into the 60s in South Florida, both teams went into the overtime period showing signs of wear and tear after a hard fought 90 minutes. Both teams continued to show their grit, churning out opportunity after opportunity. In the 101st minute, MUFC finally broke through the Red Force defense to take the lead 2-1, with Luis Peralta’s right-footed rocket from outside the box.
Red Force nearly responded seconds later when D’Angelo stopped a breakaway attempt from Fajardo.
With the first half of extra time nearing it’s end, Red Force tied the game in dramatic fashion; ex-MUFC player, Diego Ochoa, struck a volley near post to pull Red Force even, at 2-2.
The second overtime started with an excellent play by the home side that resulted in a goal, which overturned by an offside call from the referees first assistant. It was a decision that caused a lot of controversy among the fans and teams in attendance.
While MUFC continued to push forward looking for a game winning goal, Red Force’s looked tired and was content to let the game go to penalties. In the final minutes of the game, MUFC’s Frea had a free kick denied by the woodwork.
But it was the MUFC’s first half hereo Luis Peralta who doubled his scoring total and not only avoided a penalty kick shootout but he ultimately punched his team’s ticket into the US Open Cup with another scorcher from outside the box, in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
After the goal, MUFC’s president and assistant coach were sent off and the shenanigans began. The game was delayed for a number of minutes, as the officials waited for the gentlemen to leave the pitch. Peralta, was also sent off in the final minutes after receiving a second yellow (the first was given to him after taking off his shirt after his first goal). In the end, Miami United’s depth was too much for Red Force to overcome and the side who called Hialeah home took home the hard fought victory.
After the loss, David Holguin, captain and veteran Red Force player, said “I am proud of the team tonight. We did the unthinkable with the great players we have, but unfortunately we were not on the same level physically, as they were.”
Holguin also talked about how he manages to continue to play at a high level into his 40s.
“I have to thank God,” the Red Force captain said. “It’s tough to continue to play against all of the young talent in South Florida, especially those who train on a daily basis. It’s all thanks to God that I can continue to play this beautiful game.”
“It feels great to qualify to the US Open Cup,” Peralta said about his two-goal performance. “It was a great team effort and overall I think we had a great game. I felt like I was playing in the big leagues, like MLS, or the Premier League, I felt great!”
“It was a debt that we had pending, and we had to win at any cost,” said Miami United manager Claudio Frean about his team earning a spot in the Open Cup. “It was an atypical game where we dominated the entire first half, and we ended up complicating ourselves toward the end of the game. But, overall we are extremely happy with the team, our fans and the city.”