With teams from the country’s top outdoor league, and more pro teams in general, entering the US Open Cup, teams who were once favorites like the amateur AAC Eagles have suddenly become the underdogs.
The amateur AAC Eagles, champions of the USASA Region II tournament, let the Chicago Stingers know they weren’t giving up the Open Cup without a fight. In an all-Chicago First Round match, the Stingers from the USISL Pro League needed extra time to get past 1990 US Open Cup champs, 2-1.
It was an indoor soccer standout who came to the rescue. Steve Morris, who plays for the Milwaukee Wave of the National Professional Soccer League in the offseason, scored the game-winning goal in the 99th minute of extra time to send the Stingers to the Quarterfinals.
“We knew they were going to be a real good team” Steve Morris told the Chicago Daily Herald. “They’re one of the best club teams in the country.” Morris scored the go-ahead goal for the Stingers in extra time.
The Eagles, comprised mostly of Polish players who were pros in their home country, held the Stingers scoreless in the first half. Each team created some good chances in the opening 45 minutes. The pros kept possession for the opening 20 minutes, with Stingers forward Don D’Ambra sending a pair of shots just over the crossbar.
At around the 24-minute mark the Eagles nearly grabbed the lead. Janusz Gurgul descended on goal down the left side with what looked to be a clear shot at goalkeeper John Howard, Stingers defender Albert Adade shot up from midfield and beat Gurgul to the ball just inside the penalty area. The Stingers outshot the Eagles 4-2 in the opening half.
THECUP.US RESEARCH NOTE
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About 17 minutes into the second half, the pro Chicagoans broke the ice. Jean Jacques Gregoire Jr. gave the Stingers a 1-0 lead, taking a pass from David Richardson on the right side and beating Eagles goalkeeper Lars Jakobsen.
It didn’t take long for the Eagles to tie the game. Just two minutes later, Gurgul stole the ball in front of the goal and sent a shot past Howard into the upper right corner from 18 yards out to bring the Eagles level.
The rest of the second half ended scoreless, meaning the first extra time session of the 1995 US Open Cup would be needed. Nine minutes into extra time, Steve Morris sent a bending 30-yard shot into the upper part of the goal for a 2-1 lead, and the Stingers held on the rest of the way to advance to the Quarterfinals.
“That was a long time coming for me,” Morris told the Chicago Tribune. “I’ve been struggling and my confidence has been down. I’ve just been trying to keep plugging away. I was going one way and then I cut back and I think that threw the keeper off a little bit.”
For Chicago Stingers head coach Nilton Batata, the Eagles were not a team his professional side was overlooking just because they were amateurs.
“The Eagles are a very good club team,” said the former Brazilian international commonly known simply as Batata. “They’ve won this title before, and beating them will give us a tremendous amount of confidence. It was a very physical game, and I think that helped us.”
Next up for Chicago in the quarterfinals will be the A-League’s New York Centaurs, who knocked off the USISL Connecticut Wolves 3-0 in the First Round.