Max Lesser

2018 US Open Cup Round 3: Miami United sink Armada to become first NPSL team to reach Round 4

May 24, 2018 by Max Lesser

The Jacksonville Armada FC may have had home-field advantage, but that’s where their fortune ended Wednesday night in their quest to advance in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Taking on Miami United FC, the two National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) clubs fought for every possession, but it was Miami who came away with the only goals in the Third Round match.

Miami drew first blood in the 20th minute off a great ball that was fed to Tomas Granitto. The Miami midfielder took a shot from outside the box and banked it in off of the far post. It was one of the more impressive goals of the tournament and it gave United the momentum they needed.

Just six minutes later, Miami United earned a free kick just outside the box on the left wing. Nicolas Gorobsov stepped up to take the shot, curling it past the wall to the far post to double the advantage.

Though the scoreboard showed a 2-0 result for Miami, Jacksonville actually owned a distinct shot advantage, 20-4. However, just six of those shots were put on frame, and all were tidied up by Miami goalkeeper Oscar Peterson.

Hey @SportsCenter what do you say? Is this #USOC02018 golazo from @tomasgranitto #SCTop10 worthy? #ForeverUnited pic.twitter.com/pYXQv5tsHE

— MIAMI UNITED F.C. (@miamiunitedfc) May 24, 2018

“We had a thousand chances to score a goal and we didn’t score,” said the clearly disgruntled Armada head coach, Mark Lowry. “We had five, six, seven, eight, nine chances to score and we didn’t. That’s what happened.”

With tonight’s win, Miami United becomes the first team in NPSL history to reach the Fourth Round of the US Open Cup. United are just the second open division pro team to reach Round 4, joining the 2016 Kitsap Pumas, back when they were a member of the Premier Development League.

They now await the results of tomorrow’s Fourth Round draw ahead of MLS’ entry into the competition. The draw is set to take place at 11 AM (ET).

2018 US Open Cup Round 2: Jacksonville Armada win rain-soaked rivalry game with Tampa Bay Rowdies

May 19, 2018 by Max Lesser

JC Banks of the Jacksonville Armada scored the lone goal against the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the Second Round of the 2018 US Open Cup. Photo: Keith Garrett | Jacksonville Armada

There was no love lost between the former NASL foes Wednesday night as the Tampa Rowdies and the Jacksonville Armada met in the Second Round of the 2018 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. The two clubs fought aimlessly for possession throughout the match, but it was the Armada who ultimately came away with the victory, 1-0.

While Jacksonville are a rare professional team in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), it still marked an accomplishment for the mostly-amateur league. Since the league was founded in 2003, only one NPSL club (Chattanooga FC, who did it twice) has defeated a professional team. (NOTE: FC Wichita joined the club later that evening)

The Armada also made some history for themselves, as they won three games in a single tournament for the first time.

It took a while for the game to get started as lightning delayed the start by 90 minutes. The delay and the soaked field could have affected the players as the first half produced very few quality chances as the two teams went into the halftime break scoreless.

Starting the second half, the Armada went on the attack and won a key possession in front of the Rowdies net. Josh Castellanos got a second chance and crossed it to JC Banks who buried in the back of the net. With that goal, the Armada were able to hold off the Rowdies for the remaining 40 plus minutes.

Let’s take another look at that @opencup goal from last night, shall we?#ForTheFleet ⚓️ #ForTheCup pic.twitter.com/hDtH8hH1uB

— Jacksonville Armada FC ⚓️ (@JaxArmadaFC) May 17, 2018

“The guys put everything out there today,” said Armada Coach Mark Lowry. “Tampa is very direct and put the ball in the box a lot. It wasn’t pretty but we defended fantastically well.”

This was certainly true as around the 65th minute, the Rowdies maintained the ball for a solid 10 minutes. Shot after shot, which led to four corner kicks in a row, the Armada held off the attack.

“Grinding, just grinding,” said JC Banks on recapping the match. “It wasn’t a pretty game, but you need to win those games.”

With their victory, the Armada now move on to the Third Round of the US Open Cup and will host Miami United FC, another NPSL team.