Complete U.S. Open Cup Coverage

Michael Berton

Communications and Development Associate at the Public Interest Law Center. Based in the Philadelphia area, has been helping out with TheCup.us since 2012. Graduated with a degree in journalism from Penn State University.

2013 US Open Cup Semifinals: Joe Willis’ big saves for DC United earn him Player of the Round honors

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In a misery-filled season for last-place DC United featuring just three league wins out of 27, plaudits have understandably come few and far between. Goalkeeper Joe Willis earned one of those bright spots by winning TheCup.us Player of the Round honors for his role in a 2-0 Semifinal victory over the Chicago Fire.

Willis becomes the second DC player to win Player of Round in this year’s tournament. Dwayne De Rosario won the award, which is voted on by staff at TheCup.us and a select panel from the North American Soccer Reporters, in the Fourth Round.

Taking home nearly two-thirds of the 1st-place votes, Willis became the first goalkeeper to win the award since Richmond Kickers net-minder Ronnie Pascale did it in the Quarterfinals of the 2011 edition of the tournament against Sporting Kansas City.

Willis made six saves against the Fire in a 2-0 victory. De Rosario and Nick DeLeon scored on either side of halftime to give DC the lead, and Willis and his backline absorbed a slew of Chicago pressure to hand the Fire its first-ever home loss in the competition.

United will attempt to salvage their season on oct. 1 in the championship game against Real Salt Lake, in the first-ever Open Cup Final held in Utah. Willis, or DC United’s other keeper Bill Hamid, will most likely have to turn in another Player of the Round-quality performance to bring DC their third Open Cup title. Along with winning a trophy, the victor will also earn a place in the 2014/15 CONCACAF Champions League and a $250,000 prize.

2013 TheCup.us Player of the Round Honors

Final: Bill Hamid (DC United)
Semifinals: Joe Willis (DC United)
Quarterfinals: Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers)
Fourth Round: Dwayne De Rosario (DC United)
Third Round: Frederic Piquionne (Portland Timbers)
Second Round: Brandon Fricke (Des Moines Menace)
First Round: David Geno (Seattle Sounders U23)
Preliminary Round: Gustavo Villalobos (FC Hasental)

2013 US Open Cup Quarterfinals: Darlington Nagbe named Player of the Round, helping Portland Timbers reach their first final four

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A goal and an assist were enough to earn Darlington Nagbe of the Portland Timbers TheCup.us Player of the Round honors for the quarterfinals. He led his side to a 3-2 victory over fellow MLS squad FC Dallas to send the Timbers to the semifinals for the first time in club history.

Nagbe is the second Timbers player to win Player of the Round this year. Teammate Frederic Piquionne took home the prize for his four-goal performance in the Third Round.

The award is voted on by staff at TheCup.us and a select panel from the North American Soccer Reporters. Nagbe beat out the Chicago Fire’s Sean Johnson and Chris Rolfe as well as DC United’s Chris Pontius in a wide open vote.

Down 1-0 to Dallas at halftime, Portland turned to Nagbe for a spark of inspiration. In the 61st minute, Nagbe swerved his way through three defenders and beat Dallas keeper Chris Seitz to level the score at 1-1. After scoring one of the better goals of the tournament, just two minutes later, Nagbe was instrumental in giving the Timbers the lead. He hit a long through ball to Diego Valeri, who scored on a breakaway to put Portland up 2-1.

The Timbers eventually won the game 3-2 thanks to a Piquionne goal, but it was Nagbe who stole the show. His performance was the major reason Portland are now two wins away from becoming the first Oregon club to win the Open Cup title. The Timbers travel to Salt Lake City on August 7 to take on another first-time semifinalist, Real Salt Lake. The winner will host the Final against either DC United or the Chicago Fire. If Portland wins, the championship game will take place on Sept. 24, but if Salt Lake prevails, they will host the game on Oct. 1.

2013 TheCup.us Player of the Round Honors
Quarterfinals: Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers)
Fourth Round: Dwayne De Rosario (DC United)
Third Round: Frederic Piquionne (Portland Timbers)
Second Round: Brandon Fricke (Des Moines Menace)
First Round: David Geno (Seattle Sounders U23)
Preliminary Round: Gustavo Villalobos (FC Hasental)

New USASA qualifying deadline for US Open Cup: Greek American Atlas, Icon FC first to qualify for 2014

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USASA Region I logoThe 2013 US Open Cup is still going, but two teams have already qualified to the 2014 version of the tournament. Thanks to Anthony Falcone’s proposal, four-time Open Cup champion New York Greek American Atlas and Icon FC of New Jersey have qualified to next year’s tournament out of USASA Region I.

At the national USASA annual meeting held two weeks ago, Falcone, who is the Maryland Soccer Association’s president and Region I deputy director, proposed that the USASA’s representatives in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup be determined earlier because the state and regional tournaments are usually held starting in the fall and run through spring, running right up against the US Soccer Federation deadline for the LHUSOC.

“By doing it in advance…it creates better opportunities for our teams,” Falcone said. “Now, these teams can recruit players, look for sponsors, raise money, and look for an opportunity to host a first-round match.”

For those unfamiliar with the USASA, the national organization holds an Amateur Cup and an Open Cup tournament every year. There is very little difference between the two competitions, except that more teams enter the Amateur Cup every year and up until this year, the Open Cup was the only path for USASA regional teams to enter the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Both tournaments hold state tournaments, which lead to regionals, and the four regional winners move on to the USASA National Finals to determine a champion.

Under Falcone’s plan, the USASA’s Amateur and Open tournaments would continue, the only difference is that instead of the two finalists from each region’s Open Cup tournament entering the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, only the Amateur and Open Cup winners from each region would qualify for the following year’s competition instead of being rushed into the current calendar year’s event.

After the original NASL refused to compete in the US Open Cup, there were very few professional clubs that took part in the tournament between 1967 and 1994. The USASA and the amateur clubs under their umbrella kept the tournament going and when top flight professional soccer returned in 1995, naturally the pro teams dominated the competition. In the years that followed, the USASA created their own Open Cup for amateur clubs and the tournament bears the name of the late Werner Fricker, a former USSF president and one of American soccer’s important figures.

In the current format, which has been in place since 2004, the USASA Open Cup finalists from each of the four regions (8 teams) qualify for the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Falcone proposed that instead of the two berths that each region receives being determined through solely the Open Cup tournament, one of the two berths should come from the Amateur Cup.

Falcone said, “We’ll revisit whether it’ll be the amateur and open winners, or if we take the top two open champions. But, the thought is that we should give teams a chance. It gives meaning to both competitions.”

In one of the biggest changes in recent history in regards to the USASA’s participation in the LHUSOC, the USASA board of directors imposed a new national deadline for its member organizations and teams for the event, setting the date for December 31. The decision allowed the USASA to, in essence, mandate that all the regions determine their entrants the year in advance, stopping short of making each region to submit their Open Cup and Amateur Cup champions. The move allows each region to determine their entries and gives them the flexibility to perhaps change their regional event schedules if necessary.

Region I, the home association of Falcone, immediately responded to the new deadline, choosing to implement Falcone’s proposal for their own region in advance of the past weekend’s regional finals. And, according to the cup commissioners for Region II, III and IV, they are all planning to follow suit, though none of them have made an official announcement as of yet.

One of the motivations for the change is scheduling. Currently, the USASA is required to determine their two entries by the Open Cup’s qualifying deadline. In past years, this has been in early May, but as of 2012, the tournament has been kicking off in early May, so the deadline has been pushed back to late April, which has made things difficult for the amateur flights and led to the USL PDL electing to award berths based on the previous season’s results. By determining their entries the previous year, this removes the pressure for the various USASA tournament organizers and the teams to complete the regional semifinals by late April. Games can now be spread out more, if needed, and in the case that there is a delay, or a protest, then there is ample time to reschedule matches.

Also, any coach at the amateur level will tell you, player availability is a big issue. Deciding teams early and giving the qualifying teams the better part of a year to prepare, players can make sure they make arrangements to get time off with their full-time jobs.

Issues do arise if the new format is approved. For example, there is no rule in place barring a team from competing in both competitions. While Falcone said that it is rare for a team to win both tournaments, it still doubles a team’s chances to make it to the Open Cup. If a team does win both cups, likely one of the runner-up teams would be selected as the second entry, but as of now, no official rule has been established for this situation.

Also, while having extra time to prepare has its benefits, there is always the possibility that a team will be drastically different from the time it qualifies to the time it plays its first round US Open Cup match a little less than a year later. Falcone argues that while that may be the case, early qualification also gives teams a strong recruiting tool as they prepare for next year’s Open Cup.

On Sunday, the coaches of the finalists of the Region I Amateur Cup and Open Cup tournaments —NY Greek American Atlas, Italian American SC, Icon FC, and Mass Premier Soccer—wholeheartedly supported the change. Icon FC manager Greg Bajek said, “It gives us time to prepare, maybe host a game. So we’re excited. It’s a very good thing for our organization. It’s nice to be recognized longer prior to the cup.”

While the Premier Development League, the USASA and most of the NPSL have elected to determine their entries well in advance, it remains to be seen if the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup committee will adopt an earlier tournament-wide qualifying deadline.

The remaining three USASA regions have yet to make an official decision, but regardless of what they opt for, Greek American Atlas and Icon FC at least know that they have punched their tickets to the 2014 edition of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

2013 USASA Amateur Cup Final
New York Greek American Atlas 5:1 Italian American Sport Club
Ukrainian American Sports Center Field #1 – Horsham, Pa.

The Greek Americans played the Italian Americans at the Ukrainian American Sports Center on Sunday.

Got it?

In the USASA Region I Amateur Cup final, New York Greek American Atlas bagged a 5-1 victory over Italian American Sport Club from Rochester, NY, to qualify for both the USASA National Cup Finals and the 2014 US Open Cup.

Former New York Red Bulls player Chris Megaloudis scored four goals and Stephan Pierce added another in the rout. After the Greeks scored in the 26th minute, the Italian’s Ngwese Ebangwese leveled the match in the 29th. Atlas scored again in the 37th, 50th, 56th, and 88th minutes to put the game away.

“We played great. No offense to them, but I mean at 5-1, we obviously completely outplayed them. We had pretty much a full squad, which really helped,” Greek American player/coach Joe Ruesgen said. “The big thing this year was to make it to the final four. The Open Cup was really a cherry on top. It’s an incentive for the guys coming back next year to continue playing and to work hard.”

Italian American coach Srikar Bakshi said, “I thought we gave 100 percent. We played a very strong, well-organized team. The better team won. The result was fair. I’m proud of what our team accomplished this year.”

The Greeks, who have won the US Open Cup four times (1967-69, 1974), will make their fifth appearance in the tournament since 1995 next year (1998, 2004, 2005, 2012). Despite their strong resume, they have yet to win a game in the tournament in their last four appearances. In their last trip to the competition, they lost a road game to the PDL’s Reading United 2-1 back in 2012.

2013 Amateur Cup

Quarterfinals (April 28)
Stanford Olympia (CT) 0:1 Battery Park Gunners (MA)
NY Greek-American Atlas (ENY) 7:0 Vistula Garfield SC (NJ)
Dulles Sportsplex Aegean Hawks FC (MDCVA) 0:1 Maryland Bays (MD)
Italian American Sport Club (WNY) 5:2 Vereinigung Erzgebirge (EPA)

Semifinals (May 12 & 19)
Battery Park Gunners (MA) 2:2 (4:5 PK’s) NY Greek-American Atlas (ENY)
Maryland Bays (MD) 2:3 Italian American Sport Club (WNY)

Final (June 16)
Italian American Sport Club (WNY) 1:5 NY Greek-American Atlas (ENY)
NY Greek American Atlas qualifies for the 2014 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup

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2013 USASA Open Cup – Region I Final
Icon FC 2:1 Mass Premier Soccer
Ukrainian American Sports Center Field #2 – Horsham, Pa.

Despite being down a goal and a man after 71 minutes to Mass Premier Soccer, Icon FC of New Jersey were able to come back and earn a 2-1 victory that won the squad a spot in the USASA National Open Cup Finals and 2014 US Open Cup.

Mass Premier Soccer, which lost in the first round of this year’s Lamar Hunt US Open Cup to GPS Portland Phoenix of the PDL, took the lead in the first half on a goal from Roy Sandeman. Strong defensive play helped MPS keep the lead, but player/coach Dan MacGregar said that his team eventually ran out of gas.

“Unfortunately we were missing three or four guys,” said Macgregar. “We ran out of legs. We played well enough to win. It was an even game, but we just got tired at the end.”

A red card to an Icon player in the 71st minute actually seemed to inspire the New Jersey side. Three minutes later, Nelson Becerra received a through-ball at the top of the box. He rounded the keeper and easily slid it into the net. Then in the 82nd minute, Kevin Zalewski got on the end of a cross for an easy tap-in.

Bajek, who coached Icon to a US Open Cup First Round victory over Brooklyn Italians last month was proud of his team’s performance.

“We clamped down after the red card–it motivated us. The other team played very well defensively. It was a battle to the end.”

Icon FC will make their second straight appearance in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, and will be the third year in a row that a USASA team from New Jersey will represent in the tournament (Jersey Shore Boca – 2012)

2013 USASA Open Cup

Quarterfinals (April 7 & 21)
Newtown Men’s Soccer (CT) 0:0 (7:6 PKs) NY Pancyprian Freedoms (ENY) – April 21
New York won original match 1-0 on April 7, but replay ordered due to player registration error
Rhode Island Reds FC (RI) 0:1 Mass Premier Soccer (MA)
West Chester United (EPA) 2:4 Icon FC (NJ)
Screaming Eagles (MD) 0:1 Dulles Sportsplex Aegean Hawks FC (MDCVA)
Note: Screaming Eagles (originally 1-0 winners) disqualified for using ineligible players

Semifinals (April 21 & 28)
Newtown Men’s Soccer (CT) 0:6 Mass Premier Soccer (MA)
Icon FC (NJ) 1:1 (7:6 PKs) Dulles Sportsplex Aegean Hawks FC (MDCVA)
Icon FC, Mass Premier Soccer qualifies for 2013 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup

Final (June 16)
Mass Premier Soccer (MA) 1:2 Icon FC (NJ)
Icon FC qualifies for the 2014 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup

2013 US Open Cup Fourth Round: De Rosario’s hat trick pushes DC United past Philadelphia Union

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Dwayne De Rosario scored a hat trick to propel DC United past the Philadelphia Union 3-1 on Tuesday night in the U.S. Open Cup.

De Rosario became the third DC United player to score a hat trick in Open Cup play, following in the footsteps of Raul Diaz Arce (2000) and Abdul Thompson Conteh (2001).

His squad moves on to the quarterfinals where they will host the New England Revolution.

The fourth round matchup was a rematch from last year’s tournament when the sides met in the same round and location, with the Union prevailing.

Desperate for success due to its worst start in team history, DC United came out with a sense of urgency that Philadelphia could not match. The hosts won nearly every 50-50 ball and forced the Union into poor passes and decisions.

It came as no surprise then that DC had the first chance five minutes in.

Chris Pontius took advantage of lackadaisical defending to shoot in a cross from the left corner. His pass found a wide open Nick DeLeon, who missed the near post by inches.

DeLeon made up for his miss in the 24th minute by taking a shot from the top of the Philadelphia box. Amobi Okugo deflected the shot right into the path of De Rosario, who sent a left-footed curler past the out-stretched arms of Zac MacMath.

United saw out the half comfortably bar one tough injury to Chris Pontius.

After taking an elbow from Sheanon Williams, Pontius got fouled on a strong challenge from Okugo — a challenge that earned him a yellow card.

Pontius was forced out to be replaced by Sainey Nyassi.

The Union pressed forward more in the second half, but could only put together a few half-chances.

However, it would ultimately be defensive lapses that determined the outcome.

In the 75th minute, Amobi Okugo gave the ball away to Lionard Pajoy under very little pressure. Pajoy passed to De Rosario, who calmly slid it past the Union’s young keeper.

Just 40 seconds later United had a lapse of its own.

Philadelphia substitute Don Anding blazed down the left side and passed to MLS’s leading goal-scorer Jack McInerney.

DC failed to attack so McInerney curled a right-footed shot into the bottom-right corner of the net to cut the lead in half.

Another careless Union mistake killed the game in the 85th minute.

Well outside his box, MacMath passed a free kick to Okugo, whose touch went straight to De Rosario.

The Canadian international took a few steps and put the ball into an empty net from about 30 yards away to make it 3-1.

DC United 3:1 Philadelphia Union
Maryland SoccerPlex – Boyds, Md.
Scoring Summary:
DCU: Dwayne De Rosario (Nick DeLeon) 24
DCU: Dwayne De Rosario (Lionard Pajoy) 75
PU: Jack McInerney (Don Anding) 76
DCU: Dwayne De Rosario (unassisted) 85
Line-ups:
DC United: Joe Willis; James Riley (Brandon McDonald-62), Ethan White (Lionard Pajoy-67), Daniel Woolard, Taylor Kemp; Nick DeLeon, Perry Kitchen, John Thorrington, Chris Pontius (Sainey Nyassi-46); Dwayne De Rosario, Casey Townsend
Philadelphia Union: Zac MacMath; Raymon Gaddis, Jeff Parke, Amobi Okugo, Sheanon Williams; Michael Farfan (Don Anding-72), Brian Carroll, Keon Daniel (Leo Fernandes-46), Sebastian Le Toux; Conor Casey (Antoine Hoppenot-65), Jack McInerney
Discipline:
PU: Amobi Okugo (caution – 45+)
PU: Leo Fernandes (caution – 56)

2013 US Open Cup Third Round: Philadelphia Union top Ocean City Nor’easters 2-1 in dramatic finish

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Photo: Ocean City Nor'easters

In a dramatic finish, the Philadelphia Union were nearly forced into overtime when the amateur PDL Ocean City Nor’easters scored in the 90th minute, but a stoppage time winner from Brian Carroll gave the MLS club the 2-1 win in the Third Round and a showdown with DC United in the Fourth Round.

Carroll’s goal came just minutes after Ocean City scored a 90th-minute equalizer on a scrum in front of the goal. Emmanuel Kollie tapped a loose ball into the net to keep the Nor’easters’ dreams of a magical Open Cup run alive just before Carroll’s winner.

“Congratulations to Ocean City. They played a really good game tonight,” Union coach John Hackworth said. “We showed a lot of character, especially after giving up a very late goal, to get one back right away.”

There was some controversy surrounding which team got to host this match-up, as Ocean City won the coin toss to host the game. However, according to General Manager Neil Halloway, the Nor’easters did not receive a copy of the 2013 tournament rules prior to the venue declaration deadline, so they were unaware their home, Carey Stadium, was three yards shy of the Open Cup standard width of 68 yards. The club submitted their venue declaration form with the width listed as 65 yards, and they won the hosting coin flip for the first two rounds. When the team received the 2013 handbook on May 7, the day the Preliminary Round began, Holloway realized that his field was not up to standard and moved quickly to widen the field to 71 yards.

They were awarded home games for Rounds 1 and 2 because, as Holloway learned from a USSF official, the federation waived their minimum standards for those two games. However, after Ocean City won the hosting coin flip for Round 3, USSF chose – still believing the width was 65 yards – not to waive the minimum standards, thus giving the home game to Philadelphia.

“It would have been great for the shore area to host a game, but at the same time it was a great opportunity for the guys to play in an MLS stadium—an opportunity that may not come again for some of them,” Ocean City coach Tim Oswald said.

The PDL side began the game defensively and the Union could not to cope. Philadelphia got the ball into the final third numerous times, but could not put any solid efforts on net. Keon Daniel had the best chance of the first half, hitting a half-volley that tested Nor’easters keeper Brian Billings. For 45 minutes, the Nor’easters kept their MLS opponents frustrated.

Jack McInerney changed things in the second half, doing what he does best—scoring goals. Sebastian Le Toux ran to the end line and sent a bouncing ball across the face of net. Billings could not smother it, leaving McInerney to gather and scored on an open net in the 49th minute.

Down 1-0, Ocean City played more offensively but the Union controlled most of the second half. It came as a surprise to the sparse crowd when Philadelphia could not clear the ball in the 90th minute. Kollie got the ball within the 6-yard box, where he knocked in the dramatic equalizer.

In the game’s final moments, Le Toux sent a cross into the Ocean City penalty area. Carroll flicked it on with the ball barely crossing the line to give the Union a last-second victory.

The Union, who made it to the Semifinals last year, advance to Round 4, where they will take on DC United on June 12. Philadelphia and DC played last year in the fourth round, with the Union emerging in overtime.

“These games are tough,” Hackworth said. “The Open Cup is always this way. You’re going to have battles. It’s the March Madness of the US soccer world. Our focus is on trying…to win the US Open Cup.”

Philadelphia Union : Ocean City Nor’easters

PPL Park—Chester, Pa.

Scoring Summary:

PHI: Jack McInerney (Sebastian Le Toux) 49

OC: Emmanuel Kollie (unassisted) 90

PHI: Brian Carroll (Le Toux) 90+

Line-ups:

Philadelphia Union: Zac MacMath; Raymon Gaddis, Amobi Okugo, Jeff Parke, Sheanon Williams; Brian Carroll, Keon Daniel, Leo Fernandes (Michael Farfan, 90); Jack McInerney (Antoine Hoppenot, 81), Conor Casey (Danny Cruz, 65), Sebastian Le Toux

Ocean City Nor’easters: Brian Billings; Kevin Curran, Tapiwa Machingauta, Tyler Hilliard, Shawn McLaws; Nick Perea, Ken Tribbet, Timothy Mulgrew (Emmanuel Kollie, 66); Frank Tweneboa (JP Correa, 87), Markhus Lacroix, Anthony Asante (Zoncher Dennis, 69)

Discipline:

none

2013 US Open Cup Second Round: Reading United earn first pro upset, 1-0 over Harrisburg City Islanders

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Mario Pinto of Reading United celebrates his goal with teammates in their second round against the Harrisburg City Islanders. Reading was one of four PDL teams to reach the Third Round. Photo: Kari Haffelfinger

In a second round US Open Cup battle of two Philadelphia Union affiliates, Reading United pulled off a 1-0 upset victory over the Harrisburg City Islanders on Tuesday night. A Mario Pinto goal in the ninth minute and 90 minutes of sound defending sent United through to the third round for the first time in club history.

“ is a mentality,” Reading United coach Brendan Burke said. “When you’re defending from the front…it’s difficult for teams to get any sort of rhythm. is probably a more talented team than us right now, so we knew we would have to make the game a little ugly to get through it tonight, and we did it extremely effectively.”

Coming into the match, Reading had outscored its opponents 13-0. The team took that confidence into its contest against professional opposition, applying early pressure high up the field. In the ninth minute, a Reading goal kick bounced several times toward the Harrisburg net. Pinto judged the ball correctly and beat the City Islander defenders. He then hit a magical volley from the center of the box that Harrisburg keeper Nick Noble could do nothing about to put Reading up 1-0.

Harrisburg pressed forward after the goal, consistently going down the right side of the field with the speedy Morgan Langley. Several sequences involving Langley ended with Lucky Mkosana shots, but the forward could not find the back of the net. Reading goalie John McCarthy was a big reason for that, especially in the 39th minute when he saved a point-blank header off of Mkosana.

Mario Pinto of Reading United watches the ball carry into the back of the net in what would prove to be the game-winner against the Harrisburg City Islanders. Photo: Kari Haffelfinger

In the second half, Reading continued to press high up the field. Darius Madison subbed in for Pinto, serving as a constant presence and nuisance to the Islander backline.

“You saw Darius chasing 60 yards laterally at the end of the game. That’s hard work that doesn’t show up in the score sheet but wins you games,” Burke said.

As the game wore on, however, Harrisburg exerted more and more pressure. The City Islanders controlled the ball for nearly the entire last 15 minutes of play, but solid defending kept them from scoring. Other than a shout for a penalty kick in the 86th minute, Harrisburg could not create too many solid chances. That lack of creativity would cost them, as they eventually fell 1-0.

Reading earned its first-ever Open Cup victory over a professional team with the win. Next up is the New York Red Bulls, which will be the first MLS squad Reading faces in Open Cup play. What can already be defined as a magical Open Cup run for the PDL side will continue in Red Bull Arena next week.

“It’s a big step forward for the organization,” Burke said. “What an experience. I just walked over and asked the team who’s going to mark Henry next week! I’m sure he won’t play, but maybe they’ll put him on for a token 10 minutes to let the boys enjoy playing against him.”

Reading United 1:0 Harrisburg City Islanders
Don Thomas Stadium – Reading, Pa.

Scoring Summary:

RU: Mario Pinto (unassisted) 9

Lineups:

Reading United: John McCarthy; Jonathan Dolezal, Damion Lowe, James Ockford, Benjamin Sweat; Keegan Rosenberry, Stephen Neumann, Emanuel Sanchez (Melvin Snoh, 65), Wesley Charpie; Larry Ndjock (Fatai Alashe, 74), Mario Pinto (Darius Madison, 56)

Harrisburg City Islanders: Nick Noble; Stephen Basso, Andrew Ribeiro, Coady Andrews, Colin Zizzi; Matthew Bahner, Cristhian Hernandez, Jamiel Hardware (Sainey Touray, 61), Morgan Langley; Jimmy McLaughlin (Yann Ekra, 61), Lucky Mkosana

Discipline:

RU: Keegen Rosenberry (caution – 42)
RU: Damion Lowe (caution – 67)
HCI: Sainey Touray (caution – 67)
RU: Stephen Neumann (caution – 90+)

2013 US Open Cup First Round: Ocala Stampede earn first tournament win, 4-2 over Red Force

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It was a night of firsts for the Ocala Stampede of the PDL—the most important being the club’s first US Open Cup victory in the 100th incarnation of the storied tournament.

The Stampede were making their first Open Cup appearance, qualifying by winning the PDL’s Southeast Division last year. Their opponents were Red Force, the only USASA squad from Florida to enter the tournament this year. Playing at Red Force’s home field at Florida International University Stadium, the Stampede were able to pull out a 4-2 victory.

Jack Bailey scored Ocala’s first-ever Open Cup goal in the 8th minute. Controlling play early, Ocala’s Sam Duininck found Bailey with a cross, which the forward was able to convert into an early goal.

The home side would soon respond, however. In the 21st minute, Heber Hernandez took a free kick that was deflected into the Ocala net, evening the game at one apiece.

The game remained tied through the rest of the first half, but that changed early in the second. The Stampede’s Kenny Hogg was fouled in the Red Force penalty area almost immediately after the whistle to start the half. Hogg stepped up to take the penalty himself, converting in the 46th minute to give Ocala a 2-1 lead.

Red Force, which competes in the SSM Premier League, rallied a second time in front of its home fans. Hernandez was at the forefront again, hitting a rocket of a volley from twenty yards out that Stampede keeper Alex Bolowich could not save. The score was now knotted at 2-2, with momentum seemingly in Red Force’s favor. An Ocala substitution would change all of that, however.

Ocala brought in midfielder Christian Blandon in the 60th minute, and he immediately made his mark. Less than two minutes after entering the game, Blandon found Hogg, who laid the ball off to Bailey. The Ocala forward became the first Stampede player to earn a brace in Open Cup play when he calmly slid the ball past the Red Force goalie and into the net.

After a span of physical play, Hogg put the game away with his second goal of the game. Red Force did not have any more comebacks left in them, and Ocala came away with its first US Open Cup victory.

With the win, Ocala earned the right to host its first Open Cup home game. The Stampede will take on Orlando City SC of USL Pro in Round Two. Next Tuesday, they will be hoping for one more first—an upset victory over a professional side.

2013 U.S. Open Cup First Round: Reading United overcome Lehigh Valley United Sonic in all-Pennsylvania battle (video)

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Steve Neumann scored a goal in Reading United's 2-0 win over FC Lehigh Valley United Sonic. Photo: Glenn Riegel | GlennRiegelPhoto.com, Reading United

A first half full of missed opportunities had Reading United worried, but two goals early in the second half of its US Open Cup tilt against Lehigh Valley United Sonic were enough to calm those nerves.

“When you hit the crossbar, the post, and have two cleared off the line, it’s frustrating,” Reading United coach Brendan Burke said. “What we said to the players at halftime was that it was coming. We made a few adjustments tactically, and it paid off right away.”

Those adjustments included moving midfielder Darius Madison into a more forward position. Madison made that formation change count in the 50th minute. Reading forward Larry Ndjock played Madison in on a one-on-one with the keeper. Madison slotted it past the goalie to give the PDL side a 1-0 lead.

Steve Neumann doubled Reading’s lead in the 55th minute with a crazy shot taken from a near-impossible angle. Deep in Lehigh Valley’s half, Wes Charpie threw the ball in to Neumann. While dribbling into the penalty area along the end line, Neumann decided to take a shot. The result was a blistering attempt that got past the Sonic goalie.

Burke said, “That’s Steve Neumann. He’s got abilities other players in the country don’t have. He has technical ability and awareness. He sees thing that other guys don’t see. That’s why he’s our captain. He’s that good.”

Lehigh Valley United Sonic out of the NPSL did not go down without a fight. After Reading’s second goal, Sonic began to see more of the ball and threatened United’s net several times. In the 59th minute, Lehigh Valley’s Kyle MacDonald forced a save from Reading’s goalie, John McCarthy. LVU’s Ryan Jones tested McCarthy again in the 68th minute with a blistering shot from 30 yards out.

“Our guys battled like crazy. Our guys worked really hard. I thought we fought for the entire 90 minutes. We’ll learn from and move forward,” Lehigh Valley coach Dave Weitzman said.

The second half, which was full of action, was a complete contrast from the first. While Reading United had much of the possession, they struggled to turn it into quality attempts. It wasn’t until the 18th minute that Reading finally got a quality chance when Manolo Sanchez hit a volley that beat the keeper and hit the crossbar.

Lehigh Valley got several shots on goal, but it would be Reading that had the next near-chance. Off of a corner kick, a United shot hit the post, was cleared off the goal line, then skied over the net from less than six yards out. It turned out that those missed opportunities did not hurt Reading, but the team will have to be more clinical when it takes on its second-round opponent—the USL Pro squad and Reading’s affiliate Harrisburg City Islanders.

“It’s unfortunate that we have to play our own affiliate. I obviously know a lot about them,” Burke said. “They’re difficult to stop. They’re extremely fast. That’s a huge mountain for us to climb to get through that next round.”

Reading United 2:0 Lehigh Valley United Sonic
Oley Valley High School – Oley, Pa.

Scoring Summary:

RU: Darius Madison (Ndjock) 50
RU: Steve Neumann (Charpie) 55

Lineups:
Reading United: John McCarthy; Wes Charpie, Jonny Dolezal, Jimmy Ockford, Ben Sweat; Keegan Rosenberry, Darius Madison (Dante Marini-71), Steve Neumann, Manolo Sanchez; Mario Pinto Neto (Melvin Snoh-77), Larry Ndjock (Bryce Follensbee-71)

Lehigh Valley United Sonic: Charlie Sales; Ali Famili (Christian Kaschak-46), Reed Norton, Ryan Jones, Tyler Witmer; Tom Mustac, Hunter Norton, Andy Adlard (Michael Gonzalez-62), Emmanuel Joseph, Ciuffetelli (Kyle Macdonald-77); Joe Sales

Discipline:

RU: Ben Sweat (caution – 45)
RU: Larry Ndjock (caution – 63)
LVU: Joe Sales (caution – 82)

2013 Meet the USASA: North Texas Rayados hoping youth, talent will help second straight US Open Cup run

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Welcome to our continuing series of Meet the USASA features where we annually profile the clubs representing the United States Adult Soccer Association in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Advancing from the four regional tournaments, these often unknown clubs have great stories to tell and each year, our goal is to allow fans to get to know them as they attempt to become this year’s Cinderella story.

 

North Texas Rayados may be a young club having been formed in 2011. What the club lacks in age and tradition, though, it more than makes up for with results.

In just a few seasons, the Rayados have become a fixture at the top of the North Texas Premier Soccer Association, including finishing the Spring 2013 regular season with an 8-1-1 record. They have also become a force in USASA Region III, qualifying to the US Open Cup in both of their first two attempts. This year the Rayados cruised through qualifying with a 4-0 record, outscoring their opponents 17-2.

Much of the club’s success can be attributed to familiarity between teammates. In the summer of 2011, Richland College players Raul Herrera and Tito Salas got a group of friends together to form the club. Nearly all were recent college graduates, and several played with Herrera and Salas at Richland. This season North Texas has added some new faces, but Herrera, the goalie for the club, says that familiarity still exists.

“The core is still there,” Herrera said. “We’ve added two or three guys that are still in college…some youth…some young blood. But we’ve gelled. We’re a very complete team this year. We’re a deeper team, and we’re more dedicated.”

NTX Rayados, which takes its name from the Mexican Primera Division side FC Monterrey, was an instant success in the NTPSA, although it took some persuasion to get into the league’s top division. The club had to get many references and recommendations in order to convince NTSPA officials that Rayados belonged in the first division. Once in, however, NTX shot straight to the top, going 20-1 over two-plus seasons. In the most recent campaign, the Rayados claimed the regular season title with an 8-1-1 record.

The club has carried that success into US Open Cup qualifying play. Based in Dallas, NTX competes in USASA Region III. In its first attempt to qualify last year, the Rayados went 2-1 in group play to clinch its spot. They did even better in 2013, going 4-0 to qualify both for the Open Cup as well as the USASA National Finals.

After defeating the South Texas side Islanders FC 6-1, NTX took out the Oklahoma club Los Lobos by a 4-1 scoreline. Having won its group, North Texas advanced to the semifinals, where it defeated CD Motagua 4-0. With a spot in the US Open Cup secured, the Rayados went on to win the Region III final over Red Force from Florida 3-0.

Herrera said, “The scores are very misleading. Red Force is the best amateur team I’ve ever played against. We won because we’ve got a well-rounded team. We’ve put in a lot of dedication and sacrifice.

Now NTX will attempt to do the only thing it has failed at in its young life as a club—beat a PDL side. In its first Open Cup match last year, the Rayados fell to the PDL squad El Paso Patriots 3-1.

“It was a long trip last year. A lot of the guys didn’t know what they were getting into. We have to be a little more serious and a little more prepared. Hopefully this year we’ll get the right result,” Herrera said.

That right result would have to come at the expense of the Austin Aztex, who qualified for the Open Cup by coming in second place in the PDL Mid-South Division last summer. The winner will host the Wilmington Hammerheads, a third-tier professional club playing in USL Pro.

Despite that tantalizing potential Second Round match-up, the NTX Rayados are focused solely on their initial opponents.

“Austin is the only thing on our minds right now,” Herrera said. “We can’t think of the Second Round until we take care of business right now. I know Austin is a strong team. They finished at the top of their division for a reason. It’s going to be a challenge.”

2013 US Open Cup qualifying: Doxa Italia eliminates Cal FC, joins PSA Elite as USASA Region IV entries

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PSA Elite and Doxa Italia booked their spots in the US Open Cup this past weekend, qualifying out of a historically strong USASA Region IV. PSA Elite won the tournament with a perfect 4-0-0 record while Doxa Italia qualified for its second Open Cup with a second-place finish.

After qualifying for the Open Cup in its first attempt last year, PSA Elite made it two-for-two this year with four comfortable wins. They started with a 3-0 victory in a cross-group game against Doxa Italia. Then, eight different players scored in a 10-0 win over The Internationalists. With qualification all but secured, PSA used five goals in 25 minutes to take out DV8 Defenders 9-2.

Already qualified for the Open Cup, PSA Elite took the Region IV title with a 4-1 win over Doxa. The teams had to overcome extreme heat that even resulted in one of the linesmen suffering a heat stroke.

Doxa Italia’s road to its second US Open Cup appearance was much tougher. The format for this year’s tournament involved a cross-group game, with those match-ups being determined by random draw. As luck would have it, Italia drew the strongest team from Group B and fell in that 3-0 loss to PSA Elite.

“The format certainly impacted how we approached the tournament. Because of the tiebreak rules it took a little pressure off the cross-group results and stressed the two pool games we had on Saturday. We have been in tournaments formatted like this in the past and it took a significant amount of time planning the rosters for each match,” said Alex Lujan, PSA Elite owner.

After losing its initial match, Doxa trounced San Francisco City FC 7-0, setting up a “Win & You’re In” game against Cal FC. After a magical Open Cup run last year that involved a victory over MLS side Portland Timbers, Cal FC came into this tournament as favorites. However, Doxa Italia pulled off the 2-1 upset victory, ensuring an Open Cup berth for the club for the first time since 2011.

Bryan Byrne, Doxa Italia player/coach and scorer of both goals against Cal FC, said, “It is a proud feeling to be able to say you are part of such a storied competition. For us, it is what we have been building up to all year and having the opportunity to see Doxa’s name on the list of first round teams is a real honor. But we won’t be happy this year unless we see our name in Round Two also.”

Doxa lost to the Ventura County Fusion in 2011 by a 3-1 scoreline in its only US Open Cup appearance. PSA Elite was more successful in its lone attempt, beating the PDL’s Portland Timbers U23s 3-1 in Round One, then bowing out to the NASL’s Carolina RailHawks 7-0 in Round Two.

“The US Open Cup represents an opportunity to compete against professional and top US amateur teams. We are honored to have another chance to play in this prestigious event,” Lujan said. “This also provides another platform for our players to showcase their talent. Seven players from our 2012 Open Cup roster are now living that dream in the MLS, NASL and USL Pro leagues. We feel confident that we will be able to build on last year’s experiences, make a run and represent USASA Region IV, Cal South & the Coast Soccer League well.”

2013 US Open Cup qualifying: USASA Region IV Finals (April 19-21)
Ontario, California – All Times Eastern

Group A PTS W L D GD
Doxa Italia (CA – South) 6 2 1 0 +5
Cal FC (CA – South) 6 2 0 0 +12
San Fran. City (CA – North) 3 1 1 0 -13

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Group B PTS W L D GD
PSA Elite (CA – South) 9 3 0 0 +19
DV8 Defenders (CA – North) 3 1 2 0 -4
Internationalists (CA – South) 0 0 3 0 -18

April 19
Doxa Italia 0:3 PSA Elite
The Internationalists 2:8 DV8 Defenders
Cal FC 12:3 San Francisco City FC

April 20
Doxa Italia 7:0 San Francisco City FC
Cal FC 4:1 DV8 Defenders
PSA Elite 10:1 The Internationalists

Doxa Italia 2:1 Cal FC
PSA Elite 9:2 DV8 Defenders
San Francisco City FC 4:1 The Internationalists

April 21 (Championship)
PSA Elite (Group B winner) 4:1 Doxa Italia (Group A winner)
Both group winners qualify for the 2013 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup
Region IV champion advances to USASA National Cup Finals

PAST US OPEN CUP ENTRIES FROM REGION IV

2013: Doxa Italia (SCA), PSA Elite (SCA)
2012: Cal FC (SCA), PSA Elite (SCA)
2011: Doxa Italia (SCA), DV8 Defenders (NCA)
2010: Arizona Sahuaros (AZ), Bay Area Ambassadors (NPSL)
2009: Arizona Sahuaros (AZ), Sonoma County Sol (NCA)
2008: Arizona Sahuaros (AZ – NPSL), Hollywood United (SCA)
2007: Banat Arsenal (AZ), El Paso Indios (NPSL)
2006: Arizona Sahuaros (AZ), Sonoma County Sol (NCA – NPSL)
2005: Salinas Valley Samba (NPSL), Sonoma County Sol (NCA – NPSL)
2004: Chico Rooks (NCA – NPSL), Sacramento Knights (NCA – NPSL)
2003: Chico Rooks (NCA – NPSL)
2002: Mexico SC (NCA)
2001: Mexico SC (NCA)
2000: Mexico SC (NCA)
1999:  Mexico SC (NCA)
1998: San Nicolas (CSA)
1997: Inter SC (NCA)
1996: San Jose Oaks (NCA)
1995: Flamengo SC (UT)

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