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Thomas Hodul

San Francisco Bay Seals, the ‘amateur’ pro team that reached 1997 US Open Cup Semifinals

September 6, 2022 by Thomas Hodul

San Francisco Bay Seals 1997
San Francisco Bay Seals 1997
Graphic by Tom Arnison
Shani Simpson and Shane Watkins of the 1997 San Francisco Bay Seals. The 1997 Seals are one of two Division 3 clubs to reach the Semifinals in the Modern Era. Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals
Shani Simpson and Shane Watkins of the 1997 San Francisco Bay Seals. The 1997 Seals are one of two Division 3 clubs to reach the Semifinals in the Modern Era. Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals

One of the most overlooked and dramatic runs in the history of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup occurred in 1997. That year, the San Francisco Bay Seals, who competed in the USISL’s D-3 Pro League, upset two MLS teams and the defending A-League champions to earn a spot in the Semifinals. While a Division 3 pro team reaching the final four of the US Open Cup is not unheard of (it has happened twice in the Modern Era), there was something unique about those “pros” from San Francisco.

“No one was getting paid,” said Seals starting forward Marquis White. “We were just playing for passion and pride and playing for the city.”

THE ORIGIN STORY

Tom Simpson founded the club under the name “San Francisco United Soccer Club” in 1981. The goal was to create a club that would embody everything that is great about the beautiful game and the city they represented. Also, he wanted to give his talented sons and their friends a place to play after college since there were limited soccer-playing options after graduation.

“We were the players that no one wanted,” offered Kimtai Simpson, one of Tom’s two sons. “Nobody knew who we were and we all had funny names and we had a lot of minorities.”

Tom Simpson was a standout athlete in his own right, growing up playing multiple other sports outside of soccer at a very high level. This was his first venture into the game of soccer, however.

“He loves the camaraderie of a team, it was as much for him as it was for the kids,” said Kimtai.

When Tom founded the team, he was still in medical school and coached his sons and their friends on the side. By 1985, the team had become so successful as a youth club that they began seeking opportunities to play youth opponents at an international level. The first was a trip to the 1985 Gothia Cup, one of the biggest youth tournaments in the world held annually in Gothenburg, Sweden. Then came an appearance in the renouned Milk Cup in Ireland that same season. These tournaments were the catalyst that really propelled the club to the next level.

Everything began to grow.

“We were all pretty ambitious kids,” said Kimtai Simpson. “We all dreamt about playing outside the United States.”

CJ Brown with the 1997 San Francisco Bay Seals. Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals
CJ Brown with the 1997 San Francisco Bay Seals. Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals

The club’s success attracted other players of a high caliber, building a powerhouse team in the northern Californian youth leagues, dominating many of the state tournaments.

“We inspired people to seek each other out,” mentioned Kimtai. Due to the lack of local youth competition, the team continued to travel to Europe in the summers seeking high-quality opposition. They again returned to the 1987 Gothia Cup, as well as participating in other European youth tournaments such as the Helski Cup, Dana Cup, and other Norway-based cup competitions. They also traveled to South America on a few occasions, including to Brazil where they beat Santos FC in their own stadium.

The club became so dominant that the term “super club” began to spread within the northern California youth soccer community. Many of the best players from around the Bay Area wanted to play together and thus ended up on San Francisco United.

By 1991, the club was regularly winning the Northern California State Cup as an adult men’s team. Part of this was due to participation in the highly-competitive San Francisco Soccer Football League. The SFSFL was founded in 1902 and remains the oldest continually-operating soccer league in the United States.

“We started playing early on against grown men,” boasted forward Marquis White, who played his college ball at the University of San Francisco before playing in the Netherlands and Bolivia. He was drafted by the New England Revolution in the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft but injuries de-railed his time with the Revs and he returned to the Bay Area.

The San Francisco Bay Seals pose for a team photo before their 1997 US Open Cup Third Round match against the San Jose Clash at Spartan Stadium. Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals
The San Francisco Bay Seals pose for a team photo before their 1997 US Open Cup Quarterfinal Round match against the San Jose Clash at Spartan Stadium. Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals

At the time, the SFSFL was arguably the highest level of men’s soccer competition anywhere in the United States and the SF United youth club could compete with any team in the league.

“The environment in San Francisco certainly produced as many players as any other projects have. If you look at the guys from the ‘96 MLS draft how many guys came from the San Francisco league, it was imbalanced to the rest of the country,” commented midfielder Troya Cowell.

“We grew up playing against Dominic Kinnear, John Doyle, Troy Dayak, Eric Wynalda. We played them in the city league here,” said Shani Simpson, Tom’s other son who now runs the current Seals’ youth academy. “They put me in my place sometimes; they went at me hard, but never to the point where I thought I couldn’t compete with them.”

“There were guys in the men’s league we played against who played in the World Cup like Bernardez of Honduras,” Kimtai noted. “These guys were huge influences on us, they inspired us. There was no pro soccer at the time so the SFSFL was the professional soccer in the country.”

In 1992, Tom made the decision to join the US Interregional Soccer League (USISL), the league that would eventually become the current United Soccer Leagues (USL). They would become one of the league’s first West Coast teams.

“The kids had been successful and if we wanted to continue to play it was the only option. We weren’t looking to go professional, we were just looking for a place for these kids to play.”



The team would be rebranded as the “All-Blacks” for their inaugural USISL season in 1992. The same team that played together as children continued to play together and began to dominate the 3rd and 4th divisions of US Soccer leading up to their 1997 US Open Cup run.

“It felt like we all grew up together,” said Shani Simpson.

Shane Watkins of the San Francisco Bay Seals eludes San Jose Clash defender John Doyle during the Seals' 2-1 Quarterfinal upset at Spartan Stadium on August 20, 1997. Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals
Shane Watkins of the San Francisco Bay Seals eludes San Jose Clash defender John Doyle during the Seals’ 2-1 Quarterfinal upset at Spartan Stadium on August 20, 1997. Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals


“We weren’t the most talented team player-for-player, but we had been together for so long,” said forward Shane Watkins.

The team continued to seek out and play high-level competition including playing multiple scrimmages against international sides participating in the 1994 FIFA World Cup. For many member’s of the team, they felt the group could compete with just about any side in the world.

“Our international record is crazy, I mean we played against Brazil before the ’94 World Cup and we were in that game,” noted Troya Cowell. “We weren’t afraid of anyone and we had the record to back it up.”

The All-Blacks won the ‘94 Pacific Division of the USISL and the ‘95 Western Division. The club once again rebranded in 1996 becoming the San Francisco Bay Seals following a lawsuit from the New Zealand National Rugby team who are also known as the All-Blacks. That season they joined the USISL Premier, which would later become USL League Two.

They would reach the league final that year, losing to the Central Coast Road Runners (San Luis Obispo). The following season in 1997 they found themselves in the USISL D-3 Pro League, one level below the old USL-A League (Div. 2 pro).

Shani Simpson of the San Francisco Bay Seals dribbles the ball against the San Jose Clash in the 1997 US Open Cup Third Round at Spartan Stadium. Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals
Shani Simpson of the San Francisco Bay Seals dribbles the ball against the San Jose Clash in the 1997 US Open Cup Quarterfinal at Spartan Stadium. Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals

However, they were pros in name only. None of the players were paid during that 1997 season.

“Our team was very close and they understood the difficulty of financing a professional team,” said Tom Simpson. “We became ‘professional’ just so we could play at a higher level but the guys understood that there was no money involved. Even the following year when we were in the A-League we didn’t pay the players. I just didn’t make financial sense.”

Most of the players just had other jobs, but one of the biggest ways Tom was able to help his players was to help them find work.

“I can’t tell you how many of them worked at the hospital where I was practicing,” said Tom. “I had a good connection with the parking department. The wages were decent, about $14.00 per hour back then. Our team captain, Angelo Sablo, is still there, only now he’s the boss. I got help from Russ Murphy, a contractor and youth soccer coach, who had access to properties being developed. He would allow guys to stay for free in some cases. We did a lot of stuff like that.”

FAMILY ATMOSPHERE

The team chemistry and length the guys on the team had played together were the principle reasons for their success.

“We were a fearless, underestimated family,” expressed Kimtai.

“We had great chemistry on and off the field, that had a lot to do with our success,” said Shane Watkins.

The San Francisco Bay Seals celebrate with their fans during the 1997 US Open Cup Third Round match against the San Jose Clash. Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals
The San Francisco Bay Seals celebrate with their fans during the 1997 US Open Cup Quarterfinal match against the San Jose Clash. Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals

The team had a true family atmosphere and feeling about it. A lot of that had to do with the man in charge, Tom Simpson.

“Tom is a super gifted, intelligent man, he can do anything, he filled a father roll for most of us,” added Watkins. This was true to the point that the Simpsons often took in players to stay with them who were on that team.

“A lot of it was about this family aspect that had been built over the years. Tom was always looking after guys, even letting them stay at his house. He mentored us as young men and gave us a space to continue to play soccer some how,” Troya reminisced.

Shane Watkins, being one of them, lived with the Simpsons for three years claiming, “I was kind of an adopted son of Tom.”

Another Seals’ player, Chris Davini did as well.

“Chris Davini came to live with us and my dad was this guy always hugging him,” said Kimtai. “My father is very generous with his time. Sometimes as a kid I felt he loved these guys more than me. He was a lot harder on me and my brother .”

“My dad is Italian-Irish so he’s always been about family and about welcoming people. If someone needed some help both my mom and my dad were the type of people who were more than willing to help out. It was something that was part of the Seals’ culture. We had BBQ’s at Angelo’s (the team captain) house and my dad’s house, and the whole team would be there and we still do that today,” said Shani.

“You had to be honest about your commitment to the group. That’s why the group stayed pretty consistent over the years,” Troya Cowell agreed. “We all stay in touch pretty well, and it would never be hard to reconnect. It’s like no time has passed,” Shane Watkins summed up the relationship.

Courtesy of San Francisco Bay Seals

The practices were also very intense, with many players claiming that the practices were more intense than any game they ever played in.

“It was 5 to a side free-forming creative soccer,” Kimtai remembered.

Most of the players claim that was some of the top training atmospheres in the city.

“It was the best place to go train in a really competitive environment,” Troya Colwell said. “At that time there wasn’t much of an outlook if you weren’t going to play for the National Team. I pursued the best place in town to play soccer and that was with the All-Blacks at the time,”

“In practice we hated losing, we talked trash cause it was competitive, but we were always fighting for each other,” said Marquis White.

“You had to love to play together. It wasn’t about where we were going to go. We used to kill each other in practice. You couldn’t do anything to us in a game that we hadn’t done to each other on a terrible field, in the fog in San Francisco. We didn’t have this fear about not getting to the next level of our careers; we just really enjoyed training together day-in and day-out. None of us were thinking we could go to MLS… it was just for the joy of it,” said Cowell.

“Practices were so intense with a lot of good natured trash talk. We did enjoy it more than the game. There was so much trash talk and taunting. We’d bring a broom to practice cause we were going to sweep. It was heated, we get angry in practice, but afterward we were all good,” said Shane Watkins.

“My happiest moment wasn’t the Open Cup run, it was when I got to play with those guys from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. ,” added Kimtai.

THE OPEN CUP RUN

The family atmosphere and intense training sessions contributed to the incredible Open Cup run by the Seals in 1997. That, along with the fact that Tom Simpson highlighted making a deep run and potentially winning the tournament before the first match ever took place, primed the team for success.

“I remember when we first started qualifying that year, Tom was adamant on making an Open Cup run. He put a lot of energy into it. Tom made it a priority,” said Shane Watkins.

At the same time however, the USISL season did not begin in a dominant fashion like the Seals had become used to. Despite only losing two games in league heading into the Open Cup competition was growing. Scores were less one sided and the West Division table was tight. This led to Tom changing the system in what he believes to be one of the keys to the success of the 1997 season.

Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals
Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals

“I had been talking with the guys for a few years about changing the style of play,” Simpson explained. “This was a time when using a sweeper was the standard of play and I wasn’t much of a supporter of that style of soccer. I wanted to play with four at the back and more of a zone defense. CJ and Tim Weaver (the starting center backs) were the key elements to this switch. I asked them to try it for one weekend and they won both games that weekend. I then asked if we can stay with it and we went on a run to win 17 games in a row, including all of the Open Cup matches. It was that change in the system of play that really triggered that run and the guys really grabbed onto it. They thought they were unbeatable. To my knowledge, the system hadn’t been used in the States, but after watching Brazil in the 1994 World Cup I became convinced that it was a viable system of play with the right players.”

The D-3 Pro League used regular season games to determine which teams would represent the league in the 1997 US Open Cup. Each team in the West Division would have two road games and two home games selected to double as qualifiers. The top team in each division and the top two second place teams league-wide would punch their ticket to the tournament. After a 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Fireballs and a 4-0 win over the Chico Rooks, the Seals were off to a positive start. The deciding win ended up being a 2-1 extra time win over the Sacramento Scorpions. The Seals fell 3-1 to the Stanislaus County Cruisers, but San Francisco had done enough to finish top of the table. With a 3-1-0 record, they would win the tiebreaker with the Rooks and the Cruisers. 

In the first round proper of the tournament, the Seals took on US Adult Soccer Association side and Western Amateur Champions, Inter SC, from the San Jose, California area in a match that was played at De Anza College in Cupertino, Calif. The Seals won quite comfortably, 4-0, with a brace from both the eventual tournament’s Golden Boot winner Marquis White and from Mike Black a player who would go onto only make one more appearance for the Seals in the 1997 Open Cup.

Shani Simpson recalls the dominance of captain Angelo Sabo in that game and the opposing coach saying about Angelo’s play during the match: “Can someone fucking stop that guy, the fuck!” The advanced the Seals, who would go up against a pro side in the next round.

HISTORIAN NOTE: Our historical records for that San Francisco Bay Seals vs. Inter SC game are incomplete. If anyone might be able to help us confirm any match details about that game, please CONTACT US HERE. All we have are that Marquis White and Mike Black scored two goals each and we have most of the starting lineup for both teams put together.

“After that game we realized now it was on,” said Shani Simpson. The referee that night was Brian Hall who would later referee games at the FIFA World Cup and spent time as the director of referees for CONCACAF. His role in this tournament for the Seals would become magnified in the later rounds.



In the next round, the Seals would be drawn at home in historic Negoesco Stadium on the campus of the University of San Francisco. There they would host the defending A-League champion Seattle Sounders. The Seals would upset the Sounders by a score of 1-0 in front of more than 600 fans. Marquis White scored his third goal of the tournament off of a beautiful feed from Troya Cowell.

“We really wanted to play an MLS team,” Shani Simpson recalls, noting just how important the result was.



While the first two rounds were important, the magic of the Cup for the Seals really began in the Third Round when they hosted the Kansas City Wizards at Negoesco Field. Once again Marquis White would open up the scoring inside of one minute off a ball over the top from midfielder Chris Davini to give the Seals the early lead and send the more than 1,400 fans at Negoesco that night into a frenzy. The Wizards would respond in the 40th minute with a goal from Frank Klopas, a player who played for the US National team just two years prior.

Klopas was just one of the well-known US soccer names on the pitch for KC that day. Other standout players for the Wizards included the 1997 MLS MVP Preki. The Wizards also featured Mo Johnston, a Scottish national team player.



Despite the strong Kansas City side, Marquis White would once again give the Seals the lead in the 59th minute off another fine assist from Davini. The 2-1 scoreline would be how the match ended, with the Seals pulling off another “cupset.”

Following the match, in the post game interview, Marquis White who in the previous season played in MLS before returning to the Seals, did not shy away from the confidence he had in himself and his team saying, “I felt we had a good chance because I felt we matched up well against their defenders and we just played with a lot of heart and that’s what beat them today.” He upped the ante saying, “We are going to win the next one, we are going all the way.”

“Beating the Seattle Sounders was fun, but beating KC was out of this world,” said Kimtai. “When you play against Mo Johnson and then you beat Mo Johnson when you are not expected to … all that hard work we had put in on our part paid off. Mo Johnston acted like this was a joke and he didn’t even care, in my opinion.”

This was also the first match where famous Belgium player turned scout Jean-Marie Pfaff showed up to watch the Seals hidden talents.

“Jean-Marie Pfaff would have never noticed us he showed up to the KC game,” Troya Cowell pointed out.



While beating KC at home was a huge win in the club’s history, it wasn’t anything compared to the next round when the Seals where matched up against local MLS rivals, the San Jose Clash, in a match up just down the road at Spartan Stadium in front of an announced crowd of 4,237 fans.

“That was a local rivalry whether the Clash knew it or not,” said Troya. “We felt like that was a big rival,” Shane Watkins recalled.

The end of this match is considered by some to be the greatest 17 minutes in San Francisco soccer history.

The Clash would field basically a first team line-up that night at home apart from US National Team forward Eric Wynalda, who did not play. The Clash fielded some of the best players MLS had to offer, like John Doyle, Dominic Kinnear, Ronald Cerritos and Eddie Lewis to name a few. Ronald Cerritos would open up the scoring in the 20th minute from the penalty spot to give the Clash the lead. The Seals battled hard for an equalizer that eventually came off the foot of Shani Simpson in the 77th minute.

“The ball just popped out and it hit me in the chest and someone said kick it and so I kicked it,” said Shani about the equalizing goal in his post match interview. “It was probably the most amazing feeling I’ve ever had.”



Then in the 86th minute, Shane Watkins would pick the pocket of John Doyle and beat the keeper to give the Seals the 2-1 lead late in the match. Shane said in his post match interview that “I just pressured … I knew I could pick him, I was talking about picking him all week.”

He then went on to reiterate what Marquis had said in the previous round, “We are going all the way.”

To most, this was the key win of the 1997 Cup run because it was guys that had grown up playing in the local leagues and it was the local MLS side that did not take any of the Seals players.

“It just shows, there are a lot of players in San Francisco, and basically our team that have been overlooked,” pronounced Shani Simpson in the post game interview. “That moment definitely stands out . I don’t even know how I got there. When athletes talk about being in the zone and everything just slows down, I was in that zone. I took the ball from John Doyle and I just thought I could. He’s a great player, but we didn’t feel like the gap was that big and I knew I was playing against a national team guy, but I just wanted to prove myself.”

Shane Watkins agreed years later. “The game against the Clash I think sums us up. It was pretty scrappy both ways and if any outsider looked at that game you couldn’t tell who was in the MLS and who was the other team,” said Troya Cowell.

“The only time anyone took us seriously is when we played D.C. United. I don’t think San Jose and Kansas City took us seriously at all,” Kimtai Simpson added. “

We knew the other teams would underestimate us. These guys had no idea how hard we were going to come at them,” said Shani Simpson.



The win against their local rivals set up a Semifinal match with what many considered to be the greatest MLS team of all-time. In the first two seasons of MLS (1996-1997), Bruce Arena and assistant coach Bob Bradley had led D.C. United to an MLS Cup title in 1996 and gotten even better in 1997, winning the MLS Supporters’ Shield and a second straight MLS Cup.

“That was the best MLS team of all time,” said Troya.

The defending MLS Cup champions were taking the Seals seriously, playing a complete first choice starting 11 that included John Harkes, Jaime Moreno, Marco Etcheverry, Tony Sanneh and Scott Garlick. Even still, the Seals felt like “… we were going to beat D.C.,” insisted Kimtai.

The game took place at University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif. in front of 3,470 fans. Most Seals players who played in that game felt like they weren’t given a fair chance by Brian Hall, the referee on that night.

“D.C. United beat us, but we don’t believe they beat us … we left the field saying sometimes teams get lucky,” said Tom Simpson. “They got a gift PK in the first few seconds of the game and they won 2-1. As far as we were concerned we dominated the game and the statistics supported that. They really struggled in that game and in my mind they were lucky.”

The San Francisco Bay Seals and D.C. United battle for the ball in the 1997 US Open Cup Semifinals at Negoesco Stadium. Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals
The San Francisco Bay Seals and D.C. United battle for the ball in the 1997 US Open Cup Semifinals at Negoesco Stadium. Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals


“I don’t know if there was an biased referee in that game,” said Troya Cowell. “The penalty call was dubious, like right away. When a referee calls a penalty like that early on in a game it’s ‘cause he’s part of US Soccer. No ref should shape a semifinal with a penalty call 5 minutes into the game. If it’s gray, you just take it on your shoulders and don’t call a penalty five minutes into the game. It was a really soft call.”

“I felt it was Marco Etcheverry getting the celebrity call,” said Shane Watkins. “The big dogs are going to get the calls. CJ Brown was so adamant that he didn’t touch him and CJ is usually the silent giant, never really said anything or talked too much in training. He is a clean, honest defender. All I remember was feeling we got robbed in that game.”

Shani Simpson commented, “That was the only time I ever heard my dad question the referee. I’m suspicious of what Brian Hall was doing in that game. Etcheverry was known to flop. Nine times out of 10 no one ever calls . For one, it was early in the game. I had a one-on-one and got taken down in the box and I’m not one to dive and we didn’t get a PK. To this day I think something was happening, I don’t know if MLS said something. If we would have won and D.C. complain, maybe he’s not the top ref and not so coincidentally he was doing World Cup games soon after. It might have been a political move on his part. It would have been a great story, but not for MLS.”

“I think the MLS was very afraid of losing credibility, and I think they directed the referee to call it as tight as possible,” said Kimtai. “That’s the way I feel. That’s not to say D.C. United wasn’t an incredible team. The penalty early in the game just wasn’t a penalty. It happened in the Clash game as well.”

“It was suspect. It was way too early, I don’t even know if it was in the box,” said Marquis White. “A lot of things went on in that game that were a bit curious.”

Jaime Moreno would go on to score that penalty in the second minute of the match before Raul Diaz Arce would add another for DC United off a great run from Moreno to make the score 2-0 in the 62nd minute.

“They had elite players. Jamie Moreno set up the goal that won the game for them and you got to tip your hat to him,” said Tom Simpson about the second goal.

Marquis White of the San Francisco Bay Seals runs down the ball against the San Jose Clash in the 1997 US Open Cup Third Round. Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals
Marquis White of the San Francisco Bay Seals runs down the ball against the San Jose Clash in the 1997 US Open Cup Quarterfinals. Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals

Marquis White would pull a goal back late in the match to extend his Golden Boot lead in the tournament with his sixth goal of the competition.

“We all felt that Marquis was a proven goalscorer who should have been on the National Team” said Shane Watkins.

The one goal was not good enough in the end as the Seals fell by a score of 2-1.

“Bruce said afterward … The Seals team was emotionally better than us and he recognized that,” said Shane Watkins.

“John Harkes, I had played against being from New Jersey, so that match up mattered to me,” said Cowell about the match. “He was a little bit of a prick that game, trying to speak with a British accent.”

“John Harkes still talks about us, like who are these kids from San Francisco,” said Marquis White.

While the run had come to an end, the Seals players still were able to see the positives in the amazing amateur run they had made.

“The run with the Seals was the highlight of my career,” said Shane with fondness. “It effects soccer history in some small way,” said Kimtai. “The ‘97 Seals team was the culmination of who my dad is and who the Seals are. A bunch kids who were left over from the Vikings team,” said Shani.

“It was an incredible time,” said Marquis White.

Unique: The Swagger / The Street Ball Artist / The Ajax Approach / Completely SF

The Seals are a unique team to soccer in this country in more ways than one. They had American basketball / football style swagger and were one of the few street-ball style teams in the history of the game domestically. They were also built using a different approach than most US clubs, because they played the local youth kids together against the men.

Angelo Sable of the San Francisco Bay Seals (left) battles for the ball with Michael Emenalo of the San Jose Clash in the 1997 US Open Cup Quarterfinals. Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals
Angelo Sable of the San Francisco Bay Seals (left) battles for the ball with Michael Emenalo of the San Jose Clash in the 1997 US Open Cup Quarterfinals. Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals

“We had the Ajax approach,” said Troya Cowell. “You play your youth players and they will mature. We don’t profile the talent of 18-22 year olds in this country.”

Shani Simpson believes that it is something missing in today’s game because most clubs main “ …objective is to generate revenue instead of develop players.”

“Get those young kids on the field, you’re going to lose some games but let’s get them in these games, play the youngsters,” preached Marquis White about his approach to his coaching style today. Shane Watkins believes that “you are skipping steps” by bringing in pros from all around instead of growing local talent.

Due to the years playing together the team had a confidence in themselves and their abilities. This was highlighted by both Marquis White’s postgame interview after the KC game and Shane Watkins’ interview after the San Jose game. It was a big part of this team having just the right amount of ego without being cocky and it’s still something they maintain today.

“We really did believe . We really believed in one another, especially collectively. I knew I wasn’t the greatest player, but felt that in that group together with those guys we could get it done,” said Shane Watkins before going on to say, “We were a group of players that all thought we should have been selected for one of the MLS teams when that league started. We always had something to prove against the MLS teams. There wasn’t a big difference except 1 or 2 star players the MLS teams had.”

“We were all pretty confident in our abilities,” Kimtai Simpson said. “That entire team could have played in the MLS.” While Shani Simpson continued, “The years of playing together . We knew on a national level that we were a strong team. I don’t know if it was confidence or ignorance, or if it was a solid foundation of belief. Marquis was the vocal leader saying we are going to beat these guys. Me and Angelo were more the philosophical leaders when we spoke and said, you know what, bring on the US national team, bring on Barcelona. We weren’t scared of no MLS team.”

The San Francisco Bay Seals celebrate with their fans during the 1997 US Open Cup Third Round match against the San Jose Clash. Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals
The San Francisco Bay Seals celebrate with their fans during the 1997 US Open Cup Third Round match against the San Jose Clash. Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals

The Seals were also one of the last manifestations of a more street-ball style, something that has led to the great success of players such as Maradona and Pele.

“That was a team of artist. We were a synthesis of styles. There are no street ballers anymore, that’s what we were. We were one of the last vestiges of street ball in the United States. You learn to play soccer now after school with a coach. We weren’t like that,” Kimtai Simpson reminisced.

Many of the players on that team would get together in the years following to play pick up games in the winter in the North Bay Area. Some even dubbed the meetings “The Rucker of Marin.”

“The most enjoyable soccer I’ve played since was in the winters when we played at Marin Academy,” Troya Cowell said. “If there was a game like that tomorrow I’d fly out.”

The 1997 Seals were a completely original team in terms of personalities and diversity, and they represented the city of San Francisco better than any other team possibly could.

“It was a homegrown team,” said Marquis White. “You got to have base, we had a base. You got to have local people.”

“The Seals were similar to the SF mentality we have all our diverse weird quirky people,” claimed Shani Simpson. “Six of the starters were African Americans. Back then it wasn’t something you saw a lot, and people thought we were a basketball team. The Seals were a multicultural team with a strong African American presence. It was a really good representation of the melting pot that is San Francisco.”

Most of the players also felt they had a player that represented the hippy culture in SF in Troya Cowell.

“I use to come out barefoot to practice at USF,” noted Troya.

The fans even had a song for other players that had long hair like Troya’s on opposing teams. “There is only one ponytail, so cut your hair, cut your hair.” Troya continued to say, “That team is forever part of our identity as soccer players.”

“Our team was built over years in that city. Me and my brother, we grew up in San Francisco, we could walk through and name the entire fan base,” added Kimtai. “It was a team with deep ties to The City.”

NEGOESCO FIELD

The atmosphere the Seals created is something that, at the time, had not yet been seen in The City and has arguably not yet been replicated in the more than 20 years since. Marquis White remarked “I just love when we were at USF playing, it was packed, it was foggy. The environment we had there had so many people. The Ultras came and connected with us and they believed in us. People had to see what the Seals were all about. USF was tiny and it was packed.”

Shane Watkins claimed, “That stadium was perfect if you get just 500 people in there, it was loud. We had the Seals hooligans, this group that started supporting us. They had a song about Marquis or one making fun of Preki when he didn’t make that National team. They were fanatical.”

Shani Simpson believed that the fans “… had a lot to do with creating a lively atmosphere. We would hang out with the fans drink beers with them and sing songs that they were singing at the game with them. We just had an open and welcoming team.”

THE 1997 LINEUP

The team during the Cup run for the most part set up with the same starting XI. Outside of the Inter SC game, the Seals put out the same starting lineup in the four matches with the four professional sides they faced. The team played a 4-2-2-2 or a version of a 4-4-2.

Support TheCup.us and its coverage of the US Open Cup by purchasing a "Champions" shirt, honoring the five clubs from the pre-Modern Era (1914-1994) to win four or more US Open Cup titles. Visit THECUP.US SHOP
Support TheCup.us and its coverage of the US Open Cup by purchasing a “Champions” shirt, honoring the five clubs from the pre-Modern Era (1914-1994) to win four or more US Open Cup titles. Visit THECUP.US SHOP

The key to this formation was the center back pairing of CJ Brown and Tim Weaver. CJ Brown would be selected first overall the following season in the MLS supplemental draft by the expansion Chicago Fire. CJ played the rest of his career for the Fire retiring in 2010 as the captain of the Club. CJ is currently an assistant coach with the Fire. His center back partner, Tim Weaver, was selected third overall in that same draft by the San Jose Clash, where he played for two seasons before returning to the Seals in 2000.

The keeper for the Seals in 1997 was JJ Wozniak. He had the top goals against average USISL league play that season due to his own ability and the tremendous backline in front of him.

The outside backs were Shani Simpson, the team’s second leading points getter in the 1997 Open Cup on the left side, and the team’s captain, Angelo Sabo, on the right side. Shani currently runs the Seals youth academy that still exists today. In front of them were Robert Gallow, the more defensive minded center midfielder, and Chris Davini, the man who often set up the goals for Marquis White in the ’97 Cup.

The two other more attacking midfielders were Troya Cowell and Kenny Folan. Troya would go on to play in Belgium and is currently coaching in the Maryland area. While Kimtai Simpson was not a starter, he was the first man off the bench in most games and was considered the teams “super sub”.

Up top were Shane Watkins and Marquis White. Marquis was the more attacking minded of the two, while Shane was seen as the playmaker. Marquis was part of the inaugural New England Revolution MLS squad in 1996 before returning to the Seals for the 1997 Season. He, like Weaver and Brown, was taken in the 1998 MLS draft fourth overall by the Colorado Rapids, meaning the Seals had three of the top four players taken in the MLS supplemental draft that year. He now coaches in the East Bay Area and has helped mentor players like Chris Wondolowski.

Shane Watkins was running his own currently runs his own Seals academy in Southern California, which he created because of what the Seals had meant to him. Many members of that Seals team are still involved with soccer and coaching the game locally.

“I absolutely enjoyed playing with this team more than any other group I was a part of,” said Troya Cowell. “I never would have gotten to Europe without the Seals.” Shane Watkins commented that, “I had a youth club in LA called the Seals. I called it that because that was one of the most important parts of my career.”

Tom Simpson was also named 1997 USISL Coach of the Year for all the success the team had that year.

UNBELIEVABLE SUCCESS LEADS TO HEARTBREAKING DOWNFALL

The Seals tremendous success led to a move up a division to the A-League, the second division of professional soccer in the US at the time, a move that the club might not have truly been ready for.

CJ Brown's first "professional" experience was with the San Francisco Bay Seals Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals
CJ Brown’s first “professional” experience was with the San Francisco Bay Seals Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals

However, it was not as if the USSF was looking out for a club like the Seals, who had developed their entire squad from local youth players. The move up to division two was somewhat of a forced move on the part of the USL, due to the Seals own high caliber of play and success both on and off the field. The move also forced the club into a venue change from Negoesco Field to Kezar Stadium due to venue size. Kezar, while historic, is a venue considered by many in the SF soccer community to be somewhat of a “black hole” for professional soccer in the city.

The stadium’s most recent victim was the San Francisco Deltas, the team that famously won the second division North American Soccer League during it’s inaugural 2017 season before folding a week later.

The following season, the Seals returned just two starters from that ‘97 team. Only Shani Simpson and JJ Wosniak from the first choice 11 returned to the field for the Seals in their inaugural A-League season.

“That’s when the reality in soccer sort of slapped us in the face. This country isn’t ready for us. They just stripped all of our players from us. We got nothing in return and they wanted us to move up as well. It’s a little bitter sweet in terms of the story because if this had happened in Europe our team would have been rewarded for our efforts. That was disheartening to go as far as we did, and realize hey this country isn’t ready for soccer. No one was out there trying to protect us,” said Simpson.

“We felt if we could keep that team together and move into MLS, we could have been contenders,” said Watkins.

The Seals developed quite a large number of players for MLS and basically got nothing in return.

“My dad and his friends had to pay for everything,” said Shani Simpson.

The Seals produced Brandon Cavitt (28th overall MLS college draft) and Marquis White (35th overall inaugural player draft) for MLS in 1996, Albertin Montoya (4th overall MLS college draft) and Chris McDonald (24th overall college draft) went to the MLS from the Seals in 1997 and in 1998. They lost CJ Brown (1st overall supplemental draft), Tim Weaver (3rd overall supplemental draft) and Marquis White (4th overall supplemental draft) to MLS.

“I think we changed US soccer forever, and we were rewarded for it by MLS picking apart our team. It was horrible for the Seals, but it was a compliment,” expressed Kimtai Simpson.

These were just the players who went to MLS. Many more ended up playing professionally overseas and in South America.

“Back then, MLS had positioned themselves politically in an unholy alliance with the USL that had a one-way beneficiary. We lost nine or our 1997 starters to MLS, A-League and one Belgian first division team. The soccer economy was essentially cannibalistic.”

Kimtai Simpson believes, “small clubs need to be financially rewarded for the players they develop for the MLS. My father spent a lot of money with no return. It’s an unhealthy situation. Just a gesture of a small amount of money would show these clubs that MLS cares.”

Tom Simpson had to say, “My secret agenda was to show that soccer could survive in this country if a solid grass roots, bottom up, approach was taken, (then pointed out that) we ultimately failed because the top down guys held all the cards, essentially funding and the power structure.”

Tom Simpson strongly believed that success could be reached in soccer domestically with a smart financial plan and community involvement.

Kenny Folan of the San Francisco Bay Seals (left) battles for the ball with Istvan Urbanyi of the San Jose Clash in the 1997 US Open Cup Quarterfinals. Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals
Kenny Folan of the San Francisco Bay Seals (left) battles for the ball with Istvan Urbanyi of the San Jose Clash in the 1997 US Open Cup Quarterfinals. Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals

“If I felt there was a mission it was that if soccer wanted to be successful in this country it needs to start as a grassroots organization and it needs to rise to the top and that’s the model I thought had potential. This top to bottom thing was not the answer. Everyone was failing financially with this top to bottom approach. I believed that soccer did have a chance if you were able to bring it up from within the community and I think I did show that. The part that failed is that there is no structure in place in this country to support that kind of approach. I firmly believe that we are not going to be where we want to be with soccer in this country unless there are more experiences like ours,” Tom argued.

The team was profitable in their first A-League season before being pushed to spend more money by the USL front office.

“In 1998, our first season post the ‘run’ as an A-League team, we survived on a budget of $200,000.  No joke,” professed Simpson. “Our revenues were $202,000.  The USL guys scoffed at this meager financial success because they constantly prodded us to spend more money even if we didn’t have it. The following year, 1999 we spent $360K, and revenues were $300K.  That was the first year we lost money.”

Much of this was due to the move up to the A-League and the change in venue to Kezar Stadium.

“It wasn’t the same when we moved to Kezar. Negoesco was home,” recalled Shane Watkins. “Kezar is
just not a viable venue ,” he added.

When talking to other pro clubs since the Seals in San Francisco, Tom Simpson has said, “The only thing I
can say to you guys is ‘don’t play at Kezar’”.

THE MAGIC OF THE CUP

The Seals are one of the Bay Area and US soccer’s great Open Cup stories. Without the 1997 run many of the Seals players may never have gotten a shot at playing at the next level, whether that be in Europe or in MLS.

“It brings magic to the game and inspiration and that’s what you want out of it,” said Tom Simpson.

“I think the is the only thing that can demonstrate the depth of soccer talent in this country across the different levels. I think it is going to become more and more important, and that more people should focus on it,” said Troya Cowell.

Angelo Sable of the San Francisco Bay Seals (left) battles for the ball with Ramiro Corrales of the San Jose Clash in the 1997 US Open Cup Quarterfinals. Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals
Angelo Sable of the San Francisco Bay Seals (left) battles for the ball with Ramiro Corrales of the San Jose Clash in the 1997 US Open Cup Quarterfinals. Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals

“I just love how the Open Cup is open to everyone,” said Marquis White.

“I love the Open Cup. It’s such a great competition. It can have a huge impact in local communities on growing the game. The run with the Seals was the highlight of my career,” said Shane Watkins. “I really do think that the Open Cup is necessary. If it wasn’t for the Open Cup, the Seals would have never had the experience that we had. It would be nice if every year there was some type of run like that. With the right resources I think I can do the same thing with these SF kids now,” said Shani Simpson.

The Open Cup isn’t perfect yet in the minds of the Seals’ players until stories and clubs like theirs are truly embraced by USSF and the sports world in general.

“If you can put aside the veneer that is created by MLS that somehow they are the best teams in the country, which they have been promoting since 1996, that just isn’t true,” said Troya Cowell on what’s hurting the Open Cup from truly taking off.

“No competition pushes them. It is a huge problem in this country. “It’s the one format that does speak to the issues I’ve talked about, but there is no real follow through because there still is no solution for these teams that start out as grassroots teams to find support once they are successful,” claimed Tom Simpson.

“Our leadership does not know how to integrate this into a process that’s really going to be beneficial to all the people who are really working hard at the grassroots level.”

“The Open Cup plays its role well (in the development of US soccer). It’s a small role but important for teams like us working outside the status quo,” noted Kimtai.

THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY SEALS SINCE 1997 AND THE ACADEMY TODAY

The Seals Academy is still alive today and is predominately focused on youth development and growing the game and no longer has the aspirations to enter the wild west of US professional soccer. Shani Simpson currently does most of the work running the academy, while Tom oversees the club as its ambassador.

Shani Simpson (middle, red shirt) poses with San Francisco Bay Seals youth academy players after a match in Kenya. Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals
Shani Simpson (middle, red shirt) poses with San Francisco Bay Seals youth academy players after a match in Kenya. Photo: San Francisco Bay Seals

“I mostly fight the political battles now, and there are many in youth soccer, and San Francisco is a devastatingly awkward place for anything to do with soccer,” said Tom Simpson.

The Academy has grown to feature 36 teams and more than 300 kids. Shani currently operates an Under-20 and Under-23 club in the NorCal Premier League as well.

“The Seals grew for a reason. People wanted the Seals’ philosophy,” said Shani. “… it turned into 36 teams for a reason.”

The Seals have created a huge number of professional players over the years since the 1997 team as well. Those players include Joe Cannon, Stefan Frei, Wade Barrett, Joe Enochs, Espen Baardsen, Suamy Alvarez, and Calen Carr, just to name a few.

CONCLUSION

The Seals are a soccer club unlike any other past or present in America. They stood for everything American soccer should and could be. They were a community-based club that brought together the best of the diversity the city of San Francisco had to offer. They created a culture and family around the club, from the players to the supporters, built from the grassroots up and not the top down. The Seals were built on an Ajax approach mixed with street ball flair, two approaches that haven’t existed together in US Soccer before or since. The club embodied the spirit of the game, as well as San Francisco, but was torn apart by a system that is not set up to support a project like theirs. This club is everything that US soccer fans dream their club could become. The Seals 1997 US Open Cup run should have been a game changer for the way US soccer operates in several ways. Instead, this massive success story is just another memory. The Seals are the club that every Open Cup fan would have fallen in love with because they represented the absolute best of what the game of soccer is, and can be in the US and the world.

Filed Under: Feature - History, Feature - Main, Feature Right - US Open Cup History, Featured Post - Main, US Open Cup, US Open Cup Central, US Open Cup History Tagged With: 1997 US Open Cup, San Francisco Bay Seals

2019 Meet the Underdogs: Academica SC earns first US Open Cup berth after more than 40 years as a club

May 4, 2019 by Thomas Hodul

Academic SC poses for a team photo after their 1-0 win over the Oakland Stompers in the Third Round of the 2019 US Open Cup qualifying tournament. Photo: Brittney Virgo

Academic SC poses for a team photo after their 1-0 win over the Oakland Stompers in the Third Round of the 2019 US Open Cup qualifying tournament. Photo: Brittney Virgo
Academic SC poses for a team photo after their 1-0 win over the Oakland Stompers in the Third Round of the 2019 US Open Cup qualifying tournament. Photo: Brittney Virgo

Academica Soccer Club has been a staple of the California Central Valley soccer community for more than 40 years. The club is located in Turlock, Calif. between the cities of Modesto and Merced, and while Academica has a rich history, 2019 will mark the first time they have qualified for the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

Academica SC was founded in 1972 by a group of Portuguese immigrants who first came together to found Our Lady of Assumption Church in Turlock. The soccer club was created for the youth of the church to keep the culture and the tradition of their heritage ongoing. Over time, the club evolved into a full youth club with their own field located next to the church. Today, the club features both a boys’ and girls’ side, as well as a men’s team that competes nationally in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), as well as locally in Liga NorCal.

“There’s a few things that make us stand out in the lower division level of soccer, such as our own facilities and a full pyramid structure of teams, but the biggest thing that makes the club so special and unique is its people,” said club president Simon Bettencourt. “Not only the people that have been a part of the club for decades and built this team into what it is now, but also the new people who come out to support us and made the last US Open Cup match such a great atmosphere.”

Ramiro Ceja of Academic SC scored the lone goal in the club's 1-0 win over Oakland Stompers in the Third Round of the 2019 US Open Cup qualifying tournament. Photo: Brittney Virgo
Ramiro Ceja of Academic SC scored the lone goal in the club’s 1-0 win over Oakland Stompers in the Third Round of the 2019 US Open Cup qualifying tournament. Photo: Brittney Virgo

Academica is known around Northern California for their large number of traveling fans, with as many as 50 or more fans traveling to away games in other NorCal cities. Additionally, the club recently established their own supporters group known as the Black and Gold Brigade. Those supporters made their presence felt in Academica’s final qualifying match, a dramatic penalty kick win over IPS/Marathon Taverna (Portland, Ore.), that clinched the club’s first-ever Open Cup berth.

The men’s team is led by longtime head coach Sergio Sousa who recalls watching his father play for the club as a boy. Sergio is also the assistant coach of the UC Merced men’s soccer program.

“It’s a big step for the club,” said Bettencourt. “Qualifying for the tournament shows the level of soccer we have in the area and adds to the high standard we want people to expect from the Central Valley. We’re hoping a deep run will shine some much-deserved attention on the talent we have here. We’re immensely proud to be representing the Valley on such a prestigious stage against top notch opponents.”

Academica began qualifying with a first round 4-1 win over fellow Liga NorCal side Davis Legacy back on Sept. 22.  They were led on the night by a brace from Ramiro Ceja.

The club followed this up with a hard fought win on October 20 against another Liga NorCal side, Contra Costa FC. Led by a brace from Mane Villegas, the team jumped out to a 3-0 lead early in the second half. Contra Costa would fight back with two goals, but Academica would hold off the comeback and win the game, 3-2.

After having to reschedule the initial third round qualifier due to poor air quality caused by the Northern California wild fires, Academica would go on to advance 1-0 over a 10-man Oakland Stompers side with a goal from Ceja.

Fans from Academica SC set off smoke bombs during the club's Fourth Round match in the Open Division Local qualifying tournament for the 2019 US Open Cup. Photo: Brittney Virgo
Fans from Academica SC set off smoke bombs during the club’s Fourth Round match in the Open Division Local qualifying tournament for the 2019 US Open Cup. Photo: Brittney Virgo

In the final round of qualifying, Academica would advance past Oregon club IPS/Marathon Taverna in a penalty kick shootout after the match finished 3-3 after extra time. It was one of the most dramatic games of the entire qualifying tournament. It looked as if the visitors were going to spoil Academica’s chances of punching their ticket as IPS led 2-0 heading into the 90th minute. However, Brennan Canfield pulled one back in the 90th, and Manuel Villegas pounced on a loose ball in the box five minutes into stoppage time to tie the game. After falling behind again in extra time, Gerardo Cazares would score directly from a free kick four minutes into stoppage time of the second extra time period to force penalty kicks. Academica goalkeeper Alonso Lara would make a couple of huge saves to help put his side into the US Open Cup proper with a 3-1 shootout victory.

“It was quite the rollercoaster ride,” said Bettencourt. “I was actually watching the last few minutes of regulation from behind our bench so when those two goals went in we went off and again when Gera scored that free kick, it was all a blur. Penalty kicks were gut wrenching but the feeling of euphoria after the match, celebrating with our players and fans on the field, is a feeling I don’t think I’ll forget anytime soon.”

By qualifying, Academica SC is the only team that will take part in the US Open Cup from US Club Soccer, putting an end to a minor drought where the organization didn’t have a representative in the last two tournaments.

Academica features a few keys players who have helped them qualify and have been instrumental in the team’s league success. The team’s top scorer from last season is back, and last year won NPSL Player of the Week honors twice in 2018. The second of those awards came from a four-goal performance against Sonoma County Sol.

Alonso Lara has stepped in as the starting goalkeeper in his first season with the club. Lara brings experience playing in Mexico with Celaya FC, a club that played in the Mexican Second and Third Divisions, and a variety of NPSL clubs in Southern California, as well as a few stops with some arena soccer teams. Lara was also a finalist, and the last goalkeeper remaining, in season two of the soccer talent show Sueno MLS where players competed to earn a roster spot with Chivas USA or FC Dallas.

Midfielder Gerardo Cazares is the captain and scored two goals in the qualifying tournament. Ceja, who played his college ball at nearby Stanislaus State University, is one of the biggest reasons why the team qualified as he scored three goals in the competition, including the game-winner against the Oakland Stompers.

Academica are set to face former US Open Cup Champions El Farolito in Round 1 in a match up featuring the second and third-oldest clubs participating in the tournament.

Filed Under: 2019 US Open Cup, Feature - Main, Meet the Underdogs, US Open Cup, US Open Cup Qualifying Tagged With: 2019 US Open Cup, Academica SC, Meet the Underdogs

Coaching legend Stephen Negoesco, rare US Open Cup, NCAA champion, has died

February 6, 2019 by Thomas Hodul

Photo: University of San Francisco Dons

Photo: University of San Francisco Dons
Stephen Negoesco Photo: University of San Francisco Dons

The San Francisco soccer scene is one of great tradition and history. That history includes National Team players, US Open Cup champions, NCAA champions and National Soccer Hall of Famers from multiple generations dating back more than a century. In a city with so many legends, you would be hard pressed to find a bigger, more recognizable or more impactful name than Stephen Negoesco, known by some as the “King of West Coast Soccer.”

Among his any accomplishments, Negoesco led the University of San Francisco to five NCAA championships (1966, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1980) and made history when he won the US Open Cup championship in 1976 with the San Francisco Italian Athletic Club. It was the first time that a Northern California club lifted the US Open Cup trophy and he became the first coach in history to win a US Open Cup and an NCAA title.

On Sunday, Feb. 3, Negoesco passed away at the age of 93.

Born in New Jersey, Negoesco returned to Romania with his father at a young age following the passing of his mother. While he was in Romania, he was put in a Nazi camp in 1940 when they learned of his American connection. It was there that he started to learn the game of soccer by playing with the guards who he later escaped from.

Stephen Negoesco, a member of the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame. Photo: Wally Gobetz | Flickr
Stephen Negoesco, a member of the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame. Photo: Wally Gobetz | Flickr

Negoesco was eventually able to return to the United States in 1945. In 1947, he would settle in San Francisco where he began to put the University of San Francisco on the soccer map. He enrolled at the university as a biology major and began to play soccer for the USF Dons. He helped lead the Dons to the 1950 co-national championship, while earning All-American honors in both his junior and senior seasons.

While Negoesco had an impressive playing career, he is best known for his coaching career as the head coach of his alma mater. He took over the Dons program in 1961 and held the position until his retirement in 2000. In those 40 years, Negoesco built a legacy that may never be matched in the college game again. He won 544 games, 22 conference titles and five NCAA Division I national championships in 1966, 1975, 1976, 1978 and 1980 (The 1978 national title was later vacated due to the use of an ineligible player). Only six-time winners Jerry Yeagley (Indiana) and Bob Guelker (St. Louis) and five-time winners Bruce Arena (Virginia), and Harry Keough (St. Louis) have more titles than Negoesco’s NCAA-recognized four.

“Steve Negoesco leaves a legacy with the influence he has had as a coach, mentor, and friend,” said Director of Athletics, Scott Sidwell in a statement. “We were blessed to have Steve guiding our programs on The Hilltop, where his quest for excellence inspired and motivated championship players and teams. Coach Negoesco truly lived his life to the fullest and was active with our university and his former players up until his final days. We mourn his passing, will miss him dearly, but will always be grateful for the countless lessons he has left for us. Coach Negoesco will live in all of us who were fortunate to be touched by his strong and guiding hand.”

While coaching at USF, Negoesco was also an active coach in the San Francisco Soccer Football League (SFSFL), the oldest continuously-operating soccer league in the country (Est. 1902). He was in charge of the San Francisco Italian Athletic Club (SFIAC) from 1963-1977, winning five SFSFL titles during that span.

Negoesco also helped the club win the 1976 US Open Cup title. To date, San Francisco IAC is one of only five Northern California clubs to win the tournament (Greek American AC in 1985, San Jose Oaks in 1992, CD Mexico in 1993 and Greek American AC in 1994).

Since Negoesco became the first coach to win an Open Cup and an NCAA title, only two other coaches have accomplished that feat: Bruce Arena won five titles at the University of Virginia (1989, 1991-94) and the 1996 US Open Cup championship with D.C. United in 1996 and Sigi Schmid, who won three national titles with UCLA (1985, 1990, 1997) and is the US Open Cup’s all-time leader in championships with five (2001 with Los Angeles Galaxy, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014 with Seattle Sounders FC). Schmid recently passed away last Christmas.

San Francisco Italian Athletic Club: 1976 US Open Cup champions
San Francisco Italian Athletic Club: 1976 US Open Cup champions

To capture that 1976 US Open Cup title, Negoesco’s Italian Athletic Club defeated two other SFSFL teams to kick off the club’s run to the Final. They defeated the Sons of Italy in the opening round, followed by a 3-2 extra time win over the San Francisco Scots to advance to the Quarterfinals (West Finals).

There they faced off with the defending champions from Los Angeles, Maccabee AC in a two-leg series to determine who would advance to the final four. San Francisco would stun the two-time champions, 2-1, on their home field at Daniels Field in L.A., and then return back to the Bay Area and hold them to a scoreless draw to advance.

It would take a lot of travel, but San Francisco IAC would finally bring the trophy back to the Bay Area. They traveled to Illinois to face off with St. Louis club Big Four Chevrolet. After a 2-2 draw, the Italians would have to earn a spot in the final at the penalty spot, winning the shootout, 4-2.

A couple weeks later, San Francisco would make a cross-country trip to the Metropolitan Oval in Queens, New York where they would edge the home team Inter-Giuliana by the score of 1-0. The game-winning goal was scored from “40 feet out” (according to the San Francisco Chronicle) by Andy Atuegbu, who also played for Negoesco at USF and scored the NCAA championship-winning goal that season as well.

Despite his impressive resume of more than 500 college wins and all the trophies and accomplishments, many readers, especially those in the Bay Area might be surprised to learn that Negoesco is not a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. However, he was a 2003 inductee into the United Soccer Coaches Hall of Fame.

According to San Francisco Soccer Football League president Leo Shoomiloff, he applied to get Negoesco on the National Soccer Hall of Fame ballot multiple times, but he has yet to make the cut.

“It is sad that both Steve Negoesco and the Rally brothers  haven’t been inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame like past predecessors from the Bay Area who greatly contributed to this beautiful game,” the SFSFL board wrote in a statement to TheCup.us. “The SFSFL submitted applications on their behalf but they were not accepted. Both Steve Negoesco and John and Jim Rally made a powerful impact on soccer at both the local and national level. Their contribution to the game will be greatly missed but their stories and legend will live on – both off and on the field for generations of soccer enthusiasts.”

In his career, Negoesco coached prominent players including John Doyle, Koulis Apostolidis, Mike Ivanow, and even Alejandro Toledo who would go on to become the President of Peru. In 1982, USF named the soccer stadium in his honor.

Josh Hakala also contributed to this report

Filed Under: Feature - History, Feature - Main, US Open Cup, US Open Cup History Tagged With: San Francisco Italian AC

2018 US Open Cup Round 5: Diego Rossi’s late winner for LAFC completes comeback vs. Sacramento Republic

June 21, 2018 by Thomas Hodul

Pasted image at 2018_06_20 11_32 PMOn an dramatic night of soccer, the host Los Angeles FC came back twice from a goal down to level the match against a tough Sacramento Republic side looking for their second consecutive upset. LAFC was able to advance to the Quarterfinals of the 2018 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup as they kept fighting until the final moments of the match when Diego Rossi found Latif Blessing for the winner in the 89th minute.

“We said it before the match and then again at half time that Cup matches you have to earn. We don’t get anything for free,” commented LAFC head coach Bob Bradley after the match. “I think that there was a good mentality.”

LAFC was on the front foot early, controlling much of the possession and making runs in behind the Republic defense. The best chance of the opening moment fell to Lee Nguyen in the 7th minute, but he curled his effort over the keeper and back out off the cross bar.

Benny Feilhaber of LAFC celebrates a goal against the Sacramento Republic in the Fifth Round of the 2018 US Open Cup. Photo: LAFC
Benny Feilhaber of LAFC celebrates a goal against the Sacramento Republic in the Fifth Round of the 2018 US Open Cup. Photo: LAFC

This was followed by a long spell of Sacramento finding their way back into the match as neither side created any major chance until the Republic’s Cameron Iwasa drove down the side of the box and fired a shot that just hit the post and rebounded out in the 24th minute of play. Villyan Bijev found the ensuing rebound, forcing LAFC’s keeper Tyler Miller into a point blank save to keep the score level.

This chance gave Sacramento confidence as they were able to find the first goal of the match not long after that. Jure Matjesic forced another big save out of Miller, but Elliot Hord was there to smash home the rebound for Republic to give them the 1-0 lead in the 35th minute.

LAFC kept fighting, and they earned a penalty kick just before the half time whistle. Captain Benny Feilhaber stepped up to take it, but Sacramento goalie Josh Cohen saved his shot easily. The visitors took a 1-0 lead into the break.

“It was disappointing. I expect to score the penalties that I take,” said Feilhaber after the match. “I don’t think it effected me other than maybe driving me to do something to atone for it and get us back on track as a team.”

“In terms of strong leadership and good performance, I thought Benny had a good game,” said coach Bradley about his captain when asked about the penalty miss.

The first 15 minutes of the second half started off slowly as neither side was able to create anything to threaten the other side. That all changed in the 58th minute when Feilhaber atoned for his missed PK miss to level the match at one goal a piece.

“I think I got a little more space than I thought I would. I turned and faced them up and just drifted inside,” said Feilhaber about his equalizing goal. “I still don’t think I kicked it that well.”

Despite leveling the score, the Republic hit back within a minute to once again take the lead as substitute Jaime Villarreal laid the ball off to Villyan Bijev who scored a beautiful goal to make it 2-1 in the 60th minute in favor of the visitors once again.

Following this effort, it became the Diego Rossi show as the Uruguayan hit the post in the 66th minute before finding LAFC’s second equalizer about a minute later. Rossi was played in by Lee Nguyen before burying the shot to make the score 2-2.

“Diego really pushed hard so that, special Uruguayan mentality is on display all the time,” said Bob Bradley after the match.

Rossi once again hit the post in search of the go ahead goal in the 85th minute, as the match looked destined for extra time. Then in the 89th minute, Diego Rossi was again away on the break, but this time he played in the perfect ball across goal for Latif Blessing to tap home the game-winning goal as the home side went up 3-2.

Another WILD night at @BancStadium!

Full highlights from #LAFCvSAC, brought to you by @SherwinWilliams.#USOC2018 pic.twitter.com/WEuOuj2lf6

— LAFC (@LAFC) June 21, 2018

“Obviously Sacramento is a good team,” said Feilhaber after the match. “Cup games, whether it is here or anywhere else in the world, are always tough games.” LAFC will now host the Timbers at home on July 18th just a few days after playing them in MLS league play. “If you asked me which I would rather win I’d say the Open Cup and get to the semis,” said Feilhaber about the importance of continuing this Cup run. “Overall I thought we played a lot of good football and we advanced in the Cup and I look forward to playing Portland on the 18th,” said Bradley about leading his expansion team to the Quarterfinals.

“Cup games are always tough games.” Benny Feilhaber after our 3-2 comeback win in the @opencup against @SacRepublicFC. pic.twitter.com/OdCpG9T12j — LAFC (@LAFC) June 21, 2018

“The @opencup is my game. I just love these games so much.”

Latif Blessing after scoring the winner in #LAFCvSAC pic.twitter.com/1aakaeLtkS

— LAFC (@LAFC) June 21, 2018

Filed Under: 2018 US Open Cup, Feature - Main, US Open Cup Tagged With: 2018 US Open Cup, Los Angeles FC, Sacramento Republic

2018 US Open Cup Round 4: Sacramento Republic claim another MLS upset with OT win over Seattle Sounders

June 7, 2018 by Thomas Hodul

The Sacramento Republic FC defeated the Seattle Sounders FC of MLS in the Fourth Round of the 2018 US Open Cup. Photo: Sacramento Republic FC

The Sacramento Republic FC defeated the Seattle Sounders FC of MLS in the Fourth Round of the 2018 US Open Cup. Photo: Sacramento Republic FC
The Sacramento Republic FC defeated the Seattle Sounders FC of MLS in the Fourth Round of the 2018 US Open Cup. Photo: Sacramento Republic FC

For the second year in a row, the Sacramento Republic were able to pull off another upset in front of their home fans as they topped the four-time US Open Cup champion, Seattle Sounders FC, by a score of 2-1. The USL side was on the front foot for much of the night before eventually grabbing the late winner with a goal by substitute Jure Matjašič in the 115th minute of play.

“It’s another step forward,” said Sacramento head coach Simon Elliot about the massive win. “We are pleased to win and we are pleased to get to the next round.”

The Republic controlled most of the first half as the Sounders only had one shot on target very early on in the match. Sacramento was able to create loads of chances but was unable to convert any of those chances into a goal.

“We dominated for long periods but we weren’t clinical enough,” said Elliot about his team’s performance.

The best of those chances came first in the 8th minute when Elliot Hord was just barely unable to finish on the back post. The other major chance in the first half fell to captain Adam Moffat who missed his long range effort just wide in the 35th minute as the half finished 0-0.

The second half began much like the first half as the home side was in control and looked comfortable though out. The breakthough goal eventually came in the 60th minute when the hometown kid, Cameron Iwasa, finished off a cross from Elliot Hord to give the home side the deserved 1-0 advantage.

“Elliot absolutely worked his tail off,” said Simon about the man who set up the opening goal.

The match winning goal.  Jure, WE LOVE YA!#USOC2018 pic.twitter.com/3gobUhsfhI

— Republic FC (@SacRepublicFC) June 7, 2018

Sacramento continued to control the possession and most of the play on the field as they searched for a second goal to seal the match. The Republic came close in the 71st minute when Iwasa forced a huge save out of Sounders goalkeeper Bryan Meredith.

Then again in the 83rd minute, the man of the match, Vilyan Bijev, forced another save out of Meredith. It appeared that the home side would kill the match off as they continued to push for their second goal. Not too long after that, Sacramento’s Justin Schmidt just missed his effort on the doorstep, which surely would have ended the match in the 90th minute.

However, the Republic were hit with a deflected equalizer in the 92nd minute of play when Sounders substitute, Harry Shipp, came up with the goal to send the match to extra time and silence the home crowd on the Sounders’ second shot on target.

Sacramento did not let the goal affect them however as they went right back to dominating in the extra time.

“I was very pleased with the response after Seattle got the goal,” said Elliot. “You can’t drop your heads just because you lose a goal. You have to pick yourself up and keep going.”

Sacramento found the game-winning goal through Jure Matjašič in the 115th minute when a rebounded effort off the foot of Bijev fell kindly to Matjašič who calmly finished off the goal to give his side the 2-1 lead late.

Filed Under: 2018 US Open Cup, Feature - Main, US Open Cup Tagged With: 2018 US Open Cup, Sacramento Republic, Seattle Sounders FC

2018 US Open Cup Round 3: Kevin Aleman’s stunning free kick lifts Sacramento Republic past Reno 1868 FC

May 24, 2018 by Thomas Hodul

USOC SAC-RNO FINALUSL sides Sacramento Republic and Reno 1868 FC tangled in a Third Round match in Nevada, with the Republic coming out victorious. The away side held control for most of the match, but couldn’t break through until about twenty minutes from time. Keven Alemán’s free kick just outside the box hit the back of the net, sending Sacramento through to the Fourth Round, earning the right to play an MLS side.

The first half was wide open, with the Republic creating the few major chances that occurred in the half. They started in the 8th minute, when Hayden Partain was played in by Jaime Villarreal, but missed the cross. Again in the 28th minute, the visitors had another chance, but Alemán saw his effort tackled away at the last possible second. Their best chance of the first half came in the 32nd minute, when an awful Reno back pass played in Cameron Iwasa, but 1868 keeper Kyle Ihn expertly saved Iwasa’s effort.

“We had the better chances in the first half. We didn’t take them. Ian’s teams are tough and well organized,” said Sacramento Head Coach Simon Elliott, as the game went into the half scoreless. “It is always a battle whenever we play them.” Elliott elaborated, “I think when you are on the front foot, we need to take advantage and be more clinical. You let good teams stick around like Reno and they will punish you. They punished us last time, but this time we got away with it.”

The second half played out much like the first half, as Sacramento controlled possession and pushed for the break through goal. The goal eventually came from Man of the Match Keven Alemán. He expertly curled in a free kick from the top of the box, giving the Republic the 1-0 advantage. “He was motivated,” said Elliott about his star player on the night. “He’s been out for a little while with an injury, so he was motivated to play. He got a little frustrated at times in the first half, but what was really pleasing is that he kept going and kept going and got his reward with a really nice goal. So we are delighted for him.”

For. The. Win. @kAlemanS’s free-kick golazo puts @SacRepublicFC through to the Fourth Round. #USOC2018. pic.twitter.com/YiPq6NaZLz

— COPA90 US (@COPA90US) May 24, 2018

Following the goal, Reno finally started to build their way into the match, with most of their best chances coming late in the game as they searched for an equalizer. They had a chance in the 83rd minute from Danny Musovski, but the visitors expertly blocked the effort. This began a spell of heavy pressure for the final 10 minutes of the match. 1868 got close to an equalizer three times in stoppage time. First, Christian Thierjung fired over the bar, then Danny Musovski’s diving header hit the post, and finally Connor Johnson fired wide from range as the match ended 1-0 in favor of the Republic.

The win puts Sacramento Republic back in the Fourth Round for the fourth time in their five year existence. They will attempt to improve on their 1-2-1 (0-1 in PKs) record and repeat a win over MLS from last year, when they beat Real Salt Lake 4-1 in the same round.

Filed Under: 2018 US Open Cup, Feature - Main, US Open Cup Tagged With: 2018 US Open Cup, Reno 1868 FC, Sacramento Republic

2018 US Open Cup Round 2: Sacramento Republic overcome slow start, eliminate San Francisco City

May 20, 2018 by Thomas Hodul

USOC SFC-SR FINALSacramento Republic fans and players were a bit worried for the first 45 minutes in the game against their lower league opposition, San Francisco City FC, as the match was balanced throughout the first half. However, in the end, the professionals from Sacramento showed their experience as they went on to win the match 3-1 off of a comfortable second half performance to advance to Round 3 of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

“I thought we were slow to get started. Turnovers from simple pressure were a problem for us. That’s something we need to tidy up,” said Sacramento Republic’s head coach Simon Elliot about the sluggish start to the game for his side.

For the opening 20 minutes of the match, both sides looked comfortable as they felt each other out. They both saw a few half chances during this period, but neither side was able to find the breakthrough chance.

The first major chance of the match fell the way of the PDL side from San Francisco when in the 22nd minute Aaron Lombardi saw his shot from the top of the box blocked. A rebound effort fell to Robert Hines, whose point blank effort was saved excellently by Sacramento’s keeper, Rafael Diaz.

Less than a minute later, Sacramento was able to hit the back of the net when Kevin Aleman found the ball off a rebound to put the home side in front 1-0.

“After about 20 minutes, I thought we got going,” said Elliot.

City did not get their heads down however, and eventually found an equalizer in the 31st minute when Robert Hines played a perfect left footed cross that Aaron Lombardi expertly finished to level the score at 1-1.

The rest of the half played out similar to the first 20 minutes, as neither side took control of the game. The half ended all square.

The second half was a different story as Simon Elliot made two changes and obviously said something to his players to get them to kick it up a notch. “I’m not sure I can tell you that,” said Elliot about what he said to his players at the intermission. “You probably get the idea. You can make something up. It’s just that high standards are always important. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing in the park or at Papa Murphy’s Park in front of 11,000. If you are wearing the badge and you got the shirt on, it’s high standards. It has to be all the time.”

The Republic found the go-ahead goal and what turned out to be the winning goal in the 60th minute when Mitchell Taintor found one of the substitutes, Villyan Bijev, who managed to get the ball across the line. “I think the second half was better. I think the subs helped. We still need to understand a little bit of game management. We eventually got the message and had enough quality to take care of the game.”

Sacramento then went on to put the game to bed in the 68th minute when Adam Moffat finished after a scramble in the box to all but seal the game for Republic as the two-goal cushion was too big a hill to climb for San Francisco.

“Every game is important. It’s professional soccer,” said Elliot on the importance of a good Cup run. “Every time you go out there, it’s a tough game. In the USL, it’s tough games with good players and good coaching and this is no different.”

Sacramento will travel to play their rivals ,Reno 1868, in Round 3 of the Cup next week.

Filed Under: 2018 US Open Cup, Feature - Main, US Open Cup Tagged With: 2018 US Open Cup, Sacramento Republic, San Francisco City FC

2018 US Open Cup Round 1: San Francisco City heads across the Bay to find first USOC win

May 14, 2018 by Thomas Hodul

usoc_cda_finalSan Francisco City picked up a first-ever win in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup with an impressive 4-0 thumping of the home side, CD Aguiluchos USA, the NPSL club based out of Oakland, Calif. While City deserved the victory in the end, the 4-0 score is a bit misleading as the Aguiluchos controlled long portions of the match and were never truly out of the match until the final 10 minutes.

“The Aguiluchos are a solid team, some really experienced players,” said SF City head coach Paddy Coyne. “And to come here and get a 4-0 result, I’m pretty happy.”

The Aguiluchos had some of the best chances early on in the match, including a few chances to star striker, Simon Rawnsley, who saw a left footed effort sail just over the bar in the 21st minute as well as two headed chances that just went over the bar in the 40th and 42nd minute.

The two best chances came for the Aguiluchos in back-to-back minutes when first Victor Ramirez hit the cross bar in the 31st minute, and then Jose Cabeza fired a volley right to the keeper a minute later.

City then went on to turn the game on its head late in the first half when Bengy Ruiz, the Aguiluchos defender, took down Sean Bowman in the box. This led to a penalty kick in the 44th minute. Aaron Lombardi stepped up for SF City only to see his shot saved. However, none of the Aguiluchos defenders followed up to help their keeper, and Lombardi buried the rebound to give SF City the 1-0 lead.

“I think the pressure we were building created that penalty, and Aaron has finished it off the rebound,” said Coyne about the opening goal.

Then just a minute later, former Phoenix Rising striker Matt Hurlow added a second goal for City with a brilliant left-footed volley from the top of the box.

“Next thing you know, we get another bouncing ball from Matt Hurlow, pulls a left foot on it, and it’s a goal,” said Coyne about his surprise of the second goal. “It’s always nice going into half time with a two nil buffer.”

The Aguiluchos went on to use up all three subs early in the second half as they searched for a way back into the match. They continued to create half chances much like in the first half before they went down two goals. Ross Middlemiss and Octavio Guzman started to give the SF City defense some problems, but it was never enough to cause any serious threats.

As the Aguiluchos pushed for a goal, they left themselves exposed at the back, including twice conceding goals that just barely got called back for offsides. Then, in the 80th minute, City eventually found a third goal to seal the match as Jordan Hughes chipped the keeper much to the delight of the traveling City supporters.

“We changed our formation in the second half. It really helped us out on the wings,” said Coyne about the team’s second half performance. “We made three subs and all of them came in and made a great impact.”

The final goal of the match was probably the best of the night and it came from one of those subs, Armand Bagramyan, who curled in a perfect free kick from the edge of the box to make the score 4-0 just before the ref blew the full time whistle.

SF City will travel south for a PDL double header this weekend before traveling north to play Sacramento Republic in the Second Round of the US Open Cup. This schedule will test the depth in the SF City squad early in the season.

Coach Coyne didn’t seem too concerned, saying confidently about his team: “We are deep. We have 35 on our roster, so we can call up lads to play any role in any system and they should be doing as well as the man who played the week before.”

Filed Under: 2018 US Open Cup, Feature - Main, US Open Cup Tagged With: 2018 US Open Cup, CD Aguiluchos USA, San Francisco City FC

2018 Meet the Underdogs: Goalscoring club director leads La Maquina to 3rd straight US Open Cup

May 3, 2018 by Thomas Hodul

Edwin Borboa of La Maquina celebrates a goal against the Los Angeles Galaxy during the Fourth Round of the 2016 US Open Cup. Photo: LA Galaxy

Edwin Borboa of La Maquina celebrates a goal against the Los Angeles Galaxy during the Fourth Round of the 2016 US Open Cup. Photo: LA Galaxy
Edwin Borboa of La Maquina celebrates a goal against the Los Angeles Galaxy during the Fourth Round of the 2016 US Open Cup. Photo: LA Galaxy

La Maquina of Southern California have slowly become less of an underdog, and more of a team filled with experience and expectations when it comes to the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

The 2014-15 United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) champions are making an impressive third straight appearance in the US Open Cup proper rounds, having qualified through the US Soccer Federation’s new open division qualifying tournament in every year since the format came into existence in 2015.

The club is now somewhat well known to American soccer enthusiasts after their impressive run in the 2016 tournament, when they famously went to extra time with MLS powerhouse LA Galaxy in the Fourth Round. The game winning goal that night for the Galaxy was a controversial one that left many soccer fans, who were looking for the Cinderella story, upset with the end result. The loss also left La Maquina eager for a rematch.

The 2016 US Open Cup run was something that the club can be quite proud of, despite the refereeing decision that led to what would prove to be the Galaxy’s game-winning goal. They comfortably dispatched one club from each of the top amateur leagues in the country to earn their spot in Round 4 against the Galaxy. They beat the Portland Timbers U-23s of the PDL 2-0 in the First Round. This was followed by a win over a former NPSL champion Sacramento Gold in Round 2 by the same score. La Maquina knocked off their UPSL rivals LA Wolves with another 2-0 victory in the Third Round. Former Chivas de Guadalajara and Pachuca player Edwin Borboa finished with five goals, having scored at least one in every round, to give him co-Golden Boot honors for the competition.

“Edwin Borboa came to La Maquina by chance, actually. He was brought to us by one of our players at the time, and the chemistry was instant,” said La Maquina assistant coach Jesee Magallon. “His role with the club has evolved a lot over the past few years.”

In his short time with the club, Borboa has laid the foundation for the club on a long-term basis when he was named club director last year.

“ has been running the youth club, Maquina FC, which consists of about 120 kids from Los Angeles and Orange County,” said Magallon. “The creation of this feeder program by Borboa has helped ensure the future of our club. The concept was Edwin’s idea, to have actual players who play for La Maquina teach the youth players our style and our approach to the game.”

La Maquina logoWhile they qualified for the second year in a row, the 2017 version of the Open Cup did not yield quite the same run as 2016. La Maquina lost their opening round game to the PDL’s Fresno Fuego, 4-1. This meant the dream rematch against the Galaxy would have to wait for another season.

They qualified for the 2018 tournament with an impressive 5-0 win over Bell Gardens FC of the UPSL in Round 1 of qualifying. La Maquina was once again led by their star Borboa, who came up with two more Open Cup goals to add to his resume. Beto Godinez also contributed two goals that day, while the fifth goal was scored by Jose Montes de Oca.

La Maquina advanced on a forfeit in the next round, when the Las Vegas Mobsters failed to show up for the match. Then, they earned an impressive 4-1 win over Chula Vista FC in a “Win & You’re In” match to punch their ticket to the competition. Borboa notched another goal in the victory, while Rosendo Castro led the way for La Maquina with his two-goal effort.

“That game was tough, because we had to play it with 60% of our starting lineup,” said Magallon. “We ran into early issues. To start, we were only able to have 13 players present and that made making adjustments a bit tricky.”

La Maquina has no shortage of experienced players when it comes to UPSL and Open Cup play. Other than Borboa, who has six years of Liga MX experience and two Apertura titles to his name, the team is loaded with experienced players.

The club has multiple players back to appear in the Cup for a third consecutive year. Those players include Luis Sosa, Edgar Orozco, Ricky Ramirez, David Paniagua, Rosendo Castro, Jose Castro, Thales Serra, Jorge Pineda, and Rodolfo Godinez. Two of the new faces to look out for include José Montes de Oca, another former Mexican pro who scored in qualifying play, and Joel Palomares, one of the club’s top young talents.

“I’d say our experience in the Cup is our biggest advantage. It’s great to be able to have guys that have felt the pressures of what the Open Cup really means,” said Magallon. “There are teams out there that have wonderful squads, but have never been under that kind of pressure. We have played in front of big crowds, on the road, and we feel that’s been a great learning experience. The Cup has really humbled us. There’s not much left but to wish FC Tucson and all the other participating teams good luck.”

The club, whose name pays homage to Liga MX’s Cruz Azul, is currently in fourth place of the very competitive UPSL Western Conference Pro Premier. They are currently 3-1-2 with their biggest win coming against fellow Open Cup qualifier Santa Ana Winds by the score of 3-0. It’s a budding rivalry that some have started calling the Downtown OC Derby.

Just like last year, their opening round opponent is another strong team from the PDL on the road.

“Our hopes for this year’s Open Cup is to make it further than ever before. Last year was a bit of let down,” added Magallon. “We traveled unprepared to face a team we knew nothing about and had little preparation. This time, we are much more focused and we have been craving a rematch with the Galaxy for a while now. I think it’s time we get another shot at it.”

“We will not overlook FC Tucson because we know they are going to come to play.”

Filed Under: 2018 US Open Cup, Feature - Main, Feature - Qualifying, Meet the Underdogs, US Open Cup Qualifying Tagged With: 2018 US Open Cup, La Maquina, Meet the Underdogs, UPSL

2018 US Open Cup qualifying: El Farolito crushes Cal Victory, qualifies without allowing a goal

November 20, 2017 by Thomas Hodul

The entrance sign at Matthew J. Boxer Soccer Stadium on Nov. 19, 2017. Boxer Stadium first opened back in 1953. Photo: Thomas Hodul

The entrance sign at Matthew J. Boxer Soccer Stadium on Nov. 19, 2017. Boxer Stadium first opened back in 1953. Photo: Thomas
The entrance sign at Matthew J. Boxer Soccer Stadium on Nov. 19, 2017. Boxer Stadium first opened back in 1953. Photo: Thomas Hodul

El Farolito stormed into the 2018 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup with an 8-0 win over Cal Victory of the UPSL. The San Francisco Soccer Football League (SFSFL) champions and former Open Cup champions (1993) took care of business to qualify for the Open Cup proper rounds for the second consecutive season.

The match kicked off at 11:15 a.m. local time in San Francisco at historic Boxer Stadium. The early kickoff time seemed to have Cal Victory slightly asleep at the wheel.

El Farolito began the scoring inside of six minutes when Ederson De Silva dribbled the ball uncontested to the top of the box and curled his shot passed the helpless goalkeeper to start what became a long morning of scoring.

Gustavo Ruelas would add two more for El Farolito by the 12th minute of the match. The first goal came off of a beautiful cross from the right side off of the foot of Arnold Rivas, which Ruelas poked home, and a second from the left side off of the foot of Andres Rodriguez, which Ruelas headed home.

Carlos Montes, the hat trick hero for El Farolito in their opening round qualifying match, scored in the 30th minute to make the score 4-0 to the host side. Moments later, it got worse for Cal Victory when Jefferson Nunez made a dangerous tackle from behind and picked up his 2nd yellow, putting his team down to ten men.

MORE: California wildfires not stopping Cal Victory FC in quest for 2018 US Open Cup berth

El Farolito picked up a fifth goal just before the end of the first half to extend their lead to 5-0. Marco Lubel scored this time for El Farolito to send his team into the break with a commanding lead.

The scoring continued early in the second half for El Farolito as Carlos Montes scored in both the 48th and 55th minutes to once again pick up a hat trick in the US Open qualifying rounds. El Farolito added an eighth goal to put the final stamp on a decisive victory in the 65th minute, when Ederson De Silva picked up his second goal of the match.

“I’m really happy with the group. They have showed a lot of effort since the beginning of August since we had to get this roster together,” said El Farolito head coach Santiago Lopez. “They knew the goal was to qualify no matter how. I’m not surprised the way they did it with zero goals against in three games. It’s a great feeling to qualify and I’m really proud of the group.”

El Farolito did not allow a single goal during its qualifying run, outscoring all three opponents by a combined score of 16-0. They defeated Dynamos FC, 3-0 back on Sept. 23 and Academia FC, 5-0 on Oct. 22.

Following a long league season that saw his side earn the San Francisco League title once again, Lopez said, “I need a long break. It’s been since February we have been working. These guys deserve their long break and to rest up with their families. We will get back together end of January and start the planning for next year.”

El Farolito can now look ahead to the club’s second consecutive trip to the US Open Cup which is scheduled to begin in early May of 2018.

Filed Under: 2018 US Open Cup, Feature - Qualifying, US Open Cup, US Open Cup Qualifying Tagged With: 2018 US Open Cup qualifying, Cal Victory FC, El Farolito - CD Mexico

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U.S. Open Cup History

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1995 US Open Cup Rewind series: The Modern Era begins

The 30th anniversary of the 1995 Open Cup is upon us this year, and as we did with the inaugural tournament in 1913-1914, we’re going to take you back in time and relive the 1995 US Open Cup in chronological order, as it happened.

  • Dating back to 1913, Philadelphia vs. Pittsburgh soccer rivalry returns to US Open Cup
  • How a US Open Cup classic, locker room vandalism inspired fans to create Coffee Pot Cup
  • Highs and lows of Los Angeles’ 25 all-time US Open Cup Final appearances
  • Before Lionel Messi’s 2023 US Open Cup impact, Pele changed the 1975 Final in a different way
  • A history of violence against referees in US Open Cup

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