Sixteen days after the Seattle Sounders were crowned Lamar Hunt US Open Cup champions for a third consecutive year, qualifying for the 2012 tournament kicked off in earnest with the Illinois State Final. In a meeting of two well-known clubs, RWB Adria became the first team to advance to a USASA regional tournament, posting a 2-0 victory over rival AAC Eagles Thursday in front of a reported crowd of 400-plus.
The Chicago duo of RWB Adria and AAC Eagles have long been powers in the region, representing USASA Region II in the US Open Cup on eight occasions during the modern professional era (1995-present). While the Eagles have been the more successful club in advancing to the US Open Cup by qualifying five times since 1995, RWB was the dominant side of the two in the Illinois championship.
Two years ago, the Eagles snapped a three-year streak of RWB winning the state crown, winning the Illinois Final, 2-0, to reach the regional tournament. AAC then blitzed Minnesota’s Fire SC, 8-3, before being edged out in the ‘Win and You’re In’ semifinal via penalties, 5-3, after a 3-3 road draw against KC Athletics.
After coming so close to reaching the 2010 tournament, the Eagles dominated in the Region II first round last year with a 7-2 win over FC Indiana that was just short of earning the first berth, setting up a Illinois showdown with RWB, who won a 6-4 overtime road thriller against Detroit United. After falling behind on an early seventh minute Boris Smoljan strike, AAC answered back via a surprise player – center back Piotr Kolasinski. He nodded home the equalizer in the 14th with Mark Golik giving the club the lead before the break. Kolasinski would convert from the spot in the 55th to double the advantage and locked up the match on a curling 19 yard free kick in the 75th minute for a hat-trick to give AAC Eagles a 4-1 victory and a spot in the 2011 US Open Cup.
This year though, the Eagles will need a second chance via an invitation to the regional tournament after falling to RWB Thursday. One of the changes that may have turned the table was the move of the standout Kolasinski, who helped lead RWB to the victory this year.
Igor Stijepic was the key figure in giving RWB the advantage in the match, collecting a throw-in on the right wing and driving up the flank before crossing the ball in to Charlie Trout for the finish in the 20th minute.
The contest livened up with a pair of penalty kicks in about a five minute span in the late stages of the match. The AAC netminder and his left back collided with an RWB attacker, sending Adria to the spot. Semir Mesanovic would convert the penalty to give RWB a two-goal command with 20 minutes remaining.
Five minutes later, a handball gave the Eagles a chance to start a rally, but Pawel Otachel’s attempt right at the keeper was stopped by Igor Dimov, smothering AAC’s hopes of a comeback.
While Illinois is the first to finish its 2012 US Open Cup qualifying, several other states are also under way. In Region I, Eastern Pennsylvania and Eastern New York started their tournaments over the weekend and the semifinal of the Wisconsin state tournament is already complete.
Scoring Summary
RWB: Charlie Trout (Igor Stijepic) 20
RWB: Semir Mesanovic (penalty) 70
Lineups
RWB – Igor Dimov; Robert Younger, Charlie Trout, Joey Carver, Piotr Kolasinski, Admir Ljeljak, Igor Stijepic, Vlad Baciu (Alex Loncar 85), Taylor Bond (Ifeanyi Okorie 45), Semir Mesanovic, Jani Galik (Boris Smoljan 60)
AAC – Not available
