Complete U.S. Open Cup Coverage

Bavarian SC

Meet the USASA: Class of 2009

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USASA logoDulles Sportsplex Aegean Hawks (Region I)
DC-based club has learned from their inaugural Open Cup berth in 2007

Emigrantes Das Ilhas (Region I)
“Immigrants of the Islands” making their first US Open Cup appearance

402 (Region II)
New Nebraska team has familiar names excited to play in Minnesota

Bavarian SC (Region II)
Milwaukee club making amateur-record sixth appearance in Pro Era

Atlanta FC (Region III)
The second year NPSL franchise adds first Open Cup berth to list of early success

Lynch’s FC (Region III)
Jacksonville club has plenty of changes coming, they hope one will be winning an Open Cup game

Arizona Sahuaros (Region IV)
On hiatus from the NPSL, the Sahuaros are back in the Open Cup for the third time in four years

Sonoma County Sol (Region IV)
Three-time cup participants are a family affair, on and off the field

Notable upsets in the Second Round of the US Open Cup

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UPDATED 5/18/17

2000 – Mid-Michigan Bucks (PDL) 1:0 New England Revolution (MLS)

The Mid-Michigan Bucks have always been one of the lower division troublemakers of the US Open Cup, and this match against the New England Revolution at Foxboro Stadium helped build that reputation. Goalkeeper Eric Pogue was the early hero for the Bucks, saving a Shaker Asad penalty kick in the 7th minute to keep the game scoreless. The Bucks stayed with the Revolution for 90 minutes using a high-tempo style of play and eventually sent the sparse crowd of 1,857 Revolution fans home disappointed.

Three minutes into stoppage time, midfielder Chad Schomaker scored the winner on an assist from Boniventure Maruti. The win was the first time an amateur side defeated a Major League Soccer team. The Bucks, however, remain the only amateur club to upset an MLS team without the help of extra time or penalty kicks. Their Cup run would come to an end in the next round, when the Miami Fusion of MLS came to Saginaw, Mich., they needed a penalty kick shootout to eliminate the giant killers after a 3-3 draw in regulation.

2000 – Chicago Sockers (PDL) 0:0 Kansas City Wizards (MLS) (Chicago advances, 7-6 on PKs)

The Mid-Michigan Bucks weren’t the only team slaying MLS giants in the Second Round of the 2000 Open Cup. The Kansas City Wizards were leading Major League Soccer in points at the time of the match, but that didn’t matter to the PDL’s Chicago Sockers, who were the defending champions of the fourth division league. Adam Throop of the Sockers put in a spectacular performance, keeping a clean sheet for 105 minutes despite 23 shots from the Wizards. Both teams slugged though extra time scoreless as well, and the 3,140 on hand at Forest View Park in Chicago eagerly awaited the penalty kick session to decide the game. Throop came though again, saving Uche Okafor’s penalty to give Chicago the win.

The Sockers, like the Bucks, went on to put a scare into their next MLS opponents. In the Third Round, the Sockers took on the Chicago Fire and only a Josh Wolff goal in the 22nd minute seperated the two clubs in a rare Open Cup derby match.

2006- Dallas Roma FC (USASA – Region III) 1:0 Miami FC (USL-1)

Dallas Roma FC pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the Modern Era of the US Open Cup (1995-present), defeating the USL First Division’s Miami FC 1-0 in front of their home fans in Dallas. Roma scored the lone goal of the match early in the game, when Miami midfielder Zinho was called for a handball in the penalty area. John Waters stepped to the spot and converted the penalty for the 1-0 lead.

The Roma defense, led by goalkeeper Jessie Llamas, held World Cup winners Romario and Zinho in check all night, only allowing Miami to attack from the side, instead of up the middle. Roma head coach Michael Schell did not start three of his regulars for disciplinary reasons, making the 1-0 lead that much more remarkable. When he eventually brought in the likes of Patrick Shamu and Mark Rowland, Schell said the Miami players began to get frustrated.

“They (Miami) realized these guys were better then the ones they replaced”, Schell said. It was during this time that both Michael Erush and Fabian Sandoval were sent off, leaving Miami with just nine men to finish the game. Schell was also quick to point out that the visitors did not take his team lightly, as they constantly put pressure on Roma’s defense throughout the night.

The win marked the first time a USASA club had beaten a team from the USL First Division. Roma are also only the second USASA team since 1995 to advance to the Third Round of the US Open Cup. “I don’t think I’m going to go to sleep tonight!” said an ecstatic Schell after a post-match dinner with his team.

Other Second Round upsets

1997 – San Francisco Bay Seals (D3 Pro) 1:0 Seattle Sounders (A-League)
1998 – Orlando Nighthawks (D3 Pro) 2:1 Milwaukee Rampage (A-League)
1998 – Chicago Stingers (D3 Pro) 3:2 Hershey Wildcats (A-League)
1999 – Mid Michigan Bucks (PDL) 2:1 Minnesota Thunder (A-League)
1999 – Carolina Dynamo (D3 Pro) 2:0 Orange County Zodiac (A-League)
2000 – Richmond Kickers (A-League) 3:0 Colorado Rapids (MLS)
2001 – Connecticut Wolves (MLS) 3:2 Tampa Bay Mutiny (MLS)
2001 – Charleston Battery (A-League) 4:1 Metrostars (MLS)
2001 – Seattle Sounders Select (PDL) 3:2 Dallas Burn (MLS)
2001 – Pittsburgh Riverhounds (A-League) 3:0 Colorado Rapids (MLS)
2003 – Bavarian SC (USASA) 1:0 Reading Rage (PSL)
2006 – Michigan Bucks (PDL) 2:1 Cincinnati Kings (USL-2)
2006 – Des Moines Menace (PDL) 1:0 Minnesota Thunder (USL-1)
2006 – Carolina Dynamo (PDL) 1:0 Richmond Kickers (USL-2)
2008 – Cleveland City Stars (USL-2) 2:0 Minnesota Thunder (USL-1)
2009 – Ocean City Barons (PDL) 1:0 (AET) Real Maryland Monarchs (USL-2)
2012 – Michigan Bucks (PDL) 1:0 Pittsburgh Riverhounds (USL Pro)
2012 – Cal FC (USASA) 4:0 Wilmington Hammerheads (USL Pro)
2012 – Ventura County Fusion (PDL) 3:1 (AET) Los Angeles Blues (USL Pro)
2013 – Reading United (PDL) 1:0 Harrisburg City Islanders (USL Pro)
2013 – Ocean City Nor’easters (PDL) 1:0 Pittsburgh Riverhounds (USL Pro)
2013 – Des Moines Menace (PDL) 1:0 Minnesota United FC (NASL)
2013 – FC Tucson (PDL) 2:2 (4:3 PKs) San Antonio Scorpions (NASL)
2014 – Fresno Fuego (PDL) 2:0 Orange County Blues (USL Pro)
2014 – Chattanooga FC (NPSL) 3:1 Wilmington Hammerheads (USL Pro)
2017 – Reading United AC (PDL) 3:2 New York Cosmos (NASL)
2017 – Christos FC (USASA) 1:0 Richmond Kickers (USL)
2017 – Charlotte Eagles (PDL) 3:2 Charlotte Independence (USL)
2017 – Michigan Bucks (PDL) 1:0 Indy Eleven (NASL)
2017 – Chicago FC United (PDL) 3:1 Pittsburgh Riverhounds (USL)

Things you should know about the First Round of the US Open Cup

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David Geno and the Seattle Sounders Under-23s celebrate one of the club's five goals in a 5-1 win over Doxa Italia in the First Round of the 2013 US Open Cup. Photo: Chris Coulter | SoundersPhotos.com
David Geno and the Seattle Sounders Under-23s celebrate one of the club’s five goals in a 5-1 win over Doxa Italia in the First Round of the 2013 US Open Cup. Photo: Chris Coulter | SoundersPhotos.com

A total of 40 clubs took part in the first Lamar Hunt US Open Cup (then known as the National Challenge Cup) tournament in 1913/14, a majority of whom came from the Northeast region of the country.

In 2008, the Seattle Sounders USL franchise became the first club in the Modern Era to advance to the Semifinals in consecutive seasons after beginning play in the First Round.

Since 1996, only five teams have advanced to the Semifinals after beginning play in the First Round. The Charleston Battery (2008), Carolina RailHawks (2007), San Francisco Bay Seals (1997) and the Seattle Sounders who did it twice in 2007 and 2008. San Francisco remain as the only third division club to advance to the final four (after beginning in Round 1) during that span.

Since 1995, an Open Division Local team has failed to advance past the First Round only three times (1995, 1998, 2002). Uruguay SC from Florida made the Second Round in back-to-back years (2000, 2001), and Mexico SC (Fresno, CA) joined them in 2000. Dallas Roma FC advanced in consecutive seasons in 2005 and 2006 and Bavarian SC (Milwaukee, WI) moved on to the next round in 2003 and 2007. From 2008-2010, only one USASA club survived the opening round each year (Hollywood United – 2008, Sonoma County Sol – 2009, Arizona Sahuaros – 2010). After the tournament expanded in 2012, it has become more common.

In 1999, the Wilmington Hammerheads saw two players score hat tricks in their First Round match. Ryan Walker and Luke Griffith both scored three times in Wilmington’s 8-1 rout of Los Lobos, a USASA team from Oklahoma.

The Atlanta Silverbacks (USL First Division, Div. 2 pro) embarrassed Azzurri, an Open Division Local club from North Texas, 10-0 in the First Round of the 2007 tournament. It was the biggest route in the Modern Era, topping the Chicago Stingers’ (USL D3 Pro) 8-0 win over SAC Wisla (USASA) in 1997.

2007 marked the first year that all non-MLS teams began the tournament in the First Round. It was also the first year that any Division 2 pro teams started in Round 1.

In 2013, David Geno of the Seattle Sounders U-23s (USL League Two) became the first player from an Open Division team to score four goals in one game, and just the 10th player from any division to pull off the feat. He did this in Seattle’s 5-1 home win over Doxa Italia, and he scored all four of his goals in the first half.

The First Round in 2013 marked the first time that four different players scored a hat trick in the same round. Prior to that year, no more than two players had ever done it in the same round in the Modern Era (1995-present).  David Geno of the Sounders U23s scored four against Doxa Italia (USASA), while Hakan Ilhan (Carolina Dynamo), Kwadwo Poku (Georgia Revolution) and Argjent Duka (Icon FC) each scored a trio of goals in their respective games.

The attendance record for the First Round of the US Open Cup (Modern Era) is 5,816, when the Arizona Sahuaros (D3 Pro League) hosted the San Gabriel Valley Highlanders (PDL) at Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona on June 12, 1998.

The record for highest average attendance in the First Round (Modern Era) is 1,247, but there were only four games scheduled that year (and one of them was forfeited).

The record for the biggest Second Round in the Modern Era is 2017 when there were 28 games played.

Updated after the 2019 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup

Notable upsets in the First Round of the US Open Cup

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Hollywood United coach Ian Carrington celebrates his club’s upset win over the Portland Timbers. Photo: Allison Andrews
Hollywood United coach Ian Carrington celebrates his club’s upset win over the Portland Timbers. Photo: Allison Andrews

2008 – Hollywood United (USASA) 3, Portland Timbers (USL-1) 2
The Professional Era’s greatest First Round upset came in 2008 when Hollywood United, the USASA Region IV qualifier from California, traveled to PGE Park in Portland Ore. and knocked out the Portland Timbers 3-2. Hollywood United trailed twice during the match, but each time they trailed, Matt Taylor would convert a penalty kick to tie the game back up. With the score level at 2-2, Earl Alexander scored a 90th minute goal to send United to the Second Round and left Portland fans stunned. It was only the second time in the Professional Era that a USASA team has defeated a USL First Division team, and the first time that a USASA team had upset a USL-1 team on the road.

1997 – Bridgeport Italians (USASA) 3, Rhode Island Stingrays (D3 Pro) 2
With the USASA clubs reeling from losing “their” cup to the USISL and MLS, the amateur clubs of the USASA looked forward to proving to the higher level clubs that they still belonged. On this summer day in East Providence, Rhode Island, the Bridgeport Italians proved they did belong. Their opponents, the Rhode Island Stingrays, would eventually make the playoffs of the Third Division USL Pro League, but wound up seeing an early exit for themselves from the Cup. Marek Jurkonski, Pierre Venditti and Allen Zuniga scored for Bridgeport to give them a 3-2 win over the Stingrays. The Italians went on to lose a close 1-0 game to the Long Island Rough Riders in the next round, but they fulfilled the dream of every USASA club, they beat one of the “big boys”.

Other notable First Round upsets
1996 – San Jose Oaks (USASA) 3:2 California Jaguars (USISL Select)
1997 – Bridgeport Italians (USASA) 3:2 Rhode Island Stingrays (D3 Pro)
1997 – Mid Michigan Bucks (PDL) 3:2 Wilmington Hammerheads (D3 Pro)
1997 – Central Coast Roadrunners (PDL) 4:2 Albuquerque Geckos (D3 Pro)
1999 – United German Hungarians (USASA) 2:1 New Jersey Stallions (D3 Pro)
1999 – New York Freedoms (PDL) 3:1 Cape Cod Crusaders (D3 Pro)
1999 – Mid Michigan Bucks (PDL) 3:2 Austin Lone Stars (D3 Pro)
1999 – Spokane Shadow (PDL) 3:2 (aet) Chico Rooks (D3 Pro)
2002 – Raleigh CASL Elite (PDL) 5:2 Carolina Dynamo (PSL)
2002 – Des Moines Menace (PDL) 3:1 New Jersey Stallions (PSL)
2006 – Michigan Bucks (PDL) 2:0 Pittsburgh Riverhounds (USL-2)
2007 – Ocean City Barons (PDL) 1:0 Crystal Palace Baltimore (USL-2)
2007 – Bavarian SC (USASA) 1:0 Cincinnati Kings (USL-2)
2007 – El Paso Patriots (PDL) 2:2 Miami FC (USL-1) (El Paso advance 4-3 on PKs)
2009 – Ocean City Barons (PDL) 3:0 Crystal Palace Baltimore (USL-2)

2009 Meet the USASA: Bavarian SC

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When it comes to Bavarian SC and the US Open Cup, it’s more of a case of catching up with the Milwaukee club rather than meeting the team.

Bavarian SC is making its sixth appearance in the tournament during the Professional Era, a record for amateur teams in that span. In those five previous trips, they’ve won three matches and advanced to the third round in 2003. And before that, the club advanced to the final in 1994 — the last year before professional teams joined the tournament  —  before falling to San Francisco’s Greek-Americans.

So why has Bavarian SC been such a fixture in the US Open Cup?

“I think it’s a little bit of history and a little bit of player selection, too,” said Tom Zaiss, the club’s director of soccer operations. “We’ve always had a good mix of young and old, and I think that’s what, in this tournament, separates us from most.

“You can do well with a good, young PDL team as well, but I think in those squads they always lack a little bit of experience. And I think if you’re an older ethnic team, you might struggle because you don’t have the younger legs. We have a good mix of both.”

Zaiss, who played on Bavarian’s 1994 team and coached the 2003 side, said this year’s team is one of the youngest the club has fielded. Two local players who starred at UW-Milwaukee before going on to professional careers — Kyle Zenoni and Neil Dombrowski, both 25 — have returned to the area and have been standouts in the midfield.

“Kyle brings a lot of experience,” Zaiss said of Zenoni, who played in Sweden and Bolivia and also spent a season with the Minnesota Thunder in the USL First Division. “He’s played overseas for a long time in a lot of different countries, and adding kyle has definitely been a huge addition for us.”

Zenoni had two goals as Bavarian scored three times in the second half to beat the Iowa Menace in a USASA Region II semifinal on May 23 in Milwaukee to claim the US Open Cup berth.

Dombrowski, meanwhile, played for Rochester and Portland in USL1 and is part of the “first family” of the US Open Cup — this will be the ninth straight year a member of his family has played in the tournament.

His older brother Scott is his teammate with Bavarian, while younger brother Zeke figures to be in the lineup Tuesday when the Wilmington Hammerheads play host to the Charlotte Eagles in an all-USL2 matchup in the first round.

On the other end of the spectrum is Giovanni “John” Luna. He played his first match for the Bavarian Majors, as the team is referred to internally, back in 1988 and played in the 1994 US Open Cup final with Zaiss.

“He’s the elder statesman of the group, he’s obviously in the twilight of his career,” Zaiss said. “But we still have those guys that have been around for a long time. We’ve got us guys who were with us when we beat Des Moines (Menace of the PDL) in overtime (in 2003) … so we have guys who have been there, done that and can help the young guys out.”

Bavarian SC played Sunday in the Wisconsin Adult Soccer Association Major League — they remained unbeaten and atop the league standings — but six players missed the game to attend backup goalkeeper Eric Mickschl’s wedding. “So they’re all well-rested,” Zaiss said.

Zaiss said that Mickschl will miss Tuesday’s match at the Chicago Fire PDL in Bridgeview, Ill., as will several other players — including some starters — because the 5 p.m. CT kickoff time conflicts with their work schedules. But he’s still optimistic of Bavarian’s chances.

“I think that was a little bit of gamesmanship on Chicago’s side,” Zaiss said of the early kickoff. “They probably said, ’We’ve got a bunch of college guys, 5 p.m. on a Tuesday works for us.’ But we’ve got a lot of guys who work for a living, so it’s a little bit of a challenge. We lose a couple because of the kickoff time, and some of them would have started.

“Chicago will be trying to figure out who’s playing where, so I don’t want to give too much away, but I think we have a good group. Like I said, it’s a little bit younger than we’ve had, which is never bad, because from a fitness perspective, playing (Sunday) and then turning around and playing on Tuesday is always a challenge.”

2009 First Round recap: Favorites survive first day, Barons pull off upset, Hawks just upset on day 2

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2009 U.S. Open Cup First Round
(Home team listed on right)
June 9
Orange County Blue Star 2:5 Sonoma County Sol
Carolina RailHawks 2:1 Richmond Kickers
Western Mass Pioneers 3:2 (aet) Emigrantes Das Ilhas
Wilmington Hammerheads 2:0 Charlotte Eagles
Rochester Rhinos 1:1 Pittsburgh Riverhounds
Rochester advance on penalities, 4-2
Cleveland City Stars 3:0 St. Louis Lions
Chicago Fire (PDL) 3:1 Bavarian SC
Harrisburg City Islanders 4:1 Reading Rage
Minnesota Thunder 3:2 402
Charleston Battery 2:0 Atlanta FC
Miami FC Blues 2:1 Lynch’s FC
Austin Aztex 2:0 Mississippi Brilla
El Paso Patriots 2:1 Arizona Sahuaros
Kitsap Pumas 0:3 Portland Timbers
June 10
Real Maryland Monarchs 1:0 Aegean Hawks FC
(Match stopped in 74th minute)
Crystal Palace Baltimore 0:3 Ocean City Barons
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Player of the Round: Byron Carmichael (OCB)
Some things you should know about the First Round
Notable upsets in the First Round of the Open Cup

If seeing the underdogs prevail is your thing, then you went to sleep disappointed last night.

Of the fourteen matches first round US Open Cup matches last night, only one was won by a team from the lower division, and even that wasn’t much of an upset.

The evening began with the lone “upset” of the day, as the NPSL’s Sonoma County Sol, perhaps the hottest team of the 32 set to play in the First Round, defeated the PDL’s Orange County Blue Star 5-2. Shawn Percell scored twice and Trevor Hurst, Eric Lafon, Eric Larson added the others for the Sol. The Sol are 12-0-1 in all matches played in 2009.

The most dramatic game of the night was in Rochester, as the Rhinos needed a stoppage time equalizer and penalties to overcome the USL-2 Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Trailing 1-0 for much of the game, the Rhinos forced extra time when Tai Atieno knocked in a corner kick in second half stoppage time. Atieno then missed a potential game winning penalty kick with two minutes left in overtime, but Rhinos goalkeeper Scott Vallow came up with two saves in the penalty shootout to see his club through to the Second Round.

Two matches were postponed and were moved to the following day. Ocean City and Crystal Palace Baltimore was put off early in the day when heavy overnight rains left the Barons’ home field, Cary Stadium, flooded. The Dulles Sportsplex Aegean Hawks and Real Maryland Monarchs were forced to set their game back a day when heavy thunderstorms rolled through the Rockville, Md. area.

The next day, the Ocean City Barons became the first PDL team to beat a USL professional squad in the 2009 tournament, winning a 3-0 decision over Crystal Palace Baltimore of the USL Second Division.

Byron Carmichael opened the scoring in the 7th minute, with an assist from Neal Melchionni. Carmichael struck again in the 33rd minute with an unassisted goal to gibe the Barons a 2-0 halftime lead.

With 12 minutes remaining, JT Noone left no doubt as to who the winners were with a Ryan Richter-assisted goal. The game had been postponed on Tuesday due to a flooded field from heavy overnight storms.

In Rockville, Maryland, the Dulles Sportsplex Aegean Hawks were done in by Mother Nature on Wednesday night, as their opening round game versus the Real Maryland Monarchs was halted in the 74th minute after an hour and a half lightning delay, giving the USL-2 club a 1-0 win. The only goa,l of the match game from Ryan Cordeiro in the 14th minute, with an assist from Gary Brooks. Soon after, the Hawks were reduced to 10 men when Michael Goldman was shown a red card.

Hawks manager Jonathan Knight was understandably upset that the game was called. We have been told there was a 10 pm deadline, which is when the stadium lights had to be shut off (presumably by a city ordinance), and the game was official called at 10:18 pm. The game had to be rescheduled for tonight due to severe thunderstorms on Tuesday night.

This is the second year in a row weather has played a part in Real Maryland’s First Round Open Cup game. Last year their gasme against NY Pancyprian Freedoms was moves back three days after severe storms prevented play on the original date. Maryland won the rescheduled game 3-2 in extra time.

Ocean City will host Real Maryland next Tuesday in the Second Round.

2009 First Round: New name, same opening round result as PDL Fire top Bavarian SC

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Toyota Park Practice Field – Bridgeview, Ill.
Match Reports: Chicago
3
FT
 1
Fred Braun 26’
Andre Akpan 28’
Pascal Millian 53’
SENT OFF James Maurer 63’
       64’ Kyle Zenoni (PK)

The Chicago Fire of the Premier Development League moved on to the Second Round of the US Open Cup with a 3-1 win over USASA power Bavarian SC of Milwaukee.

The Fire PDL franchise kept a streak going as they have won their opening round game in each of their three tournament appearances (2004, 2005, 2009), all of them under a different name. In 2004, they were known as the Chicago Fire Reserves and in 2005 they became the Chicago Fire Premier. They remained “Premier” until the start of the 2009 season when they dropped the extra name and were simply the Chicago Fire.

It was a convincing win for the PDL franchise with first half goals by Fred Braun and Andre Akpan, and a third by Pascal Millian in the 53rd minute. With a 3-0 lead, the Fire were also able to survive after their starting goalkeeper James Maurer was sent off in the 63rd.

Maurer took a player down in the box, and Kyle Zenoni converted the penalty kick, but Bavarian would get no closer.

Chicago will play at the Minnesota Thunder on June 16 in the Second Round. It will be a rematch from their 2005 meeting when Minnesota knocked out the Fire 2-1, denying the PDL team their first date with a Major League Soccer opponent.

LINEUPS

BAV: Matt Schmidt; Martin Castro, Sean Hughes (Dan Horst 66), Kyle Lance, Chris Lins; Billy Meier, David Peplinski (Mike Asen 84), Nathan Sabich, Donald Skalecki (Giovanni Luna 84); Donald St George, Kyle Zenoni

CHI: Jimmy Maurer; Seth Sinovic, Tim Ream, Tyler Ruthven, Barry Rice; Ryan Gracia (Jake Volmer 77), Fred Braun, Grant Campbell, Pascal Millien (Eric Gehrig 84); Chris Cutshaw (G – Ryan Schwarz 59), Andre Akpan

Shots: BAV 8, CHI 9
Fouls: BAV 8, CHI 5
Corners: BAV 7, CHI 2
Saves: Bav 3, CHI 7
Offsides: Bav 0, CHI 9 

Cautions
MIL: Sabich 31, Meier 41, Zenoni 74, Asen 88

Ejections
CHI: Maurer 59

Referees: Pawel Wydra, Nikola Aleksic, Greg Dopka

2007 Second Round: Anthony Maher, RailHawks run Bavarians out of town

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Connally Edozien celebrated his 29th birthday with a goal, then turned provider as the Carolina RailHawks of the USL First Division ousted the final USASA team in the competition, Milwaukee’s Bavarian SC.

The RailHawks dominated play throughout, limiting Bavarian to just a few scoring opportunities in a match delayed nearly an hour at the start because of lightning in the area. The amateur team stood strong until the final eight minutes of the first half, when the duo of Edozien and Anthony Maher put Carolina in charge.

Edozien raced past three Bavarian defenders and onto a through ball from Maher on the right side in the 37th minute. He got Bavarian goalkeeper Grant Fernstrum to commit and slotted a shot home to the far post for his third goal of the competition.

Eight minutes later, Edozien chested down a long ball into Maher’s path on the right doorstep. Fernstrum got both hands on Maher’s shot, but couldn’t stop it from rolling into the goal on the near post, making it 2-0 just before halftime.

The two hooked up for another goal in the 56th minute. RailHawks defender Chad Dombrowski, a Milwaukee-area native whose older brother Scott played all 90 minutes on the back line for Bavarian, found Edozien on the right side. His blast was turned away by Fernstrum, but the keeper couldn’t hold on to the rebound and Maher headed it in for a 3-0 lead.

Both teams substituted liberally from that point, and Carolina midfielder Marcio Leite finished off the scoring in the 79th minute. The Brazilian, who along with Maher plays indoor soccer with the Milwaukee Wave of the MISL, ripped an impressive 20-yard strike that got over Fernstrum and under the crossbar to seal the RailHawks’ Third Round matchup with the Chicago Fire.

Bavarian’s best chance was an 18-yard shot by Dale Weiler in the first half that Carolina keeper Chris McClellan had to tip wide.

Scoring
(CAR) Connally Edozien 37’
(CAR) Anthony Maher 45’
(CAR) Anthony Maher 56’
(CAR) Marcio Leite 79’

2007 First Round: Bavarian SC upset Cincinnati to keep Kings winless in Open Cup play

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Bavarian SC pulled off the upset of the First Round, knocking off the USL Second Division’s Cincinnati Kings 1-0 at Bavarian Soccer Park in Milwaukee, Wis. Bavarian becomes the first USASA team in the Professional Era (1995-present) to beat two professional teams in their club history. They knocked off the Reading Rage of the D3 Pro League (USL Second Division) in the Second Round of the 2003 tournament.

The Bavarians, making their first Open Cup appearance since 2004, scored the lone goal quickly. Brian Doherty crossed the ball to former USL First Division veteran Johnny Torres, who sent the ball to an onrushing Steve Sperl, who scored from 12 yards out in the 5th minute.

Cincinnati applied pressure, trying to net an equalizer, but the Bavarian defense remained solid. Just after halftime, Kings forward Mike McGinlay sent a shot over the crossbar. Cincinnati’s best shot at drawing level came in the 67th minute, when Kwame Sarkodie struck a hard shot from the left side of the penalty area that also sailed over the crossbar.

In three appearances in the US Open Cup, Cincinnati is 0-3, losing twice to USASA teams (Reggae Boyz (Indianapolis, Ind.), and another time to the PDL’s Michigan Bucks.

Bavarian SC advance to the Second Round, where they will travel to Cary, North Carolina to face the Carolina RailHawks on June 26.

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