Complete U.S. Open Cup Coverage

Birmingham Legion FC

2025 US Open Cup Round 1: Little Rock Rangers upset Birmingham Legion to earn first USOC win

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Little Rock Rangers goalkeeper Tomasz Wróblewski celebrates with fans after a 1-0 upset of the Birmingham Legion FC in the First Round of the 2025 US Open Cup. Photo: Anna Griffin Photography - @annagriffinphotography
Little Rock Rangers goalkeeper Tomasz Wróblewski celebrates with fans after a 1-0 upset of the Birmingham Legion FC in the First Round of the 2025 US Open Cup. Photo: Anna Griffin Photography – @annagriffinphotography

Little Rock Rangers SC pulled off an upset victory against Birmingham Legion FC Wednesday at Episcopal Collegiate School, winning 1-0. The lone goal came from midfielder Caoimhin McConnell in the 48th minute.

The match started slowly, with neither team breaking the opposing back line until the 27th minute, when Little Rock defender Sohma Ichikawa conceded a foul in the penalty box, sending Birmingham’s Lucca Dourado to the spot. However, goalkeeper Tomasz Wroblewski kept the ball out of the net to keep the match level.

From there, both teams traded fouls for the remainder of the half, with the Legion’s Roman Torres and the Rangers’ Daniel Burko each receiving a yellow card as the first half ended 0-0.

The second half began full of action, with McConnell breaking out in the first five minutes to pull the Rangers ahead 1-0. McConnell, a Northern Irishman and senior at William Carey University in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, credits the fans for giving the team energy. “We have the best fans in USL League Two,” McConnell said. “And it showed when we scored that goal. Even though are a few levels higher than where we play, it felt like we were level the whole game, and the fans were a big part of that.”

The Rangers, having established a lead, pulled back defensively for the remainder of the half, allowing the Legion to control possession. The Legion continued to maintain control of the ball throughout the rest of the game, taking 10 shot attempts total for the rest of the second half.

Little Rock Rangers players and their fans celebrate after a 1-0 upset of the Birmingham Legion FC in the First Round of the 2025 US Open Cup. Photo: Anna Griffin Photography - @annagriffinphotography
Little Rock Rangers players and their fans celebrate after a 1-0 upset of the Birmingham Legion FC in the First Round of the 2025 US Open Cup. Photo: Anna Griffin Photography – @annagriffinphotography

Rangers Head Coach Nicholas Doyle, who played for the Little Rock side last time the US Open Cup was held there, credited their goal to the team’s patient style of play. “We have some weapons out front,” Doyle said. “Our front four can do some real damage if the back six can hold on and give them opportunities. We knew if we defended them and pressed a little, we could hit them on the counter.”

The Rangers would finish the game with five shots on goal to Birmingham’s three, seven shots to Birmingham’s 13, and eight fouls to Birmingham’s ten to finish off the USL Championship side. The Rangers will now be paired off with one of the other 31 winners of the First Round to compete in the Second Round from April 1-2.

2024 US Open Cup Round 4: Tampa Bay Rowdies blow 4-goal lead late, win wild OT game over Birmingham Legion

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Manuel Arteaga of the Tampa Bay Rowdies celebrates after scoring a goal against the Birmingham Legion FC in the Fourth Round of the 2024 US Open Cup. Photo: Tampa Bay Rowdies
Manuel Arteaga of the Tampa Bay Rowdies celebrates after scoring a goal against the Birmingham Legion FC in the Fourth Round of the 2024 US Open Cup. Photo: Tampa Bay Rowdies

The Tampa Bay Rowdies hosted Birmingham Legion in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Round of 32, romping to a 3-0 lead in the first half before the Legion stormed back and forced extra time. The home team eventually scored a wonder goal, courtesy of Manuel Arteaga, on the way to a 6-4 win after 120 jam-packed minutes. 

The first 45 of those were very one-sided, with 10 shots for Tampa Bay and just two for Birmingham. Rowdies coach Robbie Neilson decided to use this match to rotate his squad, and the Rowdies still overwhelmed the Legion with balls over the top and intense pressing when out of possession. 

Left wingback Blake Bodily created a number of chances for the Green-and-Gold. Originally up against Dawson McCartney, the Legion right back had to switch sides following an injury to their starting left winger, Diba Nwegbo. Neither McCartney nor his replacement Mujeeb Murana were able to contain the Rowdies’ attacks, however. Bodily would have two assists in the first 45 minutes. 

While the Legion had almost as much possession as the home team, what they could achieve with it was initially lacking. Enzo Martinez and Tyler Pasher, two of Birmingham’s most lethal players, frequently had to drop deep to receive the ball and turn with it. Both moved higher up the field to apply further pressure in the second half. That would lead to an unlikely turnaround. 

After a hat trick for forward Cal Jennings, Tampa Bay took its foot off the gas, thinking 4-0 would be adequate to get the job done. This allowed Legion to creep back into things late in the game. Enzo Martinez scored in the 82nd minute, followed by second half-substitute Kobe Hernandez-Foster seven minutes later to halve the deficit.

In stoppage time, Tyler Pasher scored a double, including one from the penalty spot, to take the match to extra time. Rowdies fans could be heard booing anything and everything at the end of regulation, stunned that somehow it was actually 4-4.

In the extra 30 minutes that followed, the Rowdies had much of their usual starting XI on the field. This played out to good effect for the home team. The wings are where Tampa Bay thrives – and interplay from out wide led to a pair of goals scored by Manuel Arteaga. While the second was a good finish off a deflected shot, the first was a screamer, something in between a bicycle and a scissor kick that every striker dreams about when they go to sleep. 

All at once, a Rowdies crowd that previously was shell-shocked roared to life again. A red card deep into extra time for their hero Arteaga could not dampen the hometown fans’ spirits at the final whistle. Jennings said after the game, “we can be better; but, we survived and we’re moving on.” Manager Robbie Neilson seemed to feel the same way: “It was an entertaining game. It was a stressful game in the end; but, we managed to get over the line – and we’re now in the next round of the Cup, which was really important for us. It’s the furthest we’ve been before.”

2024 US Open Cup Round 3: Four Stefano Pinho goals carry Birmingham Legion to OT win over Chattanooga Red Wolves

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Stefano Pinho of Birmingham Legion FC celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal against the Chattanooga Red Wolves in the Third Round of the 2024 US Open Cup. Photo: Madeline Oliver
Stefano Pinho of Birmingham Legion FC celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal against the Chattanooga Red Wolves in the Third Round of the 2024 US Open Cup. Photo: Madeline Oliver

In the Third Round of the 2024 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, Birmingham Legion FC and Chattanooga Red Wolves SC had a rematch of last year’s Second Round match up, this time down at The University of Montevallo. This matchup in 2023 resulted in a 4-1 win in the Scenic City for Birmingham, but this year was tougher as the Legion equalized twice, forced extra time and ultimately won 4-2 in front of a capacity crowd.

The story of the match was a four-goal performance by Birmingham’s Stefano Pinho as he scored two equalizers in regulation and two more goals in extra time to send the Legion to the Round of 32. Pinho becomes just the 13th player in the tournament’s Modern Era (1995-present) to score four or more goals in a single game. In fact, he’s just the second during that span to score four goals after halftime.

The match started with a flurry of chances for Birmingham, with several corners and early fouls in Birmingham’s favor, but Chattanooga weathered that storm. At the 12-minute mark, the deadlock was broken by a picture-perfect set piece by the Red Wolves. Ricky Ruiz, the 2021 USL League One assists leader, put in a perfect ball into the box that was headed into the back of the net by Leo Folla.

Immediately after the resulting kickoff, Jake Rufe quickly picked up a yellow to open Legion’s book. Legion had several more chances to put a ball on target, but none to the worry of Tim Trilk, the Red Wolves keeper. That frustration really showed as in the 34th minute, Enzo Martinez picked up a yellow card on a late challenge. Outside of some small chances on each side, the first half ended up fizzling out with Red Wolves up 1-0 as they were seeking to reach the Fourth Round for the first time in club history.

The second half started with Tyler Pasher coming on for Enzo Martinez, and his impact was felt immediately with a beautiful corner finding the head of Stefano Pinho in the 48th minute to pull things level.

The match continued to gain intensity as Tabort Etaka Preston picked up a yellow card in the 57th minute. That intensity fully bubbled over as Legion goalkeeper Matt VanOekel and Red Wolves’ Ropapa Mensah had a nasty collision in the box, resulting in a Chattanooga penalty and a VanOekel yellow card, that was slotted away by Ricky Ruiz to give Chattanooga its second lead of the night in the 76th minute. Not even five minutes later, Pasher found Pinho again on a corner to draw the match back to level the score at 2-2 in the 80th minute.

The match fully went in the favor of Birmingham when Pinho was through on goal, and Gustavo Fernandes did what he had to do, and pulled him down just outside of the box, resulting in a red card for the Red Wolves in the first minute of second half stoppage time. Despite being down a man, Chattanooga managed to hold on to the draw long enough to force extra time.

In extra time, Birmingham continued to tighten the screws on Chattanooga, and at the very end of the first half of extra time, Pinho found himself on the end of yet another corner, this time provided by Kobe Hernandez-Foster in the first minute of stoppage time in the first period of extra time to give Birmingham their first lead of the night.

To start the second half of extra time, Prosper Kasim, the hero of Legion’s Open Cup run in 2023, turned provider and played a through ball to Pinho, who slotted it away for his fourth of the night, and the first open play goal of the night between the two teams. To end the night, 15-year-old Ramiz Hamouda made his first appearance for Birmingham Legion.

The match ended 4-2, but the scoreline does not reflect just how well Chattanooga played, but it is once again that Legion come out triumphant against the Red Wolves of Chattanooga to earn their way into the Fourth Round of the US Open Cup for the second year in a row.

2023 US Open Cup: Juan Agudelo of Birmingham Legion FC voted TheCup.us Lower Division Player of the Tournament

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Juan Agudelo of the Birmingham Legion FCBirmingham Legion FC’s Juan Agudelo has been voted TheCup.us Lower Division Player of the Tournament for the 2023 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

Agudelo started every game of Birmingham’s run, scoring three goals (one game-winner) and a game-winning assist to help the USL Championship side upset the club’s first MLS team and became the first Alabama club to reach the Quarterfinals.

The 30-year-old forward won the award over league rival Arturo Ordonez of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, and teammate, Prosper Kasim.

The award is voted on by TheCup.us staff, a select panel from the North American Soccer Reporters, and select backers from TheCup.us’ Patreon. If you’d like to vote in this poll, please consider a pledge of $10 or more and help us continue to cover the US Open Cup each year and to also research its long history.

Agudelo was a force throughout the tournament, opening his 2023 campaign with a brace against the Chattanooga Red Wolves (USL League One), in a 4-1 win in the Scenic City. In the following match, he went for the Chattanooga double. While Agudelo was kept off the scoresheet, he played 120 minutes in a 1-1 draw at home against Chattanooga FC (NISA). Even though his penalty kick attempt in the shootout was stopped, the Legion prevailed 4-3. Agudelo followed his performance by getting on the scoresheet against Birmingham’s biggest rival, Memphis 901 FC. He opened the scoring in a 3-0 home win to move Legion on to the Round of 16 for the first time in the club’s relatively brief history.

Agudelo then provided an assist in what many would call the biggest moment in Legion history in front of their home fans at Protective Stadium. He delivered a pass to Prosper Kasim in the 60th minute which would be the only goal Birmingham would need in a 1-0 win over Charlotte FC (MLS). Birmingham’s run would come to an end with a 1-0 loss to Inter Miami CF, but Agudelo was a handful all night for the MLS team’s backline in front of a record crowd of 18,418.

The former US international had a tournament to remember, leading his team to a cup run that will not soon be forgotten by Birmingham Legion fans.

2023 US Open Cup Round of 16: Birmingham Legion upsets 10-man Charlotte FC in front of record crowd

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Prosper Kasim of Birmingham Legion controls the ball against Charlotte FC in the Round of 16 of the 2023 US Open Cup. Photo: Birmingham Legion FC
Prosper Kasim of Birmingham Legion controls the ball against Charlotte FC in the Round of 16 of the 2023 US Open Cup. Photo: Birmingham Legion FC

On a historic night in their club’s history, Birmingham Legion FC defeated Major League Soccer club Charlotte FC to advance to the Quarterfinals of the 2023 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. A solo goal from Prosper Kasim was the difference as Birmingham became the first Alabama club to reach the Quarterfinals after 107 tournaments in the competition’s history.

Along with their first appearance in the Round of 16, Protective Stadium in downtown Birmingham hosted an announced crowd of 12,722. This was the largest crowd to witness a Legion game in the club’s relatively brief history (est. 2019).


“We’ve been here five short years and I feel like the game continues to grow and then the city continues to back us up and it was hard not to enjoy that,” said Legion head coach Tom Soehn, who won three US Open Cup titles as a player (1997 Dallas Burn, 1998, 2000 Chicago Fire) and one as a head coach (2008 D.C. United). “I think understood what the game meant. We talked a lot about what it took to come out with the results tonight and then I think they executed quite well.”

The match began with Charlotte FC controlling the majority of the possession, leaving Birmingham unable to retain any of the ball and create any chances. 15 minutes into the game Charlotte controlled 67% of the ball and looked the stronger side. It nearly paid off after Brandon Cambridge scored for Charlotte but it was ruled offside.

The first half continued to go in Charlotte’s favor as they were relentless in their chances. Birmingham were saved however by their goalkeeper, Trevor Spangenberg, who made many crucial stops to keep the score at 0-0.

The second half saw Birmingham Legion come out on the front foot with quick passes that repeatedly caught out the Charlotte players. The Legion made the visitors uncomfortable and the momentum that they had in the first half dissipated even more after Adilson Malanda was sent off after picking up a second yellow card in the 51st minute.

With Charlotte playing with ten men, Birmingham completely took the match over. Their give-and-go’s caught out the Charlotte back line, along with their quick feet and darting runs this made Charlotte sloppy in their defending.

In the 60th minute of the match, Kasim received a ball from Juan Agudelo and darted at the back line of Charlotte before cutting onto his left foot and unleashing a shot that nestled into the bottom left corner. The 12,000 plus fans erupted as a “cupset” was brewing in Birmingham.

The match continued with no response from any of the Charlotte players and Birmingham kept knocking for a second to secure their path into the next round. Charlotte failed to spring any true attacks together in order to get back into the match. With Birmingham’s strong possession and their constant attacking threat, this made it near impossible for a comeback for the away side.

In added time, Charlotte had one last opportunity from a free kick to equalize. It was headed away by Birmingham and the full time whistle was blown. The crowd erupted as it capped off a magical night in the Magic City.

 

2023 US Open Cup Round 4: Birmingham Legion beats rival Memphis 901 in USL Championship matchup

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Juan Agudelo of Birmingham Legion FC celebrates after scoring a goal against Memphis 901 FC in the 2023 US Open Cup. Photo: Birmingham Legion FC
Juan Agudelo of Birmingham Legion FC celebrates after scoring a goal against Memphis 901 FC in the 2023 US Open Cup. Photo: Birmingham Legion FC

On Wednesday, May 10, Memphis 901 FC made the trip down the I-22 to take on rival Birmingham Legion FC. There was not a lot of southern hospitality at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Ala. as the Legion defeated Memphis 3-0 to advance to the Round of 16.

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With the win, Birmingham becomes the first Alabama club to reach the Round of 16 in the 108-year history of the competition. 

This rivalry has gone through many iterations and is about as even of a match as you will find. This rivalry, dubbed Southern Harm, is anything but full of Southern Charm. There’s hatred, intensity, and a real intention to do damage to another person, and that’s before you even leave the pitch.

Coming into this match, Memphis was riding high, going seven matches unbeaten, including a thrilling win over Atlanta United in the US Open Cup. East on the I-22, the 3 Sparks were not having the same luck, losing their last two matches by a combined 7-2 scoreline.

In the first five minutes, it looked like it would be the same again. The Beale Street Boys were dictating play and had complete control of the ball, letting Legion only have one touch in the entire first five minutes. That, however, would be the only real success Memphis would have on the night.

After two chippy fouls by Akeem Ward, a former Legion man, the match seemed to completely shift in the Legion’s favor. The 3 Sparks started mounting up the pressure, and it was only a matter of time before the flood dams opened, and they opened in the 20th minute thanks to a solid short corner routine that made its way from Prosper Kasim, to Juan Agudelo, to both goal posts, and finally in the back of the net.

It was Agudelo’s third goal of the tournament, and the seventh of his career. Wednesday’s goal was scored a little less than 11 years since his first Open Cup goal which was scored as a teenager with the now-defunct Chivas USA of Major League Soccer. 

From there, Birmingham was unrelentless. In the first half, the real bright spots were Bruno Lapa (making his first return to Birmingham), Jeremy Kelly, and Laurent Kissiedou, being the only real creative options on the night for Memphis.

Just 19 minutes later, Legion had a breakaway opportunity and Tyler Pasher was staring down at goal and had a rip from outside the box. Unfortunately for Bill Hamid, the ball took a wicked deflection off of a defender, but he did well to save it. Once again unfortunately for Hamid, his save only went as far as Enzo Martinez who took a touch around a defender and fired the ball into the bottom right corner. To this point, Memphis hasn’t made Trevor Spangenberg prove his worth yet, with every single one of their shots going well over or blocked before it could even trouble the Number 18.

In the second half, it was more of the same for Legion. The third and final goal was a beautiful goal set up entirely by Juan Agudelo. His touch and dribble into space to find Kasim was masterful. Unfortunately for Agudelo, Prosper’s slight touch before completely losing his footing and the ball falling to Tyler Pasher was enough to steal away the assist. Pasher, who was an absolute menace on the wings and in the middle, gets the goal he deserves, firing it far post to give the 3 Sparks 3 goals and securing the win.

In the next round, the Legion will likely be facing their first ever MLS opponent in the US Open Cup. The draw will take place on Thursday at 2 p.m. ET. 

2023 US Open Cup Round 3: Birmingham Legion need PKs to edge Chattanooga FC

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Birmingham Legion players celebrate after scoring a goal against Chattanooga FC in the 2023 US Open Cup. Photo: Jackson O’Bryant
Birmingham Legion players celebrate after scoring a goal against Chattanooga FC in the 2023 US Open Cup. Photo: Jackson O’Bryant

Birmingham Legion took on NISA side Chattanooga FC in the Third Round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup and secured safe passage into the next round after goalkeeper Trevor Spagenberg saved an easy Leonel Alvarenga penalty which sent the Tuscaloosa crowd home happy with a 4-3 (1-1) win in kicks.

The match was played in Tuscaloosa at the University of Alabama’s soccer complex in front of a crowd of 150 people. The game started slow with both sides not looking very comfortable on the ball but the hosts found the net first.

In the 31st minute, forward Prosper Kasim took advantage of a poor clearance and punished Chattanooga with a beautiful curling effort from the outside of the box. Kasim’s shot took the goalkeeper completely by surprise and all Jean Antoine could do was admire the ball curl into his net.


The goal seemingly took the life out of a confident Chattanooga side but the held onto the game by keeping the score at 1-0 going into the half. Birmingham were comfortable throughout the entire half and were rarely ever challenged. The home side ended the first half on top and full of confidence for the next 45 minutes.

Chattanooga had other ideas however for how the second half would play out. With swift passing, controlled possession, and more attempts on goal; you would have assumed that it was an entirely different team on the pitch than the one seen in the first half.

In the 68th minute Chattanooga’s constant attacks finally paid off after winger Taylor Gray was fouled in the box after some silky touches to get past his defender. Norwegian forward Markus Naglestad stepped up to the spot and sent the keeper the opposite direction to equalize for the away side.

This goal seemed to wake up the home side as they went all out attack in order to find a winner. Chattanooga however were comfortable and confident in their ability to deter any attack formed. Chattanooga can thank their lucky stars that they had Jean Antoine between the sticks as the goalkeeper kept the ball out of the net with some spectacular saves in order to push his team to the finish line.

With the score tied at 1-1 after an eventful 90 minutes, extra time began and Birmingham were relentless with their attacking presence as they tested Chattanooga’s back line on multiple occasions. Jean Antoine kept his side from conceding yet again stopping several shots after swift attacking plays from Birmingham kept penetrating the backline of Chattanooga.

With the score still tied after an additional 30 minutes, both teams scored their first penalty all the way until the second set. Coming up big again, Jean Antoine saved back-to-back penalties from Juan Agudelo after coming off of his line for the first penalties. Chattanooga missed the following penalty which kept the penalty score at 1-1.

Every player converted until Leonel Alvarenga’s penalty to keep the shootout was saved by Spagenburg. A cruel ending to an incredible run for Chattanooga FC and a big sigh of relief for Birmingham as they escape and move onto the Fourth Round for the first time in their history.

2023 US Open Cup Round 2: Birmingham Legion beats Chattanooga Red Wolves to earn first win vs. pro team

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Birmingham Legion FC players celebrate after scoring a goal against Chattanooga Red Wolves in the 2023 US Open Cup. Photo: Birmingham Legion FC
Birmingham Legion FC players celebrate after scoring a goal against Chattanooga Red Wolves in the 2023 US Open Cup. Photo: Birmingham Legion FC

On Wednesday, April 5, Birmingham Legion FC of the USL Championship traveled to Tennessee to take on the Chattanooga Red Wolves of USL League One, at CHI Memorial Stadium in East Ridge. After the first half of the game was evenly matched, the visitors from Birmingham broke the game open in the second with three goals to beat the Red Wolves, 4-1. In the club’s third appearance in the US Open Cup, the Legion defeated a professional team for the first time to advance to Round 3 for the third year in a row.

Former US international Juan Agudelo led the way with a pair of goals for Birmingham.


In this match the two squads were trading blows equally throughout the first half, equaling two yellow cards apiece and one shot on goal apiece. That all changed when the Birmingham native Grayson Dupont took a touch up the line and put in a picture-perfect cross in for Agudelo. Agudelo slid to poke the ball between the Red Wolves keeper in the second minute of added time to give Legion a 1-0 lead going into the second half.

In the second half, Legion continued their hot streak with Collin Smith getting his first ever goal for the 3 Sparks in the 46th minute, rocketing a goal to the top left corner.

To put a damper on things, Birmingham went down to 10 men as Dupont was sent off with his second yellow due to a simulation call. For the rest of the match, Legion played down a man, but played like they had the advantage.

In the 68the minute, Birmingham were once again on the attack and Prosper Kasim put in a wonderful cross to Agudelo, who took a touch and fired a goal into the top left to secure his brace with his final touch of the night. The goal gave him six career tallies in tournament play and his first since 2019 with the New England Revolution (MLS).

This goal would not be outshined as Lombardi released a possible goal of the season contender for the Red Wolves in the 79th minute. Lombardi was standing at the top of the box on a corner, and after a deflection off of a Legion head, Lombardi took the ball on the full volley and rifled the ball into the top left, slicing away from the outstretched Birmingham keeper.


The final goal of the night came from first year professional Diba Nwegbo in the 87th minute. Nwegbo bagged his first professional goal with a beautiful knuckle ball from outside the box to beat the Red Wolves keeper. That 4-1 scoreline would be how the match ended in East Ridge, ending the Open Cup run for the 2022 League One finalists.

The win for Birmingham head coach Tom Soehn was the 10th of his coaching career. He moves into fourth place in coaching win percentage (0.714) in the Modern Era (1995-present).

2022 US Open Cup Round 3: South Georgia Tormenta earn second road shutout vs. USL Championship side

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South Georgia Tormenta 2022 US Open Cup
Players from South Georgia Tormenta celebrate during the club’s match against Birmingham Legion FC in the Third Round of the 2022 US Open Cup. Photo: South Georgia Tormenta FC

On a beautiful spring night in Birmingham, Ala., South Georgia brought the storm to the Birmingham Legion and easily dispatched the USL Championship club, 2-0.

In the first meeting between Tormenta and this Birmingham side since 2018, the Ibis continued right where they left off with another two-goal victory. While on the world may see this as a “cupset”, absolutely nobody in Tormenta is surprised.

Early on in the match, Legion FC took early control, dominating the ball and the pace of play, but Tormenta held on strong. Through the first 30 minutes, Legion were outshooting South Georgia 8-1, but shots do not always equal goals.

In the 33rd minute, Tormenta would take a 1-0 lead. And it was just their second shot of the night.

The build up was created with a ball played down the left wing in the Birmingham end of the field. Tormenta’s Kingsford Adjei cut back to his right at the corner of the 18-yard box and fired a low shot into the mixer. The ball found its way through the players in front of goal, forcing the goalkeeper to make a diving save to his left. The rebound would fall to Curtis Thorn who tucked the ball into the back of the net.

Just 13 minutes later, Jake Dengler got himself on the scoresheet just before halftime. After a corner kick, the ball fell to Dengler inside the box and he beat the keeper to score his first goal as a professional. This goal, though early in the game, felt like the dagger through the heart of the Legion’s cup run.

This was not Dengler’s first experience scoring in the US Open Cup, bagging a goal for FC Baltimore Christos (NPSL) in a 1-1 draw against West Chester United. He would eventually set up to take a shot during the penalty, where he calmly tucked it away to keep the Christos alive.

In the second half, Tormenta continued to showcase their dominance over Birmingham as they completely shut down the Legion attack while also continuing to flex their offensive muscles. Though no more goals were scored, the way Tormenta played was just an overwhelming amount of swagger.

“It is not something that I install, it’s something the entire club installs,” said Tormenta head coach Ian Cameron about his team’s confidence. “We know who we are. We don’t get ahead of ourselves. Everybody is very, very proud to put on the Tormenta badge. Sometimes we get beat, sometimes we win, but no matter what, the spirit of the group will always be there.”

For Tormenta, it was the club’s second straight road win against a USL Championship side, having defeated the Charleston Battery in the opening round.

Tormenta advance to the Fourth Round where they will play a third straight road game, this time in South Florida where they will take on Inter Miami CF (MLS) on May 10.

2022 US Open Cup Round 2: Birmingham Legion explode out of halftime, beat Southern States, 3-1

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Birmingham Legion Southern States 2022 US Open Cup
Players from Birmingham Legion FC celebrate after scoring a goal against Southern States SC in the Second Round of the 2022 US Open Cup. Photo: Birmingham Legion FC

Home away from home, the 3 Sparks of Birmingham, Ala. took on the 3 Stars of South Mississippi in Tuscaloosa, Ala. After a tight first half, the Birmingham Legion scored three goals in the first 20 minutes of the second half and prevailed by the score of 3-1.

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While the Legion (USL-Championship) were the clear favorites coming into the match based on talent alone, the Stars (NPSL) absolutely earned their way into the Second Round through pure domination of the Georgia Revolution. Even though this was a match over an hour away from home, the Legion supporters were loud and rowdy for their first US Open Cup appearance since 2019.

Early on, it was a cagey affair with neither team fully able to take control of the match. While Legion were having the better of the possession, the first half consisted of a Stars team who lived by bending, and not breaking. Stars allowed the Legion to maintain the pace of play but would pull out the occasional counterattack that would catch the 3 Sparks on their backfoot. The first half ended with the Legion winning the possession battle with nearly 70% possession, but still tied on the scoresheet.

To begin the second half, neither team made a single substitution, trusting their guys to get the result to push their team on to victory. In the 48the minute, Legion winger Prosper Kasim decided to take matters into his own hands and curled a beautiful goal in from the top of the box.

Not long after, Legion made their first substitutes of the match. First being Macky Diop for their star signing of the offseason, Juan Agudelo. The former US National Team forward would make his debut with the club as he entered with Marlon Santos who replaced the goalscorer Kasim.

In the 62nd minute, Legion’s Enzo Martinez opened space and created a goal scoring chance from thin air. Martinez laid the ball off to the “Brazilian Magician” Bruno Lapa, who placed the ball perfectly in the bottom left corner. Not even two minutes later, the Legion bagged their third of the night with a goal by Marlon Santos, assisted by Anderson Asiedu, who completely carved open the Stars midfield.

In the 73rd minute, Southern States SC Stars opened their Second Round scoring account with a goal by Mason Walsh, who was assisted by Lucas Rivera. The celebrations were short as the team looked to capitalize on their momentum, but as quickly as they came, the goal scoring flood dried up completely.

For the rest of the match, the only news was substitutions where the Legion’s Edi Horvat came on in the 79th minute, and the Stars brought on Erwin and Lai in the dying minutes of the match.

“If you look at the game in its entirety, we had the same build ups and the same opportunities, today we just finished them,” said Legion head coach Tom Soehn.

With the win, Soehn moved up in the Open Cup record books. Soehn, who is among a select group of people who have won the US Open Cup as a head coach (2008 D.C. United) and a player (1997 Dallas Burn, 1998 & 2000 Chicago Fire), improves his career coaching record in the tournament to 9-3-0. His winning percentage of .750 moves him into a tie with Scott Schweitzer for second among all head coaches in the Modern Era.

“I know I’ve won this thing a few times … it’s an awesome tournament when amateur teams get to make runs. I was in MLS when we did that, but now we hopefully get a crack at an MLS team,” said Soehn.

Birmingham will have a chance to draw a MLS team when the Round 3 draw takes place on Friday at Noon ET. The USSF announced that they have been placed in a group with defending US Open Cup champion Atlanta United (MLS), Chattanooga FC (NISA), and South Georgia Tormenta FC (USL-1).

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