Burlingame Dragons

2017 US Open Cup Round 2: Set piece goals lead San Francisco Deltas to comeback win in USOC debut

May 23, 2017 by Thomas Hodul

The Deltas scored two set piece goals to come from behind and avoid the Cupset against the PDL Burlingame Dragons. Kyle Bekker provided the two deadly free kicks from similar spots on the field that resulted in a goal in each half. The comeback victory propelled the Deltas to their first-ever Open Cup victory and into the 3rd round to face Phoenix Rising. The winner of that match will travel to take on the San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) in Round 4.

The PDL Burlingame Dragons did not make the game easy on the Deltas as they showed no fear early in the match. They forced the Deltas to defend deep in their own half and work for every 50-50 ball.

“I want to highlight the work of the Burlingame (Dragons) , because it’s always tough to play Cup games. In every country in the world, you always have surprises, and you have to play a team that has more to win than to lose,” said Deltas’ Head Coach Marc Dos Santos. “Burlingame created problems. They were a good team today.”

The first major chance the Dragons created was in the 26th minute when Matt Wiesenfarth was in on goal and forced a big save out of the Deltas’ keeper, Steward Ceus. Moments later, in the 28th minute, it was Dragons midfielder Khalid Arramdani’s turn to force another big stop out of Ceus.

The Dragons wouldn’t give up after these two big saves and kept the pressure up. They were justly rewarded for their team’s efforts and overall good play in the first half hour when in the 29th minute, Jamael Cox found the back of the net to give the Dragons the lead.

In the final 15 minutes of the 1st half, the Deltas climbed their way back into the match and eventually scored the equalizer near the end of the first half. Kyle Bekker whipped in a dangerous ball that was glanced into the back of the net by Reiner Ferreira to level the score at one heading into the break.

Marc Dos Santos told his players at the half: “Guys we got our warning.” He then went on to say in the interview that “two NASL teams got knocked out today by PDL teams. You know when you play one game, anybody could beat anybody. It’s a question of mentality.”

The Deltas came out of the 2nd half much more dominant than in the 1st half, and started to really control the game. “The 2nd half it was all us. They created problems, but a lot of it was long play and 50-50 balls that we knew we would have to be very aggressive on the second ball,” said Dos Santos.

The go ahead goal would come for the Deltas in the 63rd minute, when Bekker played another good free kick in that Jackson played back across the face of the goal to find Tommy Heinemann sliding in on the post for the go ahead goal.

“In soccer games, set plays are part of it and it’s something that we work a lot on and it’s something that with the patterns we have and the plays we have, we give a lot of importance to it. At the end of the day you have to find a way of getting results and that’s what we’ve been doing,” said the Deltas’ Coach.

The Deltas would then go on to hang tough and see out the 2-1 victory to advance to the 3rd round. “We knew it would be tough, but at the end of the day, again we find the way to win and that part of our mentality, that part of what we are building, and it’s just good to qualify”.

The Deltas

2017 US Open Cup Round 1: Burlingame Dragons oust former Open Cup champs to advance for first time

May 13, 2017 by Evan Ream

The scene from historic Boxer Stadium in San Francisco with El Farolito hosting Burlingame Dragons in the First Round of the 2017 US Open Cup. Photo: Evan Ream

In a match that featured a former US Open Cup winner pitted against a side that had yet to win a match in the competition, it was the newcomers who ended up victorious on the day.

The Burlingame Dragons FC, a third-year PDL franchise, managed their first win in three first round tries, beating El Farolito at Boxer Stadium 6-5 on penalties after the two teams drew 0-0 through 90 minutes of regulation and 30 minutes of overtime.

The circumstances of the match replicated those of many early round matches in the tournament, with several instances out of the control of both squads playing a factor.

Any side competing at this portion of the competition may be familiar with the the following aspects that impacted the match:

* The lack of field lights at Boxer Stadium forced the match to a 3 p.m. kickoff, meaning that several Dragons couldn’t attend the match due to conflicting college classes.

* Up until just days before the game, neither side was sure who winger Gabe Silveira would suit up for, as he had played for both teams in the past few months (he ended up starting for the Dragons).

* The playing surface was less-than-optimal, with a bumpy pitch also lined for lacrosse.

“Not only did we not know much about our opponent, but our boys have only been together a few times, and we had a few players play today that we haven’t even seen,” said assistant coach Albertin Montoya, who took the reins on the night from head coach Joe Cannon, who was in Hawaii. “It’s more about an attitude and a mindset in the way we approached this game.”

Still, both sides came out attacking in a back-and-forth match, until the air was taken out of it by a stoppage of play late in the first half due to a pair of head injuries.

That pause resulted in 13 minutes of stoppage time in the first half, disrupting any momentum that was previously had by either side.

And that disruption was further exacerbated by a 52nd minute red card to Luis Nieves of El Farolito for a two-footed challenge in the middle of the park.

From there El Farolito, who were making their first appearance in the tournament since winning the US Open Cup title under the name CD Mexico in 1993, packed it in to try to play for overtime and penalties. This strategy was aided by the howling winds which saw corner flags perpetually bent over at a 45-degree angle.

Burlingame nearly prevented the inevitable in the 69th minute, but Silveira’s close-range attempt throttled the crossbar in the closest attempt either team got to actually putting the ball in the back of the net.

El Farolito dodged one more bullet just after Silveira’s shot when one of their players nearly scored an own goal, but it too could only rattle the woodwork.

The match ended up going to penalty kicks with Dragons keeper Mitchell North ending up as the hero in the shootout with two saves to help the visitors advance, 6-5.

“More often than not in PKs, the team that deserves it comes out on top,” Montoya said. “That’s just how it works. I thought we deserved it.”

For their efforts, the Dragons earned a second round match Wednesday against NASL expansion side San Francisco Deltas, who had trained at Boxer Stadium earlier in the day — many Deltas players stayed to scout their opponents.

“I haven’t even thought about ,” Montoya said. “We’re very excited that we moved on, but more importantly is the team’s coming together, they’re starting to believe in themselves. Who knows what’s going to happen? As long as we’re disciplined and we play with heart and play for each other, good things can happen.”

MORE: 2017 Meet the Underdogs: San Francisco’s El Farolito returns for first time since winning 1993 US Open Cup title

Series of forfeits, teams with ineligible players overshadow 2016 US Open Cup

May 31, 2016 by Evan Ream

With dozens of amateur and professional teams battling for the United States’ true national championship, every Lamar Hunt US Open Cup creates numerous storylines.

Whether it’s the 1999 Rochester Rhinos doing the impossible of becoming the only lower division side to win the final since the introduction of MLS teams, or amateur teams Cal FC and the Michigan Bucks both upsetting MLS teams in 2012, every Cup is usually remembered for at least one or two moments.

The early part of the 2016 edition of the tournament has featured three disqualifications, the most of any competition in the Modern Era (1995-present). And those three disqualifications were just the ones that were caught in what appears to be a combination of spotty rule enforcement from the United States Soccer Federation and a lack of rule awareness by teams and players.

Section 203. Part (c) of the 2016 US Open Cup handbook is pretty clear:

“Any player who plays in any part of an Open Cup match for a team, including any match in any Open Division qualifying round, may not be included in the Open Cup roster or play for any other team in the Open Cup competition for that competition year.”

This rule is new for 2016 as the federation kicked off its inaugural open division qualifying tournament, a single-elimination competition made up of any amateur team that does not belong to the Premier Development League (PDL) or the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL). Prior to this year, players were only cup-tied if they played for a team in the Open Cup proper.

The reason for the ruling was to keep players from jumping from team to team. Occasionally players would play for one team during qualifying and if they got eliminated, sign with a team that qualified.

At publishing time, TheCup.us is aware of at least five teams who broke this rule by fielding or including on their roster cup-tied players in the first or second rounds of the tournament. However, only two of the teams were discovered in time to file a protest and have the result of the match overturned.

1. In their Second Round penalty kick upset victory over the Charleston Battery (USL), the Villages SC of the Premier Development League (PDL) started Paulo Vaz, who had previously played for Boca Raton FC in the open division qualifying tournament that took place last fall. The Battery discovered this after the game and immediately filed a successful protest which eliminated the PDL side and pushed Charleston into the next round.

“We were unaware of Paulo Vaz playing for another team in the qualifying rounds of the Cup,” said Alex Perez, a spokesperson for The Villages SC. “In all of his registration paperwork with us that we filed with the PDL, Paulo listed his last club as Floridians FC. It’s an unfortunate situation.”

Villages SC defeated Kraze United in Round 1 with that same ineligible player, which led Kraze United to file a protest after the Battery match in Round 2 was complete. The protest by Kraze United was denied due to the rule that states that “official match protests are required to be submitted by 5:00 p.m. CT the day following the match. (Section 306. Part (a) of the 2016 US Open Cup handbook.)

2. In a 3-1 First Round loss to the Sacramento Gold, the Burlingame Dragons started Gabe Silveira, who had taken part in the open division qualification tournament for San Francisco City FC.

According to the Dragons, they were told by US Soccer that Silveira was cleared to play. This was not discovered in time and no protest was filed.

3. In that same game, the Sacramento Gold included Andre Brown on their bench, who played for Davis Legacy in the qualifying tournament. While he didn’t appear in the match, just having him on the gameday roster is a potential violation. The USASA has disqualified teams for such a violation during qualifying, however, there is no precedent in the US Open Cup proper in the Modern Era.

4. CD Aguiluchos USA fielded ineligible players in both their first and second round matches. In their 3-0 Round 1 win over San Francisco City, substitute Ahmad Hatifie was cup-tied to Ballistic IFX. CDA also subbed on a cup-tied player in Arthur Bahr in their 5-0 loss to Sacramento Republic FC. Bahr played for San Francisco City in qualifying.

San Francisco, like Kraze United, submitted a protest, but it was also denied since it was filed long after the deadline.

5. Perhaps the most notable protest involved the Ventura County Fusion’s use of Gabe Gonzalez, who had played for Cal FC in qualification, in a 2-1 First Round victory over the LA Wolves FC.

According to the Fusion, the club was aware of Gonzalez’s participation in the qualifying rounds, but were told specifically by USSF that Gonzalez was cleared to play for the Fusion. How did the Wolves know he was ineligible? Because he played against them in qualifying for Cal FC. The Wolves edged Cal FC 2-1 to clinch their first-ever Open Cup berth.

The Wolves protested the decision and the Fusion were disqualified from the tournament.

“Rules are in place for a reason and they must be followed by all teams,” said Skwara. “The new rules for 2016 may not be perfect, but all teams still have to follow the rules or risk the repercussions.”

Ventura County then filed an appeal on the decision, which was denied by the USSF and the Wolves advanced to Round 2 to face the Orange County Blues of the USL.

According to Fusion media coordinator Polo Ascencio, the Fusion were never given a reason for the denial.

“The reply was a very simple, ‘your appeal was not successful,’ Ascencio told TheCup.us. “They just said, ‘no.’”

The federation has yet to confirm why the appeal was denied or if informing teams of the specifics of the decision are a common practice.

Ascencio said decisions like these only hurt the credibility of the tournament and the amateur teams participating in it.

“It needs to change,” Ascencio said of the roster rules. “The teams, the amateur teams, and you guys know this, in the lower levels, they take this very, very seriously for many reasons … it gives you exposure. it’s given us exposure that we didn’t want, not this way. It gives you exposure. It gives your players a chance to play against higher competition as you move on and on and on.”

With the forfeit, the Fusion’s Modern Era record streak of six consecutive First Round victories came to an end.

“We have really good, young talent looking forward for a chance and to have the chance taken away by a system that is broken,” Ascencio said. “But at the end, we did nothing wrong. We asked our players, the players that came forward didn’t play, we thought we were good. But obviously we were not good.

“We asked US Soccer for a list before the tournament started … of players who have played . Give us rosters of the teams that have played so we know,” he added. “To this day, it’s been already a couple of weeks since the started the first round, we don’t have any of those lists.

Ascencio believes the federation must have too much on its plate.

“Either they’re too busy doing something, MLS or Copa America-related, or the US Open Cup doesn’t really matter until you get the big teams in the Cup,” Ascencio said. “It’s a chance for our players to succeed, to put a spotlight on them. It’s a chance for our teams to bring our fans an experience that they might not get with our local, amateur team.

For the Fusion, Ascencio says its a missed opportunity for the team and the players.

“And obviously there’s money involved there,” he concluded. “The more you advance, the more money you can make. For some of these amateur teams … $15,000 could be a lot of money. It could be a couple year’s worth of attendance. It hurts for all the reasons, but at the end of the day it hurts because we won, but at the end, somebody said, ‘no you guys didn’t because you used a player that we said was okay to play. But, guess what, he’s not okay to play.”

Ascencio said that the Fusion plan to participate in future tournaments due to the opportunity it provides but maintains that the kinks need to be worked out.

“There has to be , there has to be,” Ascencio said. “Because if they’re not gonna change it, then things like this are going to keep happening and the teams that are going to be affected are going to be the amateur teams, not the professional teams. This is a cup that is made so that the amateur teams can flex their muscles or go on to face top competition. To have something like this happen, not only to us, but a few other teams around the nation…I feel bad for all those teams,”

None of the other teams involved in the situation that TheCup.us reached out to chose to comment on the record. The US Soccer Federation did not respond to a request for comment.

TheCup.us senior editor Josh Hakala also contributed to this report

2016 US Open Cup Round 1: Sacramento Gold rally to beat Burlingame Dragons in NPSL vs. PDL battle

May 12, 2016 by Evan Ream

Players from the Sacramento Gold and Burlingame Dragons battle for the ball in a 2016 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup match. Photo: Sacramento Gold

SACRAMENTO – Feats of awe-inspiring skill may be rarer in lower division soccer, but they still exist on a regular basis – Sacramento Gold forward Manolo Pina is living proof of this.

Tied with visiting Burlingame Dragons FC in the second half, Pina produced two immaculate bits of skill to propel the Gold to a 3-1 comeback victory, the first Open Cup victory in Sacramento’s six-year history.

“It’s exciting,” said head coach Ruben Mora Jr. “We knew we had the players here five years ago. We just had to find our momentum and combination of guys and get the right match-up. Today it happened to be that way, so we’re excited.

“I don’t think many gave us an opportunity to win today, but we did.

In the 58th minute, just three minutes after Gold forward Jose “Cuco” Martinez leveled the game with a header, Pina received a pass near the top of the box with his back to the goal.

The diminutive attacker quickly turned, leaving his opposite number scrambling on the turf, and blasted an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net for the winning goal of the match.

Pina then helped ice the game in stoppage time, taking the ball down the line as he appeared to head for the corner to stall. Instead though, the creative forward drew two defenders and then crossed the ball to a wide open Chimdum Mez, who tapped the ball in to seal the victory.

“I know if we took them down the line, we would get them,” Pina said. “Fortunately I got by them, did a cross, and Chimdum beautifully just tapped it in. It was a good goal. We worked for it, got it, off to the next round.”

“He’s been scoring goals and tallying up assists from day one when he arrived in 2010,” Mora Jr. said. “He’s put on a few more pounds and a few more years, but he’s still putting up the goals and assists. He’s a special player for sure.”

The Dragons originally took the lead in first half stoppage time when forward Jamael Cox curled in a 20-yard free kick goal that beat Gold goalkeeper John Connolly.

But it was because of Connolly that it was only 1-0 at that point in the game as Burlingame came out of the gate flying and probably could have scored three or four in the first half if it weren’t for Connolly.

The young netminder, serving as captain on the night, produced five saves in the first half and seven overall to keep the Dragons at bay.

“He was instrumental, he kept us alive,” Mora Jr. said of Connolly. “Without him, we wouldn’t have had a chance to be in the position that we were, where we just needed to come to life. And we did. We had the right players respond. It was a team effort, but it all started with John Connolly keeping us in the game.”

Leading up to the game, much of the talk around the tournament had been how the Premier Development League was allegedly a stronger league than the National Premier Soccer League.

While both are de facto fourth division sides due to the fact that the United States Soccer Federation only sanctions the top three divisions in the country, the Gold had something to say about the perceived inferiority.

“I think we’re building a name for ourselves and credibility for league as well,” Mora Jr. said. “I don’t think the staff for the Burlingame team really gave our league much credit and took us a little lighter than they should have.”

Sacramento now moves on to travel to Southern California next Wednesday for a match-up against USASA side La Maquina, who defeated the Portland Timbers U-23’s 2-0.

“I believe we can win the next round and make it to the third round, I think. It would be great for us,” Mora Jr. said. “We definitely believe in ourselves and we can make it at least to the third round.”

“We can get pretty far if we step up our game,” Pina said. “The first half was awful. (We) stepped it up in the second half.

“We play like that every game, we can get as far as we want.”

Evan Ream covers Sacramento Republic FC and soccer in Northern California for the Davis Enterprise. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @EvanReam.

2015 US Open Cup Round 1: Subs steal show as Sonoma County Sol edge Burlingame Dragons in OT

May 14, 2015 by Tim Jaxon

In a hard fought battle, the Sonoma County Sol defeated the Burlingame Dragons FC 2-1 in the First Round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup in Santa Rosa, Calif. on Wednesday night. Angel Acevedo netted the game winner in extra time to push the home team onto a second round match-up next week against Sacramento Republic FC.

Both teams had chances throughout the match. While the Sol maintained a possession advantage during the first half, the Dragons looked dangerous on the counterattack with their speedy forwards Gabriel Silviero and Fredy Razo seeing a number of shots on goal.

The game appeared to be heading to extra time scoreless when substitute Alfonso Verde received a deep cross and put his header on frame past goalkeeper Arturo Ornelas to take the lead for the visitors in the 77th minute. A flurry of attacks by the Sol finally pierced the Burlingame defenses just before full time as midfielder Alfonso Salazar grabbed a pass from Taylor Varnadore and pushed a half volley beyond the hands of Dragons goalkeeper Josh Cohen. Cohen had been stellar all night up until letting in the vital goal.

Acevedo put the Sol up 2-1 with a mazy dribble through the center of the Burlingame defense in the 97th minute.

“Honestly, I just got the ball and had a bad first touch.”, Acevedo said about his game winner. “Once I got it back under control I just hit it with everything I had.”

Burlingame spent the rest of extra time vying for an equalizing goal, aided by an injury to Brenton Frame in the 100th minute. The substitute went down along the touchline with a twisted ankle and the Sol played the last 20 minutes with 10 men. The Dragons had a number of shots that came close including a strong ball by Armando Garcia that bounced solidly off the woodwork, but the Sol held on to pick up their first tournament win since 2009.