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BYU Cougars

2015 US Open Cup Round 1: Harpo’s FC pitches another shutout, reaches Round 2 with PK win over BYU (video)

May 16, 2015 by Robert Wilson

BYU's South Stadium in Provo, Utah
BYU’s South Stadium in Provo, Utah

Harpo’s FC (USSSA) defeated the BYU Cougars (PDL) 4-2 from the penalty spot after 120 minutes of scoreless soccer on the BYU campus. The result continues Harpo’s dream run into the second round when they return to the Centennial state to face Switchbacks FC (USL) at Sand Creek Stadium in Colorado Springs on May 20.

Both teams enjoyed large periods of possession and accurate passing on South Field, but with few quality attempts on net. From the beginning of the match, the older, more experienced Harpo’s squad successfully maintained an organized defense. As the game continued, the college-aged BYU attackers got closer and closer to breaking down the visitors with exceptional attacks from Pedro Vasconcelos, Jacob Ence, and Dallin Cutler.

“The hardest part was the guys were exhausted,” said Harpo’s manager Johnny Freeston. “We made our subs early so we could finish off the game in regulation, but that didn’t work. It was a big gamble, but my players dug deep to give everything they had.”

Harpo’s defenders Jose Matibag, Kevin Haber, Sawyer Frank, and goalkeeper Zac Gibbens stayed organized to keep BYU off the scoreboard during relentless attacks.

According to BYU head coach Chris Watkins, “It’s disappointing to lose a game like this. We gave them a little too much early in the game because we came out unsure of ourselves. Hat’s off to them. They were playing for overtime for the last hour or so. They parked the bus.”

Watkins redirected his young players during the break.

“We came out at halftime wanting to push the ball more,” Watkins said. “As they got more tired, we pushed more. The plan was working, but we just couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net.”

In the closing seconds of regulation, a long clearance found Vasconcelos in the BYU attack with one defender to beat before firing a potential game-winner. As he cocked his leg to shoot, Matibag cut him down with a clutch, yet controversial tackle outside of the penalty area.

During the extra 30 minutes, BYU attacked in waves with occasional counterattacks from Harpo’s. Both keepers — Gibbens for Harpo’s and Jake Peterson for BYU — had their moments preserving the shutouts and forcing the game to spot kicks.

Cutler shot first for BYU, placing the ball past Gibbens to give the Cougars the lead. Justin Geibel leveled the score for Harpo’s with a clean shot to Peterson’s right. Vasconcelos took BYU’s second shot, but Gibbens made the save and gave the visitors momentum.

Ben Iiames scored the second Harpo’s shot. Matt Rider followed for BYU and sent his attempt wide left. Corey Cullen stretched the score to 3-1 for Harpo’s, yet Ethan Meyer scored to keep the Cougars in the hunt at 3-2. But Sawyer Frank tucked away his shot to seal the game and send Harpo’s to their second-round match in Colorado Springs.

For Freeston, reaching the second round was an ambitious goal that the team clarified before the tournament. Freeston’s squad is familiar with the Switchbacks roster, most notably Switchbacks veteran captain Luke Vercollone, who trained with Freeston’s Avery Brewing FC over the winter. Most of all, Harpo’s players like Gibbons, Matibag, and striker Shane Wheeler are eager to continue their Cup run and hope to gain notoriety by proving their abilities above the amateur level. The determined Harpo’s squad believes they can play at a professional level, and USL exposure is what they were hoping for in this tournament.

After the game, the easy-going group from Boulder shared cans of Avery India Pale Ale and Ellie’s Brown Ale that they hauled for the road trip. Looking ahead?

“We envision beers, ice baths, rest, and unfortunately some of us have to go to work,” Freeston said. “People will rest up and take care of themselves. We’ll train accordingly. We’ll prep like we did for this, and we’ll be ready for Wednesday and give it our best.”

Patrick Shea of the website Current of Colorado also contributed to this report, along with producing the video below.

Highlights: Harpo’s FC at BYU
Harpo’s-BYU-USOC-Highlights-5-13-15 from Patrick Shea on Vimeo.

Filed Under: 2015 US Open Cup, US Open Cup Tagged With: 2015 US Open Cup, BYU Cougars, Harpo's FC, PDL, USSSA

2011 US Open Cup qualifying (PDL West): Kitsap Pumas and Portland Timbers U23s finish dead even, successfully lobby for tiebreaking match

May 21, 2011 by Tavio Palazzolo

PDL West logoUS Open Cup qualifying for the Premier Development League is already underway for 2011 as the season began on April 30. It is arguably the most exciting portion of the event for the league as the task of qualifying can be more daunting than the professional opponents awaiting them in the tournament proper.

In the 2011 edition of the tournament, the PDL will be represented by a record nine clubs after seven consecutive years with eight representatives. With nine berths available, the league will send one from each division based on four league contests that will double as qualification matches – a format long established by the parent United Soccer Leagues.

The Western Conference has a new set of dominant teams in recent years, as the Kitsap Pumas (back-to-back Northwest representatives) and Ventura County Fusion (2009 PDL champions, 2010 Southwest representative) look to make their mark by qualifying for the US Open Cup once again in 2011. 11 other teams have other ideas, and that includes the Portland Timbers U23s, who have to be scratching their heads at last year’s results. They finished 16-0 in the regular season, and won another four straight in the playoffs to finish as PDL champion with a perfect 20-0 record, the first in history. Yet they fell short to the Pumas on account of goal differential. They will surely be looking for another shot as they look to extend their streak.

Here is the how the Western Conference is currently shaping up:

Northwest Division
Final Results – Pending Fifth Match [+]

The much anticipated meeting between the Portland Timbers U23s and Kitsap Pumas, who both finished the qualifying slate 4-0-0 a year ago with Kitsap advancing via tiebreakers, finished in a surprising scoreless draw. But both teams held serve the rest of the way, defeating each of their other opponents. The final game pitted the Timbers against the Tacoma Tide, where a potential 2-0 Timbers victory would lead to a coin flip. They did exactly that. The Pumas and Timbers are tied on points, head-to-head, goal difference (+7), and goals scored (7). The first time a lottery was conducted was back in 2006, when the Des Moines Menace and Boulder Rapids Reserve finished dead even at second place in the Central Conference at 3-1 with a +5 GD and 7 goals scored. At the time, the top two in the conference qualified, and the Michigan Bucks won first place with a 4-0 record. The Menace won the lottery, and rode that all the way to the Third Round, which ended in a 2-1 loss to the Kansas City Wizards.

But Kitsap Pumas General Manager Ben Pecora had a great idea. The teams were to meet again at Portland’s Jeld-Wen Field on Friday anyway, why not make it a tiebreaker, to settle the score on the field? The Timbers, the USL, and US Soccer all agreed to it, and they will play on Friday, June 3 with the final US Open Cup spot on the line. If the game is tied after regulation, the match for regular season purposes will count as a draw, but the Open Cup spot will be decided by a penalty shootout.

NORTHWEST DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA GF GD
Kitsap Pumas 4 3 0 1 10 10 1 7 +7
Portland Timbers U23s 4 3 0 1 10 10 0 7 +7
North Sound SeaWolves 4 0 2 2 2 2 5 2 -3
Tacoma Tide 4 0 2 2 2 5 12 5 -5
Washington Crossfire 4 0 2 2 2 2 11 2 -6

Top team qualifies for the US Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes

USL Premier Development League tiebreakers

(1) Head-to-head record based on total points in Open Cup qualifiers

(2) Total wins in Open Cup qualifying games

(3) Goal difference (+/- 3 goals maximum for each USOC qualifier)

(4) Goals scored (+/- 3 goals maximum for each USOC qualifier)

(5) Lottery conducted by the USL

All times Eastern

May 7 Washington Crossfire 0:0 North Sound SeaWolves 10:00
May 13 North Sound SeaWolves 2:2 Tacoma Tide 10:00
May 14 Washington Crossfire 0:3 Kitsap Pumas 4:00
May 15 Portland Timbers U23s 6:0 Washington Crossfire 9:00
May 21 Portland Timbers U23s 0:0 Kitsap Pumas 10:00
May 23 Tacoma Tide 2:2 Washington Crossfire 10:00
May 25 North Sound SeaWolves 0:2 Portland Timbers U23s 2:00
May 27 Kitsap Pumas 6:1 Tacoma Tide 10:00
May 29 Kitsap Pumas 1:0 North Sound SeaWolves 6:00
May 29 Tacoma Tide 0:2 Portland Timbers U23s 8:00
FIFTH MATCH TIEBREAKER
June 3 Kitsap Pumas at Portland Timbers U23s 2:00

Southwest Division
Final Results

The Fresno Fuego finished qualifying with a perfect 4-0 record after defeating the Ogden Outlaws 4-1 on May 21. They then had to wait a week for fellow unbeaten Ventura County Fusion to play its final match as the Fusion were capable of finishing level, but better on tiebreakers. On Saturday night, the holiday weekend news was cause for celebration in Los Angeles while their rivals to the north experienced disappointment. Ventura County blanked the Southern California Seahorses , 4-0, with Mark Magee scoring two goals that propelled the Fusion past Fresno in the tiebreakers, clinching the US Open Cup berth from the division. Southern California was also 3-0 in the battle of unbeatens, but had been previously eliminated due to the tiebreaker scenario with Fresno.

SOUTHWEST DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA GF GD
Ventura County Fusion 4 4 0 0 12 21 3 12 +12
Fresno Fuego 4 4 0 0 12 13 3 11 +10
Southern California Seahorses 4 3 1 0 9 5 4 5 +1
Orange County Blue Star 4 2 2 0 6 11 9 8 +1
Ogden Outlaws 4 0 3 1 1 3 9 3 -6
BYU Cougars 4 1 2 1 4 1 5 1 -4
Los Angeles Misioneros 4 0 4 0 0 1 13 1 -9
Los Angeles Blues 23 4 1 3 0 3 2 11 2 -6

Top team qualifies for the US Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes

USL Premier Development League tiebreakers

(1) Head-to-head record based on total points in Open Cup qualifiers

(2) Total wins in Open Cup qualifying games

(3) Goal difference (+/- 3 goals maximum for each USOC qualifier)

(4) Goals scored (+/- 3 goals maximum for each USOC qualifier)

(5) Lottery conducted by the USL

All times Eastern

May 1 Orange County Blue Star 4:0 Los Angeles Misioneros 8:00
May 7 Los Angeles Blues 23 0:5 Orange County Blue Star 8:00
May 7 Ventura County Fusion 6:1 Los Angeles Misioneros 8:00
May 12 BYU Cougars 0:2 Fresno Fuego 10:00
May 13 Los Angeles Blues 23 0:4 Ventura County Fusion 10:00
May 14 Los Angeles Misioneros 0:1 So. California Seahorses 7:30
May 14 Ogden Outlaws 2:4 Fresno Fuego 10:00
May 20 Fresno Fuego 3:0 BYU Cougars 10:00
May 20 Orange County Blue Star 2:7 Ventura County Fusion 10:00
May 21 Fresno Fuego 4:1 Ogden Outlaws 8:00
May 21 So. California Seahorses 2:0 Los Angeles Blues 23 10:00
May 24 Ogden Outlaws 0:0 BYU Cougars 9:30
May 25 So. California Seahorses 2:0 Orange County Blue Star 8:00
May 28 BYU Cougars 1:0 Ogden Outlaws 8:00
May 28 Los Angeles Misioneros 0:2 Los Angeles Blues 23 10:00
May 28 Ventura County Fusion 4:0 So. California Seahorses 10:00

Filed Under: US Open Cup Tagged With: 2011 PDL Qualifying, 2011 US Open Cup qualifying, 2011 USOC Qualifying, BYU Cougars, Fresno Fuego, Kitsap Pumas, Los Angeles Blues 23, Los Angeles Legends, North Sound SeaWolves, Ogden Outlaws, Orange County Blue Star, PDL, Portland Timbers U23s, Southern California Seahorses, Tacoma Tide, Ventura County Fusion, Washington Crossfire

Breakdown for 2011 USL PDL US Open Cup Qualifying: Western Conference

April 22, 2011 by Gerald Barnhart

PDL logoThe 2011 US Open Cup qualifying process for the Premier Development League begins April 30 when the Central Florida Kraze play host to Fort Lauderdale Schulz. The match marks the beginning of what is arguably the most exciting portion of the event for the league as the task of qualifying can be more daunting than the professional opponents awaiting them in the tournament proper.

In the upcoming edition of the tournament, the PDL will be represented by a record nine clubs after seven consecutive years with eight representatives. With nine berths available, the league will send one from each division based on four league contests that will double as qualification matches – a format long established by the parent United Soccer Leagues.

Here is the Western Conference portion of the four-part series of breakdowns:

Western Conference Qualifying Breakdown

The conference will be the second to kick off qualifying play across the PDL with Orange County Blue Star taking on the Los Angeles Misioneros Sunday, May 1, the day after the opening match in Florida.

Northwest Division
Kitsap Pumas, North Sound SeaWolves, Portland Timbers U23s, Tacoma Tide, Washington Crossfire

With five teams in the group, it’s a nice balanced schedule as they will each play one another in the qualifying process. The big change to the division for the year is the geographic isolation to the Pacific side of the region with all five clubs, including the expansion North Sound SeaWolves, on the Western side of the Cascade mountain range for the first time.

Paul Ogunyemi (now with FC Dallas) and the Portland Timbers U23s finished with a perfect record last year en route to winning the PDL championship, but missed out on the US Open Cup due to a tiebreaker. Photo: Portland Timbers

In a strange quirk of the scheduling Washington Crossfire will be the opening match for three of its opponents with the exception being the Tacoma Tide, who will see the Crossfire in their second outing. Washington will hit the road for the group’s opening night May 7 against the expansion SeaWolves, who will also play on closing night of the qualifying campaign as hosts of Kitsap Pumas. The other match that night, May 29, features Tacoma at Portland Timbers U23s.

The powers of the group over the past two years have been the Portland (7-1-0) and Kitsap (7-0-1). The two will meet in Kitsap May 21. It will be the first meeting of the two third-year clubs in qualifying play while Portland holds the advantage in league play over the course of two years with a 3-1-1 record, sweeping the Pumas in three games en route to their perfect championship season last year. But while Portland has the better overall results, it is Kitsap that has advanced the past two years from the group, besting Portland on tiebreakers a year ago after each finished 4-0-0.

The Tide are no slouches either with a 7-5-4 record over the past four years in qualifying, never finishing with a losing record in a single campaign. Washington’s history has not been all that horrible as well with a 3-4-1 record in two rounds through the circuit.

NORTHWEST DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA GF GD
Kitsap Pumas 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
North Sound SeaWolves 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
Portland Timbers U23s 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
Tacoma Tide 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
Washington Crossfire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0

Top team qualifies for the US Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes

USL Premier Development League tiebreakers

(1) Head-to-head record based on total points in Open Cup qualifiers

(2) Total wins in Open Cup qualifying games

(3) Goal difference (+/- 3 goals maximum for each USOC qualifier)

(4) Goals scored (+/- 3 goals maximum for each USOC qualifier)

(5) Lottery conducted by the USL

All times Eastern

May 7 Washington Crossfire at North Sound SeaWolves 10:00
May 14 Washington Crossfire at Kitsap Pumas 10:00
May 15 Portland Timbers U23s at Washington Crossfire 6:00
May 21 Portland Timbers U23s at Kitsap Pumas 10:00
May 21 North Sound SeaWolves at Tacoma Tide 10:00
May 23 Tacoma Tide at Washington Crossfire 10:00
May 25 North Sound SeaWolves at Portland Timbers U23s 2:00
May 27 Kitsap Pumas at Tacoma Tide 10:00
May 29 Kitsap Pumas at North Sound SeaWolves 6:00
May 29 Tacoma Tide at Portland Timbers U23s 8:00

Southwest Division
BYU Cougars, Fresno Fuego, Los Angeles Blues 23, Los Angeles Misioneros, Ogden Outlaws, Orange County Blue Star, Southern California Seahorses, Ventura County Fusion

A large group with eight teams, the division has been split into two sub-groups for scheduling purposes based on geography. The five teams in the greater Los Angeles metropolis are in the southern group while the BYU Cougars, Ogden Outlaws and Fresno Fuego are in the other.

The smaller group of the two will see the three clubs playing home and away series against their opposition. There is not very much qualifying history between the trio as the two clubs from Utah joined the division just two years ago. The only match among them in two qualifying campaigns is a 4-0 home victory for Fresno over Ogden last year.

Bright Dike of the Portland Timbers battles for the ball with Dan Scott of the Kitsap Pumas in the second round of the 2010 US Open Cup. The Pumas have qualified the last years, but have been eliminated by the Timbers both times. Photo: Prost Amerika

BYU has had the most success of the three with a four-year qualifying record of 8-5-3 while Fresno is an even 6-6-4 and Ogden is 3-10-3. While all three have reached the tournament, none have done so since 2007 when BYU advanced for the second consecutive time. Ogden also qualified in 2006 and Fresno’s lone appearance came in 2003.

With the other sub-group consisting of five teams in arguably the smallest geographic region of any bunching within the entire PDL qualifying process, the clubs will all face one another. Among the five are two fresh faces as the Los Angeles Legends becoming the Misioneros and the LA Blues 23, affiliated with the LA Blues USL Pro club, replacing Hollywood United Hitmen. The Misioneros

The three teams within the group with tournament experience have consecutively represented the Southwest the past three years with Ventura County Fusion finishing first last year after Orange County Blue Star in 2009 and Los Angeles Legends in 2008. With at least two wins in each of the last four years, the Legends held the best record in that span with a run of 9-5-2 while Ventura County is 8-4-4 and Orange County is 6-5-5. Blue Star has been in the tournament more than any other club in all of the division with three appearances.

Veteran club Southern California Seahorses and newcomers LA Blues 23 are the lone teams in the division who have not reached the tournament. The Seahorses know this year’s opposition well having played three of their slated opponents in qualifiers last year as well.

The Southwest Division was the only group a year ago in which every team finished with at least one victory during the qualifying process. It is one of only five groups in the course of the last four years in which that has occurred.

The division wastes no time getting started with Misioneros playing host to Orange County on the First of May. The northern cluster of teams begins the qualification process May 12 with BYU visiting Fresno. May 28 marks the close of the qualifying quest with three games. The Utah duo meet in Ogden while Blues 23 hosts the Misioneros and the Fusion hit the road to face the Seahorses.

SOUTHWEST DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA GF GD
BYU Cougars 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
Fresno Fuego 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
Los Angeles Blues 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
Los Angeles Misioneros 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
Ogden Outlaws 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
Orange County Blue Star 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
Southern California Seahorses 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
Ventura County Fusion 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0

Top team qualifies for the US Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes

USL Premier Development League tiebreakers

(1) Head-to-head record based on total points in Open Cup qualifiers

(2) Total wins in Open Cup qualifying games

(3) Goal difference (+/- 3 goals maximum for each USOC qualifier)

(4) Goals scored (+/- 3 goals maximum for each USOC qualifier)

(5) Lottery conducted by the USL

All times Eastern

May 1 Orange County Blue Star at Los Angeles Misioneros 9:00
May 7 Los Angeles Blues 23 at Orange County Blue Star 8:00
May 7 Ventura County Fusion at Los Angeles Misioneros 9:00
May 12 BYU Cougars at Fresno Fuego 10:00
May 13 Los Angeles Blues 23 at Ventura County Fusion 10:00
May 14 Los Angeles Misioneros at Southern California Seahorses 7:30
May 14 Ogden Outlaws at Fresno Fuego 10:00
May 20 Fresno Fuego at BYU Cougars 9:30
May 20 Orange County Blue Star at Ventura County Fusion 10:00
May 21 Fresno Fuego at Ogden Outlaws 8:00
May 21 Southern California Seahorses at Los Angeles Blues 23 10:00
May 24 Ogden Outlaws at BYU Cougars 9:30
May 25 Southern California Seahorses at Orange County Blue Star 8:00
May 28 BYU Cougars at Ogden Outlaws 8:00
May 28 Los Angeles Misioneros at Los Angeles Blues 23 10:00
May 28 Ventura County Fusion at Southern California Seahorses 10:00

Central Conference (Inside Look +)

Great Lakes Division: Akron Summit Assault, Chicago Fire, Cincinnati Kings, Indiana Invaders, Michigan Bucks, River City Rovers
Heartland Division: Des Moines Menace, Kansas City Brass, Real Colorado Foxes, Springfield Demize, St Louis Lions

Eastern Conference (Inside Look +)

Mid Atlantic Division: Brooklyn Knights, Central Jersey Spartans, Jersey Express, Long Island Rough Riders, New Jersey Rangers, Ocean City Nor’easters, Reading United AC, Westchester Flames
Northeast Division: MPS Portland Phoenix, Seacoast United Phantoms, Vermont Voltage, Western Mass Pioneers
South Atlantic Division: Carolina Dynamo, Fredericksburg Hotspur, Northern Virginia Royals, Real Maryland Monarchs, Virginia Beach Piranhas, West Virginia Chaos

Southern Conference (Inside Look +)

Mid South Division: Baton Rouge Capitals, Chivas El Paso Patriots, Laredo Heat, New Orleans Jesters, RGV Grandes FC, West Texas United Sockers
Southeast Division: Central Florida Kraze, FC Jaxy Destroyers, Fort Lauderdale Schulz Academy, IMG Bradenton Academics, Mississippi Brilla, Nashville Metros

Filed Under: US Open Cup Tagged With: 2011 PDL Qualifying, 2011 US Open Cup qualifying, 2011 USOC Qualifying, BYU Cougars, Fresno Fuego, Kitsap Pumas, Los Angeles Blues 23, Los Angeles Legends, North Sound SeaWolves, Ogden Outlaws, Orange County Blue Star, Portland Timbers U23s, Southern California Seahorses, Tacoma Tide, Ventura County Fusion, Washington Crossfire

2007 US Open Cup Round 1: Victory secured … barely

June 12, 2007 by John Koluder

PROVO, UT – The California Victory used goals midway through each half by midfielder Raul Palomares and forward Yuri Morales to see the USL First Division squad through to a 2-1 win over the BYU Cougars in a Lamar Hunt US Open Cup First Round affair contested at South Field on the BYU campus in Provo, Utah. BYU midfielder Daniel McKinley gave the PDL squad a glimmer of hope with a long-range header in the 89th minute, but time ran out for the home-standing Cougars – a minor feat considering the six minutes of stoppage time tacked onto the second half of the contest.

In its inaugural campaign, the Victory recorded a win in its first-ever US Open Cup match this evening and progress to a Second Round fixture against a fellow USL-1 cohort, the Minnesota Thunder, to be played in St. Paul, Minn. on June 26. Meanwhile, the Cougars bowed out in their opening contest in the competition for a second straight year.

While California would control the bulk of the opening half, the Victory took some time to settle in, midfielder Ricardo Sanchez’s dipping free kick from 24 yards out in the 9th minute marking the game’s first clear chance. The flood gates would open soon after for the professional side, but BYU ’keeper Brandon Gilliam would be up to the task, stopping another Sanchez effort in the 15 th minute and a Morelas shot from the doorstep four minutes later after the striker entered the six-yard box off a well-worked give-and-go.

California nearly opened their account twice in the 22nd minute, as forward Joshua Hansen and Morelas both had cracks at shots inside Gilliam’s goal box, but the Cougars netminder would knock away both shots at his left post to temporarily keep the Victory off the board. But the onslaught would soon pay off for California, as defender Raul Aguilar was rewarded for his run down the right flank when Morelas redirected his cross from five yards out, beating Gilliam to give the visitors the 1-0 lead.

California seemed to take their foot off the gas after the goal, but BYU did little with the possession that ensued, giving the ball away far too easily – and often with little pressure against them. One of the Cougars’ few chances in the first stanza came in the 35th minute, midfielder Steve Magleby’s defensive work in the final third resulting in a turnover, but midfielder Hugh VanWagenen’s first-time blast from distance sailed well over goal. Morelas would get a pair of chances to double the lead in the half’s waning moments, but his 45th minute effort would bounce squarely off the base of the right post, while his downward header at the left post was covered well by Gilliam in stoppage time.

Morelas would pick up where he left off after the halftime whistle, the Victory striker getting wide open for a free header off a corner kick in the 48 th minute, only to send the chance five feet over the crossbar. Later that minute it was the same on the other end for BYU forward Tyson Miller, his header from off a well-placed cross also missing well high. While he played set-up man for California for most of the evening, Hansen had a chance of his own just before the hour mark after finding himself behind the Cougars backline, but Gilliam darted off his line to cut off the angle and smothered the shot from 16 yards out.

For the rest of the match, substitutes from both sides would factor into the equation, starting with California midfielder Chuck Kim, who started the Victory’s eventual game-winning effort with a 50-yard run into the middle of the field. Kim laid off into the right side of the area for Hansen, who took two touches to draw out Gilliam before slotting across the box to a wide open Morelas, who would finally finish to push the Victory advantage to 2-0.

With California content to kill the game off, BYU seemed to find its legs – and each other – as their passing and possession both improved as the half ticked along. A frantic last quarter-hour to the match started with a sign of things to come for BYU, as substitute midfielder Zack DeFrancis pushed a wide-open header from nine yards right to Victory goalkeeper Eric Reed in the 79 th minute. Seconds later it was forward David Clark sneaking behind the defense to get off a 12-yard blast with Reed off his line, but the chance would soar over the vacated California net. Morelas had yet another chance, this one to ice the game away in the 83rd minute, but his foray into the right side of the area ended with a BYU defender deflecting his near-post effort, sending the ball into the outside netting.

It was the substitutes making more noise in the 89th minute, this time for BYU, as midfielder Steven Fellows had a pair of chances near the right post, but Reed saved the first effort and Fellows sprayed the second shot so wide left of goal that it stayed inbounds. Midfielder Justin Norton – another bench choice for BYU coach Chris Watkins – would gather at the endline and send a cross into the back side of the area, where a waiting McKinley would lunge into a textbook header from 15 yards out, sending it across the box and into the left side-netting to keep the Cougars chances alive at 2-1.

Soon after the goal, a peculiar decision from the referee resulted in six minutes of added time, causing misery for the Victory and even more hope of an equalizer for the Cougars. And California Head Coach Glenn Van Straatum would grind his teeth until the bitter end, as Hansen would again supply passes that nearly found a partner, but his low cross in the 95 th minute would go wanting through the 18-yard box, while his dangerous corner kick a minute later sailed past the left post, marking the last gasp effort for BYU.

Scoring Summary:
CAL – Raul Palomares 1 (Luis Aguilar 1) 23
CAL – Yuri Morales 1 (Joshua Hansen 1) 67
BYU – Daniel McKinley 1 (Justin Norton 1) 89

Discipline Summary:
CAL – Cameron Dunn (caution; Reckless Foul) 70

BYU Cougars Lineup (USL PDL) (4-4-2): GK-Brandon Gilliam; D-Andrew VanWagenen, D-Morgan Gilliam (Daniel McKinley 87), D-Clay Christenson (Zack DeFrancis 69), D-Richie Bindrup; M-Curt Graham, M-Hugh VanWagenen, M-Brock Trejo (Captain), M-Steve Magleby (Steven Fellows 43); F-Tyson Miller (Justin Norton 58), F-David Clark.

California Victory Lineup (USL-1) (3-5-2): GK-Eric Reed; D-Luis Aguilar, D-Christopher Shwarze (Captain), D-Cameron Dunn; M-Ricardo Sanchez, M-Kiel McClung, M-Matthew Fitzgerald (Ricky Herron 84), M-Raul Palomares (Michael Munoz 56), M-Hugo Casillas (Chuck Kim 64); F-Joshua Hansen (Dominik Jakubek 84), F-Yuri Morales.

Filed Under: US Open Cup Tagged With: 2007 First Round, Brandon Gilliam, BYU Cougars, California Victory, Daniel McKinley, Eric Reed, Raul Palomares, Yuri Morales

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U.S. Open Cup History

1995 us open cup rewind graphic

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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