Complete U.S. Open Cup Coverage

Doxa Italia FC

Cal FC returns as USASA Region IV tourney features six California teams (Updates)

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Results/Updated Standings below (4/21/13 – 11:45 p.m. ET)

Check for updates on Twitter @USOpenCup and the hashtag #USOC100

For the second year in a row, the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) Region IV Open Cup qualifying tournament will be an all-California affair. Six teams — four from California South, two from California North — will battle for two spots in the 100th edition of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup in Ontario, Calif. the weekend of April 19-21.

The headliners of this year’s competition are the two teams that qualified for the Open Cup last year, PSA Elite and one of 2012’s biggest Cinderella stories, Cal FC. Both teams will attempt to become the first California team to qualify in back-to-back seasons since the Fresno-based Mexico SC made the tournament in 2001 and 2002. Also returning are The Internationalists, and 2011 qualifiers Doxa Italia and DV8 Defenders. The lone newcomer in the competition is San Francisco City FC.

The question entering this year’s qualifying tournament is what can Cal FC do for an encore? Last year, the Southern California-based club swept through Region IV qualifying and qualified for the US Open Cup in their first-ever attempt. They began their inaugural cup run with a 3-1 win over the Kitsap Pumas (PDL), but got the nation’s attention when they traveled across the country to thrash the Wilmington Hammerheads (USL Pro) 5-0. The following round, they shocked the world by not only becoming the first USASA team to score a goal against a Major League Soccer team, but they became the first to defeat one, eliminating the Portland Timbers 1-0 in extra time in front of a stunned crowd at Jeld-Wen Field. The little-known club, led by their manager, former US international Eric Wynalda, found themselves trending worldwide on Twitter that night and on to the Fourth Round. Their run would end there with a 5-0 loss to the Seattle Sounders.

The PSA Elite qualified last year in their first attempt, and this year they will try to go two-for-two. Just like Cal FC, they also won their first Open Cup game against a strong PDL team by the score of 3-1. PSA eliminated the Portland Timbers U23s and just like Cal FC, they had to travel across the country to play a team from North Carolina in Round 2. The NASL’s Carolina RailHawks ended their run, however, by the score of 7-0.

Doxa Italia will make their fourth straight appearance in the Region IV tournament and will attempt to qualify again as they did in 2011. That same year, DV8 Defenders from Redwood City in the Bay Area qualified for the Open Cup in their first attempt. Both teams were one-and-done against PDL teams on the road with the Defenders falling 5-0 at Colorado Foxes and Doxa losing to the Ventura County Fusion 3-1.

The Internationalists failed to qualify in their first attempt last year, losing both of their games by a combined score of 15-0. They lost 8-0 to Doxa Italia and 7-0 to Cal FC. The Region IV tournament, because it uses goal difference and goals scored as tiebreakers, often sees high-scoring matches. Many Open Cup berths in recent years have come down to tiebreakers so teams rarely take any chances. The Internationalists will hope to be more competitive in the second year in the competition.

2013 US Open Cup qualifying: USASA Region IV Finals (April 19-21)
Ontario, California – All Times Eastern

Group A PTS W L D GD
Doxa Italia (CA – South) 6 2 1 0 +5
Cal FC (CA – South) 6 2 0 0 +12
San Fran. City (CA – North) 3 1 1 0 -13

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Group B PTS W L D GD
PSA Elite (CA – South) 9 3 0 0 +19
DV8 Defenders (CA – North) 3 1 2 0 -4
Internationalists (CA – South) 0 0 3 0 -18

April 19
Doxa Italia 0:3 PSA Elite
The Internationalists 2:8 DV8 Defenders
Cal FC 12:3 San Francisco City FC

April 20
Doxa Italia 7:0 San Francisco City FC
Cal FC 4:1 DV8 Defenders
PSA Elite 10:1 The Internationalists

Doxa Italia 2:1 Cal FC
PSA Elite 9:2 DV8 Defenders
San Francisco City FC 4:1 The Internationalists

April 21 (Championship)
PSA Elite (Group B winner) 4:1 Doxa Italia (Group A winner)
Both group winners qualify for the 2013 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup
Region IV champion advances to USASA National Cup Finals

2012 US Open Cup qualifying: Seven California teams, ‘New Mexico’ rep to battle in USASA Region IV tourney

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A California-dominated group of eight teams will battle for two spots in the 2012 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup in this year’s USASA Region IV tournament. Seven of the eight teams hail from California with the eighth coming all the way from El Paso, Texas, and representing the state of New Mexico (we’ll explain later). The tournament begins with two groups of four playing a round robin with each group winner advancing to the First Round of the US Open Cup, which is scheduled to begin May 15.

The Region IV tournament will take place May 4-6 in Ontario, Calif., a week past the Open Cup qualifying deadline, but Mike Maloney, the region’s cup commissioner received permission from the United States Soccer Federation. Maloney cited scheduling challenges with the teams involved because of the federation’s decision to move the start date for the Open Cup from the first week of June to May 15.

Six of the eight teams are entering the tournament for the first time, with last year’s two Open Cup qualifiers returning. DV8 Defenders, a first-time entry last year and Doxa Italia, who will be competing for their fourth year in a row will look to qualify for the second straight year. Only three clubs have ever qualified in back-to-back years out of Region IV: Arizona Sahuaros (2008-11), Mexico SC (1999-2002), Sonoma County Sol (2005-06).

The teams that advance to the Open Cup will play away from home in the opening round, as was determined by the recent unveiling of the Round 1 matchups.  One group winner will play at Jeld-Wen Field against the Portland Timbers U23s, while the other will play in Bremerton, Wash. against the Kitsap Pumas who are playing in a record fourth straight Open Cup. Who will play where will likely be determined by geography.

Here are the teams that will be competing, followed by the schedule:

Cal Football Club (California South)

Being a USASA team in the greater Los Angeles area is nothing new. Having Eric Wynalda as your head coach and technical director changes things, however. It means that when your local league team holds a tryout, the level of quality talent living in the area that comes out is unlike any other city. “This team is mainly formed from players in this local area –Thousand Oaks – that went to college and came back,” said team manager and president Michael Friedman. “Then we held a tryout recently and the players that came out surprised us. The talent is really high. Eric put all of his resources to work to put this together.” Players like Danny Barrera and Mike Randolph are among a group that have recently played or trained with MLS clubs that could be in the mix for the regional tournament along with a few players from Mercialagos, a lower division Mexican club. Though the squad is undergoing a makeover that is an ongoing process, with talent coming in via the exceptional sources of Wynalda, this one-year old club could very well be making headlines in June.

Doxa Italia (California South)

This Orange County-based club is the most experienced team in the field, in terms of participation in the USASA Region IV tournament. This is the fourth year in a row that Doxa Italia has entered, and are looking to replicate last year’s performance where they qualified for the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup for the first time under the name “Doxa Italia.” They fell short in their Open Cup debut, losing 3-1 to the Ventura County Fusion of the PDL in the First Round. They formed in 1997, and later merged with the club Hollywood United in 2008. The two clubs, under the name Hollywood United, qualified for the Open Cup and combined for an historic First Round upset, eliminating the Portland Timbers (USL First Division – 2nd Division), 3-2. The merger was short-lived as Hollywood United pulled out to join the PDL, leaving the players and coaches to fend for themselves. Player/manager Derek Droze took a leadership position with the club and they pressed on under the name Doxa Italia.

This year, Doxa is competing in the Coast Soccer League, as well as the Los Angeles-based Angels Confrontational League. They are currently in first place in the CSL with two league games to play. One of those games is on April 22 against second place PSA Elite, a fellow Region IV entry. They finished runner-up in the ACL, losing the final game in overtime, 2-1.
[+] MORE: “2011 Meet the USASA: Doxa Italia”

OC Crew (California South)

OC Crew is another Orange County team that competes in the United Premier Soccer League. Last year, they played an exhibition schedule in the UPSL and finished undefeated, and early on in league play this year, they remain undefeated. Owner Robert Rake is very confident of his team’s chances, saying many of his players are ready to play at the next level and would match up very well against Major League Soccer opposition. First things first, they have to win their group which includes 2011 qualifier DV8 Defenders.

PSA Elite (California South)

PSA Elite plays in the Premier Division of the Coast Soccer League, based in Orange and eastern Los Angeles counties. PSA, based in Irvine, are league rivals with fellow qualifier Doxa Italia, and are looking to qualify for the Open Cup for the first time, much like the retooled Doxa did last year. Elite has proven to live up to their name in league play, capturing the championship three times since the 2006-07 season (2006-07, 2007-08, 2010-11), and finishing second to Italia in 2008-09 and 2009-10.

The Internationalists (Los Angeles Metro League)

The Internationalists, founded in 1992 as Arroyo ’92, play in the Los Angeles Metro League, after their former league (the Arcadia International Soccer League) folded in 2009. They had an excellent run through the Arcadia league in their 17 years, then won the LA Metro League’s Super Metro (top flight) division in their second year in the circuit. One of the key players on the team is former Galaxy player Ryan Shaw, and many players have played internationally or in the PDL. This will be their first time entering in the Open Cup qualifiers.

Pittsburg Galaxy FC (American National Soccer League)

The Galaxy were founded in 2006 and are based in Pittsburg, Calif., located just northeast of Oakland. They are the lone representative from the American National Soccer League (ANSL). They feature a strong attack with El Salvadorian striker Jorge Ruiz and former MLS player Julian Nash. Ruiz led the ANSL in scoring last year, and Nash, an Oakland native, played for the San Jose Earthquakes and Houston Dynamo from 2005-07. Nash’s claim to Open Cup fame was in 2004 when he finished as the tournament’s top scorer as a member of the PDL’s Chicago Fire Reserves. He remains the only amateur player in the Modern Pro Era (1995-present) to win the scoring title outright.

EP Elite (New Mexico)

The El Paso Elite seems like a strange team name for a club representing the state of New Mexico, but it’s true. The El Paso, Texas-based club was given permission to compete in Region IV (Texas is Region III) due to the fact that El Paso is located so far away from the rest of the teams in their state. El Paso is located right next to the border of Texas and New Mexico, and they often compete in New Mexico-based competitions, so permission was given.

DV8 Defenders (California North)

The tournament’s other representative from Northern California, the Defenders are aiming to qualify for the US Open Cup like they did last year in their first attempt. Their run was short-lived, losing a road game at the PDL’s Real Colorado Foxes, 5-0, in the First Round. The team was founded in 1999 and competes in the Peninsula Soccer League, which is mostly made up of college-aged players. [+] MORE: 2011 Meet the USASA: DV8 Defenders

2012 USASA Region IV Open Cup tournament
May 4-6 – 2400 E. Philadelphia Street – Ontario, CA

Group A (Eastern Time listed)
May 4: EP Elite vs. The Internationalists – 4 p.m.
May 4: Doxa Italia vs. Cal FC – 4 p.m.
May 5: The Internationalists vs. Doxa Italia – 11 a.m.
May 5: Cal FC vs. EP Elite – 11 a.m.
May 5: EP Elite vs. Doxa Italia – 6 p.m.
May 5: The Internationalists vs. Cal FC – 6 p.m.
Winner of Group A qualifies for the 2012 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup

Group B (Eastern Time listed)
May 4: OC Crew vs. Pittsburg Galaxy FC – 6 p.m.
May 4: PSA Elite vs. DV8 Defenders – 6 p.m.
May 5: Pittsburg Galaxy FC vs. PSA Elite – 1 p.m.
May 5: DV8 Defenders vs. OC Crew – 1 p.m.
May 5: OC Crew vs. PSA Elite – 8 p.m.
May 5: Pittsburg Galaxy FC vs. DV8 Defenders – 8 p.m.
Winner of Group B qualifies for the 2012 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup

Championship Game (Eastern Time listed)
May 6: Group A winner vs. Group B winner – 12 p.m.
Winner represents Region IV at the USASA National Finals

2011 US Open Cup Los Angeles Galaxy bracket preview: Los Angeles Blues at Ventura County Fusion

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SECOND ROUND

Los Angeles Blues at Ventura County Fusion
Ventura College – Ventura, Calif. – 10:05 p.m.
Broadcast: USLLive.com

THIRD ROUND

Los Angeles Blues / Ventura County Fusion at Los Angeles Galaxy
June 28, 10:30 p.m. ET  Titan Stadium (CSUF); Fullerton, Calif.

Los Angeles Blues

Founded in 2010 by the ownership of the successful Pali Blues W-League team, the side is in its debut season in USL Pro.

Path to Open Cup: Automatic entrant from USL Pro.

First Round: LA Blues (USL Pro) 3:1 Hollywood United (NPSL)
Despite playing a man down since Leo Griffin was sent off in the 19th minute, LA’s Mehrshad Momeni scored once in each half to give the Blues a two-goal lead in the First Round. Hollywood would answer but after both sides saw a red card late each Gerardo Bravo sealed it for the Blues. Recap [+]

League form: LA had the week off from USL Pro league play since last Tuesday and are 5-2-2 in the USL Pro National Division.

Open Cup History: First appearance in the tournament.

Local History: Since teams from Los Angeles began participating in the Open Cup in 1954, LA-area clubs have reached 24 Open Cup Finals, winning 10 of those games.

Ventura County Fusion

Founded in 2007, the club has been a dominant force the past two seasons in the PDL, winning the league championship in 2009 and finishing first in the division last year. The club has been similarly successful off the field as one of the league leaders in attendance.

Path to Open Cup: The Fusion burst the bubble of Fresno, who also finished with a perfect record a week earlier than Ventura County, who surpassed them on goal differential for the Open Cup berth with the extremely rare absolutely perfect finish with maxed out goal differential and goals scored tallies. The dominance started with a 6-1 win against the LA Legends with Daniel Barrera setting up the first three before notching one of his own. The second match was a 4-0 shutout at home against the Blues 23s in which David Walker had a goal and two assists. In the second home match they topped Orange County 7-2 with Mark Magee scoring twice. They rounded it out with another 4-0 win, blanking host Southern California with another double from Magee that put the Fusion past Fresno in the tiebreaker.

First Round: Ventura County Fusion (PDL) 3:1 Doxa Italia (USASA)
On a foggy night the Fusion got off to a slow start, allowing a goal on a fluke play just five minutes in. They reversed the course however with goals from Andy Rose (penalty) and Mark Magee before halftime and ensured the win with a third from Reed Williams in the second half. Recap [+]

League form: The Fusion returned to PDL action quickly with a 1-0 win Thursday versus visiting Ogden on second half Daniel Barrera goal. The team is 6-0-4 in the PDL Southwest Division.

Open Cup History: The club is returning for its second appearance after a surprise First Round elimination a year ago via penalties after playing to a 1-1 draw against the USASA’s Arizona Sahuaros.
PRO ERA RECORD: 0-0-1 (0-1 in PKs) overall | 0-0-1 (0-1 in PKs) vs. 3rd Division

Los Angeles Galaxy

How They Qualified: Automatic entrant from top six MLS finish in 2010.

This Month in MLS: The Galaxy played their third match of the month in Colorado Saturday, posting a 3-1 victory with Juninho doubling the advantage after an own goal and Chad Barrett securing the victory late. They now travel to San Jose June 25 before playing in the Third Round. They opened the month with the first of two draws, finishing in a scoreless stalemate against DC United June 3 with Josh Saunders in goal. On June 11 they hosted Toronto in a 2-2 draw with two go-ahead goals from Chris Birchall and Juan Pablo Angel.
Last Five: W-D-D-W-W | Season Record: 9-2-7 (4-0-4 Home), First in Western Conference, First Overall.

Open Cup History: The Galaxy have had a considerable amount of success in the Open Cup, winning two championships in 2001 and 2005, as well as finishing as runners-up in 2002 and 2006. Since falling short to the Chicago Fire in the 2006 Final, the Galaxy were upset by the Richmond Kickers (3rd Division) and then failed to qualify the next two years. In 2010, they returned to the tournament where they beat AC St. Louis of the NASL (2nd Division) before losing to eventual champion Seattle Sounders FC in the quarterfinals.
PRO ERA RECORD: 21-8-1 (1-0 in PKs) overall | 11-2-0 vs. Non-MLS teams

First Round

Hollywood United (NPSL) 1:3 Los Angeles Blues (USL PRO)
Riverside Community College – Riverside, Calif. – 8 p.m.
Recap [+]

Doxa Italia (USASA-So. CA) 1:3 Ventura County Fusion (PDL)
Ventura College – Ventura, Calif. – 10:05 p.m.
Recap [+]

ELIMINATED TEAMS

Hollywood United

The NPSL side is the feature team of the Hollywood United Football Club that is famous for numerous celebrities and former internationals playing on its teams over the years as well as participating in the club’s many charity events. They had merged with Doxa Italia in 2008 (retaining the name Hollywood United) and after falling just short of the Open Cup that year they entered again in 2009, but the owners of United left to focus on the launching of Hollywood United as a PDL franchise (The remaining players continued under the name Doxa Italia). Hollywood played two years in the PDL Southwest Division, where it reached the playoffs in both campaigns before leaving the league shortly before the start of the 2011 season to join the NPSL.

Path to Open Cup: With the division utilizing each team’s first seven games to determine the Open Cup berth, Hollywood finished with a perfect record, but it was not smooth going. After opening with a 1-0 win at Santa Ana, the club fell 3-1 to the San Diego Flash in its next outing. The team went on to win its next five games to finish with a 6-1 record on May 8 before it was revealed May 11 the league was penalizing the Flash for use of an illegal player in two matches, including the victory over Hollywood. The penalty would be forfeitures of both games, which would be appealed and finally upheld May 19, giving Hollywood a perfect record and the Open Cup berth.

June News Updates: Won 4-1 at home June 11 against Sonoma County after being idle since a 2-1 win against Real San Jose May 28.

Open Cup History: The club is making its return for the first time since making headlines in its 2008 debut via the USASA. They upset the second division Portland Timbers on the road 3-2 before being blanked 6-0 by the USL First Division’s Seattle Sounders the following round.
PRO ERA RECORD: 1-1-0 overall | 0-0-0 vs. 3rd Division

Local History: From the late 1950s and 1960s, teams from Hollywood were a fixture in the Southern California Open Cup qualifying rounds. Such clubs as the Hollywood Bears, Hollywood SC, and Lovers United (so named, as one newspaper reported,  because the all of the members of the team were “soccer lovers”) participated in the Open Cup at one time or another. In 1961, Hollywood SC reached the Los Angeles final, which at the time was two games away from the Open Cup Final, but lost 3-0 to the eventual Open Cup runner-up United Scots.

Doxa Italia

Founded in 1997, the club has been a powerhouse in the Pacific League (five championships) and Coast Soccer League (four championships) as well as performing well in the California South state cup tournament with four titles. When the club was struggling financially, they merged with Hollywood United in 2007 and competed under that name from 2007-2009. Prior to the beginning of the 2009 USASA Region IV tournament, Hollywood owners pulled the plug on the team to focus their efforts of starting a PDL expansion team. The players continued on in 2009 under the name Doxa Italia and have remained that way since then. Meet the USASA Feature [+]

Open Cup Path: The club opened the Region IV tournament with a 1-1 draw against Rosal FC on Day One. It became apparent that it was going to be a race for goal differential the next morning with Doxa Italia netting a 6-0 win against Metro SC while Rosal were 8-1 winners against CV Eagles. Doxa Italia showed no mercy against the Eagles in the finale, posting an amazing 18-0 scoreline in comparison to Rosal’s 7-1 victory, earning the Open Cup berth on the goal differential tiebreaker. The club had missed out on the Open Cup on the goal difference tiebreaker the last two years, so they didn’t want to take any chances. The side was finally stymied once more by the other group winner, DV8 Defenders, in the Region IV Final in a 1-1 draw, but claimed the title in penalties, 4-1.

June News Updates: Blanked Santa Ana Winds 4-0 June 11 with goal and assist each from Ryan Taylor and Bryan Byrne in season finale, finishing second in the league for the season… Shutout Morelos 8-0 June 5 in its next to last game with a Gabe Valencia hat-trick and Ilia Nazarov brace.

Open Cup History: First appearance in the tournament after narrowly falling short the last two years. They missed out in 2009 by 2 goals in a goal difference tiebreaker (Sonoma County Sol) and again in 2010, they lost out on another tiebreaker to advance to the Region IV semifinals.

Meet the USASA: Class of 2011

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Eight teams from the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) have qualified for the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup and will attempt to become the 2011 tournament’s Cinderella story.

Will we see another Dallas Roma FC run from 2006? No one knows, but once again, TheCup.us has taken the time to introduce soccer fans to these largely unknown clubs. Click below to read about each club:

NY Pancyprian Freedoms (Region I – East NY)

Phoenix SC (Region I – East PA – Feasterville, PA)

AAC Eagles (Region II – IL – Chicago)

Iowa Menace (Region II – IA – Des Moines)

Regals FC (Region III – TX-South – Houston)

ASC New Stars (Region III – TX-South – Houston)

DV8 Defenders (Region IV – CA-North – Redwood City)

Doxa Italia (Region IV – CA-South – Orange County)

2011 Meet the USASA: Doxa Italia of Orange County, CA

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Welcome to our continuing series of Meet the USASA features where we annually profile the clubs representing the United States Adult Soccer Association in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Advancing from the four regional tournaments, these often unknown clubs have great stories to tell and each year, our goal is to allow fans to get to know them as they attempt to become this year’s Cinderella story. Click here for more Meet the USASA stories.

As the adage goes, the third time is the charm. After being eliminated in the USASA Region IV tournament the previous two years, Doxa Italia finally captured the elusive berth to the US Open Cup. But just four years ago the successful Southern California side was dissolving itself, starting a journey that would result in a rebirth of the team recently.

Doxa Italia is a club with a rich history dating back to their formation in 1997. The original group of players that banded together at that time came from an assortment of Southland and Orange County A-League (American second division) teams.

Current goalkeeper Brian Burdue joined Doxa Italia in 2001, and remains one of the oldest tenured players on the current squad.

“Our team pretty much dominated the Southern California amateur soccer scene for a few years,” said Burdue describing the team’s first decade of play. From 1997 to 2005 the team won five Pacific League titles, four Coast Soccer League championships, and claimed the California Soccer Association South’s State Cup crown four times in seven appearances in the tournament final. “If we didn’t win the tournament, you had to go through us to win it — but we usually won it.”

In 2007, Doxa Italia had their worst league performance since their formation and many players were reaching the end of their eligibility to play with the team. When the ownership and management of the club suggested that the team be broken up, Burdue leaned on his contacts with Hollywood United FC, Doxa’s potential upcoming Second Round opponent, and helped bring the remaining players over to join forces with that club late that summer.

The following year, Hollywood United’s Open team made an impressive run in the US Open Cup — including a stunning 3-2 road win over the Portland Timbers — with a team that included many of the holdovers from Doxa Italia as well as former Major League Soccer players Brian Dunseth and Matt Taylor. After falling behind, Taylor converted a penalty in first half stoppage time and then netted another equalizer from the spot in the 58th. Then with overtime looming Earl Alexander stunned the home side in stoppage time with the game-winner for Hollywood.

Less than a year later, as the union between Hollywood United management and the former Doxa Italia players slowly soured, the Open team was disbanded in the middle of their season, as United moved on to launch a PDL franchise. With the help of forward Derk Droze and some of the Doxa Italia holdovers from prior to their merger with Hollywood, the former side reunited in the spring of 2009.

Doxa Italia receives Region IV championship cup in Sacramento

And without missing a beat, the team went on to nearly qualify for the Open Cup. By that summer, Doxa Italia were back on track with a mix of new players and seasoned veterans, and back to their winning ways.

“Derk Droze took a leadership role and has been instrumental in re-building the team,” remembers Burdue about the tumultuous transition back to being an independent club. “There have been growing pains as we have made it to the finals of every tournament we’ve entered but we seem to just fall short of lifting the cup.”

That is why after watching his side narrowly missing out on qualifying for the Open Cup the past two years, the player/manager Droze left nothing to chance in preparing for the USASA Region IV tournament held last May in Sacramento, CA.

After earning a draw and a win in their first two group stage matches, the Southern California side faced a familiar scenario with one match left to play and the looming prospect of again being denied their desired prize.

2011 Region IV Champion Doxa Italia

“We had to go for it,” stated Droze. “As I explained to the other team, we did not want to go out of the tournament for the third straight year on goal differential.”

In 2009 and 2010 Doxa Italia were eliminated from contention by the Sonoma County Sol and the Arizona Sahuaros respectively, so this year when they went into their last group match knowing that the goal differential tiebreaker would likely be invoked again, they made sure to score early and score often. And at the expense of a greatly overmatched CV Eagles FC team, Doxa Italia posted an 18-0 win and finished at the top of their group, thus earning one of the two Region IV bids to the Open Cup tournament.

“We have felt that we were the best team during these qualifiers,” shared Doxa Italia goalkeeper Brian Burdue. “This year we were not going to let the goal differential tiebreaker lead us to be eliminated again, hence the 18-0 drubbing. We felt bad about it but it needed to happen.”

With both Arizona and Sonoma County now competing at the NPSL, the path to the Region IV championship appeared to be much easier, but Droze took no chances over the duration of the weekend tournament. Courtesy of their 18-0 win, the Southern Californian USASA powerhouse finished with seven points in the group and posted a whopping +24 goal differential to take Group B honors.

A few Doxa Italia players have a bit of fun at an LA-Anaheim Angels promotion, 'Costume Mask Night'

“It was good to get such a great result and advance to the tournament final,” shared Droze on the team’s dominating performance, “especially after the disappointment of the last two years.”

The club finished the Region IV tournament with a showdown with Cal-North side DV8 Defenders in the final with the two sides playing to a 1-1 stalemate before Doxa Italia prevailed, 4-1, in penalty kicks to claim the regional championship.

Doxa Italia recently completed their club season in the Coast Soccer League with a second place finish, but all the attention around the team is on the upcoming First Round match in the US Open Cup against the Ventura County Fusion of the PDL. For Droze, Alex Bengard, Nate Reeves and Nas Koubourous who played a part in that upset victory in Portland, they begin a quest to make more history – this time under their own name and banner.

“I can’t begin to tell you how excited we are to be in this tournament,” said Droze not long after his side had qualified. “Falling short in the last two years and now getting to represent our region is a great achievement.”

Robert Jonas is a writer for CenterLineSoccer.com. You can send him feedback on Twitter: @RobertJonas

2011 US Open Cup qualifying (USASA Region IV): Doxa Italia win 18-0 to secure Open Cup spot, DV8 Defenders get late PK to qualify

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On the final day of group play at the USASA Region IV tournament in Sacramento, the two US Open Cup spots available to the participating teams were secured in dramatic fashion. Doxa Italia FC of Southern California, in hammering a shorthanded CV Eagles FC squad and handing them one of the worst losses in the history of Open Cup qualifying, advanced courtesy of a goal-differential tiebreaker over Rosal FS of San Francisco. Meanwhile, the DV8 Defenders of Redwood City earned a 2-2 draw with group rival Metro FC of Albuquerque, New Mexico courtesy of a controversial stoppage time penalty kick conversion to earn the second berth in the US Open Cup.

Doxa Italia and DV8 Defenders will face off on Sunday morning for the Region IV championship. While both teams have already qualified for the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, the winner of Sunday’s match gets more than just bragging rights from the weekend. They will also represent the region at the USASA National Cup Finals this July in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Doxa Italia wins Group B: With the final three games of the tournament’s group stage being played at the same time and fellow Group B squad Rosal FAS expected to beat SF Italian AC handily, Doxa Italia FC also needed a win to keep pace. Given that the two teams had drawn 1-1 the day before, which ruled out the first tiebreaker of head-to-head results being invoked to determine the group winner, goal differential was likely going to determine which team would earn qualification into the Open Cup. Doxa Italia felt it was prudent to run up the score on their overmatched opponent, CV Eagles FC, to give them the best chance to edge out Rosal FAS on the second tiebreaker.

“We had to go for it,” stated Doxa Italia player/manager Derk Droze. “As I explained to the other team, we drew with Rosal and did not want to go out of the tournament for the third straight year on goal differential. I set the expectation for my team at a 10-0 score, but my guys really responded and did even better.”

Indeed, when the San Francisco side took care of business against SF Italian, handedly winning 7-1 and giving them seven points in Group B with a +13 goal differential, the onus was on Doxa Italia to overpower the Eagles. Courtesy of their 18-0 win over the undermanned Tracy, CA side, the Southern Californian USASA powerhouse also finished with seven points in the group, but posted a whopping +24 goal differential to take Group B honors.

“It was good to get such a great result and advance to the tournament final,” shared Droze on the team’s dominating performance, “especially after losing out on qualifying for the Open Cup the last two years on goal differential to the teams that eventually advanced.”

DV8 Defenders top Group A: Entering the remaining game on the afternoon schedule, the DV8 Defenders sat three points above their opponent Metro FC in the Group A standings. Needing at least a draw to advance to the tournament final and to qualify for the Open Cup, the Redwood City outfit liked their chances, having scored 12 goals and conceding zero in two wins to open the weekend. Their opponent Metro FC was coming off a difficult morning loss to Doxa Italia and had only one substitute available for the Group A deciding game.

Both teams started off strong, but DV8 soon found their rhythm and were unlucky to not take an early lead. Metro FC held their own against the much younger Defenders and eventually showed the value of their experience in scoring the first goal of the game late in the first half. After pressuring the DV8 ‘keeper into making a poor decision on a ball near the edge of his penalty area, the Metro forwards pounced on the loose ball and smoothly converted it for an easy score. After playing so well over most of the first half, the Defenders found themselves trailing 1-0.

“We played our worst half of the tournament in that one,” said team manager Tono Aspinall. “We should really have been up three or four goals by halftime, but it was one of those games where things just didn’t go our way.”

The Defenders finally did have something go their way when early in the second half, a Metro player was sent off for a red card offense and were forced to play a man down. DV8 equalized just minutes after the ejection and had the goal they needed to clinch Group A. However, the resolve of the Albuquerque side was strong, and they overcame their disadvantage in numbers to retake the lead on a fine goal from close range that resulted from a defensive breakdown on a crossing pass into the penalty area.

As the second half drew closer to an end, Metro FC’s one goal lead still held up, and the Defenders poured forward in numbers in an effort to draw even. Entering the fourth minute of stoppage time, a controversial penalty kick was awarded to the Redwood City side after their forward was adjudged to be taken down in the box.

“With just seconds left, the referee made just a terrible, terrible call,” said Metro FC coach Johonniuss Chemwero of the penalty award. “I guess he saw a trip, but the referee never explained what he saw. To me, the referee has to be 110% certain that he is making the right call, especially at such a crucial time.”

From the perspective of the Metro FC defenders, the call was very soft and the play was best classified as a dive. As the DV8 forward dribbled the ball into the area, he was forced to make his move back toward the top of the eighteen.

“I was a few feet behind him when the referee made the call,” described Metro FC midfielder Neil Garver. “He made a big touch that took the ball away from him, and I guess he knew he was going to lose it, so he cut off our defender and fell down. He stayed on the ground while the referee looked over him. There was a least a five second delay before the referee pointed to the spot and called the penalty. It was unbelievable.”

While the Metro FC players continued to protest, The DV8 Defender striker set the ball on the penalty spot. When order had been restored, he drove home the tying goal to bring the score to 2-2. Without even allowing for a restart, the referee blew the final whistle and the DV8 Defenders had the result they needed to win Group A and collect the Open Cup bid.

“We are very happy to advance to the U.S Open Cup,” shared Aspinall. “This is our first time in the tournament, so we weren’t sure what to expect, but our guys were up for the challenge. We didn’t expect to advance, but luck was on our side with the draw that we got and we made the most of our opportunity.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Read about Day 1 of the USASA Region IV tournament here

USASA Region IV Championship Recap

In the Sunday morning tournament final, Doxa Italia FC defeated the DV8 Defenders 4-1 in a penalty kick shootout to take the USASA Region IV championship and earn a sponsored trip to the National Cup later this summer. With both teams coming off celebrations the day before at qualifying for the U.S. Open Cup, the match took some time to really get moving, but by the extra time period it was moving at a brisk pace. The penalty kick shootout fell in favor of Doxa, as two DV8 players missed the target to hand the championship to the Southern California side.

I can’t tell you how excited we are to have won this tournament,” said an ecstatic Derk Droze after the game, “and now we get to represent our region in the National Finals in Kentucky this July.”

After falling down a goal in the first half following a DV8 free kick that was directed off the head of a forward and off the inside of the goal post, Doxa Italia turned the tables in the second half with a equalizer 15 minutes from time. The Southern California club continued to press for a winner in regulation, but could not break through the Defenders’ defense.

In the extra time period, the DV8 Defenders had a golden chance to put the game away when their striker broke free of the Doxa defense and raced in on the goalkeeper one v. one. Perhaps in a rush of blood to the head, the striker mis-stepped over his dribble and the ball squirted out of reach before he was able to attempt a shot on goal. In the penalty kick shootout following extra time, two DV8 players sent their shot attempts over the cross bar while Doxa made all four of their attempts.

“Even though we lost the final, it was a good weekend for us,” summarized DV8 Defenders manager Tono Aspinall. “We enjoyed it all and had a really good time. Hopefully we can go out there and represent the Bay Area well in the Open Cup tournament in June and advance accordingly.”

Both teams can now return to their respective home areas and begin their preparations for the first round of the 2011 U.S. Open Cup on June 14. The match-ups for the 98th edition of the longest running soccer tournament in the United States will be announced shortly after the end of May, when the last of the regional qualifiers will have been completed and the field of 40 participating teams will be known.

Robert Jonas is a writer for CenterLineSoccer.com. You can send him feedback on Twitter: @RobertJonas

GROUP A GP W L T PTS GF GA
DV8 Defenders 3 2 0 1 7 14 2
Metro SC 3 1 1 1 4 7 8
SF Italian AC 3 0 3 0 0 1 15
GROUP B GP W L T PTS GF GA
Doxa Italia 3 2 0 1 7 25 1
Rosal FC 3 2 0 1 7 16 3
CV Eagles FC 3 0 3 0 0 1 35


Region IV Tournament Schedule
May 20
Group A SF Italian AC 0:5 Metro SC 6:00 pm ET
Group B Rosal FC 1:1 Doxa Italia FC 6:00 pm ET
Cross-over CV Eagles FC (B) 0:9 DV8 Defenders (A) 6:00 pm ET
May 21
Group A DV8 Defenders 2:0 SF Italian AC Noon ET
Group B Rosal FC 8:1 CV Eagles FC Noon ET
Cross-over Metro SC (A) 0:6 Doxa Italia FC (B) Noon ET
Group A DV8 Defenders 2:2 Metro SC 6:00 pm ET
Group B Doxa Italia FC 18:0 CV Eagles FC 6:00 pm ET
Cross-over SF Italian AC (A) 1:7 Rosal FC (B) 6:00 pm ET
FINAL
May 22 Doxa Italia FC 1:1 (4:1 PKs) DV8 Defenders Noon ET

2011 US Open Cup qualifying: Pair of one-sided games kick off USASA Region IV tournament

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UPDATED Sunday, May 22 – 1:15 a.m. EST

SEE STANDINGS BELOW – Recap of Day 2 to come later tonight. Doxia Italia’s 18-0 win (no, that’s not a typo) clinched a spot in the US Open Cup while a late penalty gave the DV8 Defenders the draw they needed to qualify.

For the latest scores, check the Twitter account for TheCup.us @USOpenCup

With two spots in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup at stake this weekend, the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) Region IV Open Cup qualifying tournament in Sacramento, CA got underway on Friday afternoon under the bright sunshine of the Central Valley. The six participating teams were drawn into two groups of three, and will play an abbreviated round-robin schedule over the first two days of the tournament. The top team in each group will advance to the final on Sunday, with both the winner and runner-up gaining admission to the US Open Cup.

All six teams were in action Friday afternoon, with the Group B clash between Rosal FAS of San Francsico and Doxa Italia FC of Southern California ending in a 1-1 draw. Metro FC of Albuquergue, NM — the only one of the six teams from outside the Golden State — dispatched of an undermanned San Francisco Italian Athletic Club side 5-0 in a Group A contest. Finally in a mixed Group A/Group B cross-over game, the DV8 Defenders SC of Redwood City, CA soundly defeated the Centro Valley Eagles FC of nearby Tracy, CA by a score of 9-0.

The six teams reconvene on Saturday to play two more rounds of games that will determine the winners of the two groups. The second round begins at 9 a.m. local time, while the third and final round begins at 3 p.m. that same afternoon.

DV8 Defenders top CV Eagles FC 9-0: Within five minutes of kick-off the Defenders were on the board with their first goal against the overmatched Eagles. Settling in against an opponent without a single player on the substitutes’ bench, the Defenders took control of the match throughout the remainder of the first half and entered the halftime break holding a 3-0 lead. Three different goal scorers featured for the Redwood City side, as their balanced 3-5-2 formation saw them exploit open space on both sides of the field.

After an early second half goal from the Defenders saw the margin grow to 4-0, the Eagles began to play with more frustration, and they earned a red card for dangerous play. Playing with a man advantage and increasing the momentum already tilted in their favor, the Defenders tallied another four goals in the run of play and one on a penalty kick to push the final score to 9-0. Having a deep bench also helped the Redwood City team, as they were able to utilize all six of their substitutions and take out some starters early so they would be better rested for Saturday’s pair of games.

“We were very happy with the result,” shared DV8 Defenders SC manager Tono Aspinall. “We play in a competitive league against some quality opponents and 9-0 was the best result we have had all season. Scoring nines goals is surely a lot, but we’ll take it any day of the week.”

Albuquerque’s Metro FC outlasts SF Italian AC 5-0: Facing an opponent that was already a man short at the opening whistle, Albuquerque, New Mexico’s Metro FC rolled to a 5-0 victory over San Francisco Italian Athletic Club. The Friday afternoon match was called off just 20 minutes into the second half when the Northern California side fell below the minimum number of players on the field required by rule, due to a series of red card expulsions and player injuries.

The match did not start out quite the way the team from New Mexico had envisioned, as a Metro FC defender was forced to concede a penalty kick foul in the opening minute. Forged from a nice run on an over-the-top breakaway pass following the opening kick-off, the SF Italian forward quickly retrieved the ball after dusting himself off from the foul and placed the ball on the spot. Instead of giving the undermanned squad the lead, the striker could only watch as the Metro FC goalkeeper made a fantastic save to parry the ball from danger and keep the match scoreless.

“We looked around and then said to ourselves ‘Wow!’,” shared Metro FC coach Johonniuss Chemwero. “That could definitely have been a game-changer right there, especially because they were playing a man down. The guy who was fouled was really excited about it, but our ‘keeper saved it. That play really set the tone for our team.”

The goalkeeper’s feat spurred his teammates on and they steadily turned the momentum of the match in their favor. A well placed goal from Metro FC opened the scoring midway though the first half, and a late penalty kick goal — with a concurrent red card for SF Italian — doubled their tally going into the break. The Albuquerque outfit tallied three more goals in an abbreviated second half that saw the final score go to 5-0. Unfortunately for the Metro FC, their opponent was forced to retire the match before they could increase their goal haul in a tournament that uses goal differential as a tiebreaker in determining group winners. The tournament committee has been appealed to by the New Mexico club in order to decide on a compromise to the final score that will be fair for all members of Group A.

Doxa Italia FC held to 1-1 draw by Rosal FC: In a match between the two favored clubs in Group B, neither side could come out on top in an evenly played 1-1 draw. Doxa Italia, a Southern California based team with a rich history of success in soccer tournaments around the state played with a high energy fashion that was matched by the San Francisco based Rosal FC. With neither side able to capture all three points in the match, both teams will need to earn points against their cross-group opponents in order to separate themselves and earn first place in Group B.

GROUP A GP W L T PTS GF GA
DV8 Defenders 3 2 0 1 7 14 2
Metro SC 3 1 1 1 4 7 8
SF Italian AC 3 0 3 0 0 1 15
GROUP B GP W L T PTS GF GA
Doxa Italia 3 2 0 1 7 25 1
Rosal FC 3 2 0 1 7 16 3
CV Eagles FC 3 0 3 0 0 1 35


Region IV Tournament Schedule
May 20
Group A SF Italian AC 0:5 Metro FC 6:00 pm ET
Group B Rosal FC 1:1 Doxa Italia FC 6:00 pm ET
Cross-over CV Eagles FC (B) 0:9 DV8 Defenders (A) 6:00 pm ET
May 21
Group A DV8 Defenders 2:0 SF Italian AC Noon ET
Group B Rosal FC 8:1 CV Eagles FC Noon ET
Cross-over Metro FC (A) 0:6 Doxa Italia FC (B) Noon ET
Group A DV8 Defenders 2:2 Metro FC 6:00 pm ET
Group B Doxa Italia FC 18:0 CV Eagles FC 6:00 pm ET
Cross-over SF Italian AC (A) 1:7 Rosal FC (B) 6:00 pm ET
FINAL
May 22 Doxa Italia FC vs DV8 Defenders Noon ET


Robert Jonas is a writer for CenterLineSoccer.com. You can send him feedback on Twitter: @RobertJonas

2011 US Open Cup qualifying: USASA Region IV tournament format set

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The USASA Region IV National Cup tournament is all set for May 20-22 in Sacramento, California with six teams vying for a chance to two berths from the region into the 2011 edition of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Five of the six clubs are from California with the lone outsider traveling in from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The tournament will feature two groups of three teams playing in a round robin format with a third game being played against a team from the opposing group in a cross-over. The teams with the greatest point total in their respective groups will not only advance to the final, but also to the US Open Cup.

Two of the clubs in Group A are from the California North region. San Francisco Italian Athletic Club comes out of the San Francisco Soccer League and the DV8 Defenders play in the Peninsula Soccer League out of Redwood City. They are paired with Metro FC from the Albuquerque Soccer League.

Group B also has two California North clubs. Rosal FAS is representing the California Premier Soccer Association and CV Eagles FC are playing in the National Star Soccer League. Doxa Italia FC hails from the Orange County region, representing California South, and participates in the Coast Soccer League.

Check back with TheCup.us for a more in-depth preview of the tournament soon.

Region IV Tournament Schedule

May 20
Group A SF Italian AC vs Metro FC 6:00 pm ET
Group B Rosal FB vs Doxa Italia FC 6:00 pm ET
Cross-over CV Eagles FC (B) vs DV8 Defenders (A) 6:00 pm ET
May 21
Group A DV8 Defenders vs SF Italian AC Noon ET
Group B Rosal FB vs CV Eagles FC Noon ET
Cross-over Metro FC (A) vs Doxa Italia FC (B) Noon ET
Group A DV8 Defenders vs Metro FC 6:00 pm ET
Group B Doxa Italia FC vs CV Eagles FC 6:00 pm ET
Cross-over SF Italian AC (A) vs Rosal FB (B) 6:00 pm ET
FINAL
May 22 Group A winner vs Group B winner Noon ET

Tiebreakers: Head-to-head, goal differential, goals for, goals against and if all else fails a flip of a coin.

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