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2025 US Open Cup Round 5: Red Bulls use “cup magic” to score late equalizer, beat FC Dallas in PKs

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Anthony Marcucci (purple) of the New York Red Bulls celebrates after winning a PK shootout 4-3 over FC Dallas in the Fifth Round of the 2025 US Open Cup. Photo: John Perdicaro
AJ Marcucci of the New York Red Bulls celebrates after winning a PK shootout 4-3 over FC Dallas in the Fifth Round of the 2025 US Open Cup. Photo: John Perdicaro

On a night at Sports Illustrated Stadium that felt more like a First Round game in terms of weather, with cold wind and rain coming down on Harrison, N.J., as opposed to a Round of 16 match – the drama certainly wasn’t on ice. The New York Red Bulls, buoyed by a mix of young players and experienced veterans, clawed back against FC Dallas twice to force extra time.

Two-time DFB-Pokal winner Emil Forsberg scored a stoppage time free kick to tie the game at 2-2, before penalty kicks were needed to decide a winner. In the fifth round, MLS newcomer Pedrinho saw his attempt saved by goalkeeper A.J. Marcucci to secure the win; 4-3.

“Super excited that we were able to come out with the win. The (stoppage time goal) – I mean, that’s just cup magic right there,” midfielder and team captain Daniel Edelman said with a laugh. “Emil (Forsberg) doing what he does and then the whole group just staying together. It shows a lot about our character.”

The loss means that New York’s on-going winning-streak against FC Dallas remains intact. In all competitions, the Red Bulls have not lost to Dallas in ten games dating back to 2012. The last Dallas was able to get a win away from home in the series? That dates back to 2006 at Giants Stadium.

With the win, New York advances to the US Open Cup Quarterfinals for only the second time since the club’s run to the 2017 tournament final. Overall, this marks the tenth time the Red Bulls or MetroStars have reached the Elite Eight.

On Wednesday night, the New York Red Bulls rotated much of its squad for the match. The team’s top two goal scorers, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Emil Forsberg, who have accounted for 12 goals in the league season, both started on the bench. As did regular goalkeeper Carlos Coronel. Instead, the offense was composed of Mohammed Sofo, who scored a brace last round, the young Polish international Wiktor Bogacz, and Wike Carmona. A.J. Marcucci suited up for his third ever start with the first team in goal.

On the other side, despite having a similar record and just as many games this month, FC Dallas’ lineup was strong – resembling what he used against Houston Dynamo last weekend. The team’s leading goalscorers, Peter Musa, Anderson Julio, and Luciano Acosta, all suited up in the Starting XI.

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Support TheCup.us and its coverage of the US Open Cup by purchasing a “We Want The Cup” shirt in your team’s colors. Visit THECUP.US SHOP

Red Bulls head coach Sandro Schwarz says he and his group were trying to prepare for all types of scenarios in terms of who they’d be facing, but Acosta’s inclusion was always the big question.

“We said we have to prepare that they are playing with the best guys, with the best players in their starting lineup,” Schwarz said. “But of course we were also thinking about ‘we are not sure that Acosta is playing’. But he played. And this is good. At the end, it’s good for us. We can see the young guys, how they compete against them – and it was very well.”

This season New York has had two major issues, looking threatening in the final third and closing out games. The former reared its head early on Wednesday night. The home side controlled the ball but failed to find many clinical chances on goal. A bad turnover by Dallas keeper Maarten Paes gave the ball to Mohammed Sofo near the edge of the box. He slung a shot just over the crossbar in the 24th minute.

The visitors began to find ways to do more with little in terms of possession time. Dallas was able to pass the ball around the RBNY box whenever it was at the end of the field. That only allowed for one shot in the first half, but it was a big one. A long pass was one touched by Peter Musa to a nearby Bernard Kamungo. Kamungo ran into the box on the left side and went opposite netting for the game’s opening goal.

For their part, the Red Bulls nearly responded immediately when another bad giveaway allowed Wiktor Bogacz to send a shot just wide right of the goal.

Of note, referee Alyssa Nichols began to make her own presence known in the game at this point. Multiple calls throughout the night were questioned by both teams. One example was a New York attack that was called off in the 31st minute when the official whistled for a handball against New York, after Sofo chested the ball.

Anthony Marcucci (purple) of the New York Red Bulls celebrates with his teammates after winning a PK shootout 4-3 over FC Dallas in the Fifth Round of the 2025 US Open Cup. Photo: John Perdicaro
Anthony Marcucci (purple) of the New York Red Bulls celebrates with his teammates after winning a PK shootout 4-3 over FC Dallas in the Fifth Round of the 2025 US Open Cup. Photo: John Perdicaro

At the half, with one Dallas making changes, New York’s attack jumped gear. It went from two shots overall in the first half to ten, including two on target, in the second half. Peter Stroud skied a shot just over the crossbar early on to signify that change.

The game’s dam broke in the 62nd minute when a Daniel Edelman shot in the box was blocked by a Dallas defender. Sofo jumped on the rebound and slotted in a game tying goal, his third of the competition, which is tied for the tournament lead. That goal marked his last act of the game as the Red Bulls made a triple sub to bring in regular starters Choupo-Moting, Emil Forsberg, and Cameron Harper.

“It was important because, you know, at that moment, like we needed a goal to come back (into) the game, to change the momentum of the game,” Sofo said when asked about the score. “And, yeah, very happy to get that goal. Because after that, we started believing even more.”

That belief didn’t come without challenges. In the 72nd minute, Dallas was pushing for an equalizer. Two back-to-back required saves from the Pennsylvania native: Musa from point blank and Kamunga from distance off a rebound. But Dallas was able to break through in the 76th minute when Kamungo was involved in yet another goal.

He found Luciano Acosta with a pass and the former MLS MVP walked through the New York backline to score for the visitor’s second lead of the night. It looked as though RBNY’s second issue of not being able to close out games was coming up once again.

Time was running out on New York before last year’s major signing made an impact. Emil Forsberg, the big import from RB Leipzig, stepped up as his team was awarded a late free kick just outside the Dallas box. With over half of the four stoppage time minutes played, his attempt hit off the body of Dallas midfielder Ramiro to tie the game at 2-2.

“Emil (Forsberg) is very important player for us,” Coach Schwarz said of his team’s usual captain, though he wasn’t wearing the band tonight. “And then what I said he’s always feeling the responsibility for the whole group.”

Anthony Marcucci of the New York Red Bulls makes a save in the PK shootout against FC Dallas in the Fifth Round of the 2025 US Open Cup. Photo: John Perdicaro
Anthony Marcucci of the New York Red Bulls makes a save in the PK shootout against FC Dallas in the Fifth Round of the 2025 US Open Cup. Photo: John Perdicaro

The game was sent to extra time, with a relatively quiet opening 15 minutes. The second extra time half was all but normal. In the 110th minute, a long pass to Choupo-Moting was headed down towards a running Forsberg on net. The midfielder was swung around by Ramiro, and crashed into Paes. Initially, referee Nichols just called for a free kick – despite pleass for DOGSO (Denying an Obvious Goal-Scoring Opportunity). It took nearly three minutes for the fourth official to chime in and inform her to card Ramiro with a straight red, bringing Dallas down to ten players.

“The refereeing … I dunno. It is what it is. You gotta deal with it in the Open Cup,” Edelman said, clawing for any sort of words that wouldn’t get him in trouble. “I dunno if I can comment, I don’t wanna make a bad comment.” He at least laughed at the end.

The game found itself in a shootout. Both team’s leading scorers started off in front of the South Ward, the three sections for RBNY’s supporters groups. Choupo-Moting converted his Round 1 attempt, while Acosta tried to Panenka but it hit off the crossbar.

It was a perfect round 2, but in the third round New York’s Wiki Carmona saw his attempt saved. Logan Farrington converted into the top left corner to tie the shootout back up at two each. Another set of conversions in the fourth round essentially set-up sudden death. Forsberg calmly sent his fifth round attempt into the lower left side, meaning Dallas needed to score. Pedrinho’s attempt to the right center was stopped by Marcucci and gave New York the win, 4-3 on PKs after a 2-2 draw.

Coach Schwarz said after the game that he was happy his young goalkeeper, who returned from a European loan ahead of this season, was able to have that moment. Something he earned.

“I’m very proud of him that he had this special and very important moment in the US Open Cup. It’s a great goalkeeper which we have,” Schwarz said “And it’s good to see him now in this important spot that he’s on the highest level.”

The Red Bulls will now face the Philadelphia Union in July’s Quarterfinals, an I-95 derby for two teams still looking to win their first major knockout trophies.

Scoring Summary

28’ – FC Dallas – Bernard Kamungo (Petar Musa)
63’ – New York Red Bulls – Mohammed Sofo
77’ – FC Dallas – Luciano Acosta (Bernard Kamungo)
90+3 – New York Red Bulls – Emil Forsberg

Penalty Kick Summary:

RBNY – Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (convert, bottom right)
FCD – Luciano Acosta (miss, crossbar)
RBNY – Noah Eile (convert, bottom right)
FCD – Shaq Moore (convert, bottom left)
RBNY – Wiki Carmona (saved, bottom left)
FCD – Logan Farrington (convert, top left)
RBNY – Daniel Edelman (convert, left side netting)
FCD – Marco Farfan (convert, middle)
RBNY – Emil Forsberg (convert, bottom left)
FCD – Pedrinho (saved, bottom right)

Lineups

New York Red Bulls: A.J. Marcucci (GK); Raheem Edwards (Omar Valencia, 101’), Noah Eile, Sean Nealis, Kyle Duncan (Alexander Hack, 85’), Daniel Edelman ©, Peter Stroud (Ronald Donkor, 85’), Dennis Gjengaar (Cameron Harper, 64’), Wiki Carmona, Mohammed Sofo (Emil Forsberg, 64’), Wiktor Bogacz (Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, 64’)

Unused subs: Carlos Coronel (GK)

Manager: Sandro Schwarz

FC Dallas: Maarten Paes (GK); Nolan Norris (Marco Farfan, 65’), Lalas Abubakar, Osaze Urhoghide, Shaq Moore, Ramiro, Kaick Ferreira (Pedrinho, 105’), Luciano Acosta ©, Bernard Kamungo (Sebastian Ibeagha, 81’), Anderson Julio (Paxton Pomykal, 65’), Petar Musa (Logan Farrington, 91’) 

Unused subs: Michael Collodi (GK), Katiego Ntsabeleng

Manager: Eric Quill

Yellow Cards

Ramiro, FC Dallas 26’

Nolan Norris, FC Dallas 38’

Alexander Hack, New York Red Bulls 91’

Raheem Edwards, New York Red Bulls 98’

Red Cards

Ramiro, FC Dallas 113’

Attendance: 3,724

Referee: Alyssa Nichols

AR1: Thomas Felice

AR2: Christian Little

4th Official: Luis Diego Arroyo

 

2025 US Open Cup Round 4: FC Dallas eliminate USOC debutants AV ALTA FC

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FC Dallas players celebrate after scoring a goal against AV ALTA FC in the Fourth Round of the 2025 US Open Cup. Photo: FC Dallas
FC Dallas players celebrate after scoring a goal against AV ALTA FC in the Fourth Round of the 2025 US Open Cup. Photo: FC Dallas

FC Dallas overcame a brief first half scare on the way to a comfortable 3-1 win over US Open Cup debutantes AV ALTA FC in Round 4 on Wednesday.

Dallas needed just three minutes to get on the scoreboard, but the highlight of the night came when goalkeeper Michael Collodi was caught off his line in the 16th minute and conceded a somewhat embarrassing chip from midfield. His teammates ultimately came through for him though, with goals from Kaick and Bernard Kamungo helping the home side take care of business and advance to the Round of 16.

The loss ends an impressive inaugural Open Cup run for AV ALTA, who are playing in their first full season as members of USL League One. The southern California side notched three wins — including a dramatic penalty shootout victory over USL Championship side Orange County SC — before ultimately bowing out to hosts FC Dallas, who were looking to right the ship after a brutal 5-0 loss to San Diego FC in MLS play over the weekend.

Dallas came out firing from the start and just three minutes in, Shaq Moore found himself in space on the right and drove a low cross into the box, where Lucho Acosta was marked but still waiting to convert for the goal. Alta responded immediately with a shot on goal from Osvaldo Lay that Collodi nearly leaked into his own net at the near post.

Things did not get much better for Collodi though.

In the 16th minute, Lay pounced on a poor Dallas pass inside his own half near midfield and caught Collodi out with a brilliant long range chip that neither player is likely to forget anytime soon, albeit for very different reasons. The two sides traded possession for the rest of the half and it looked like there would be a stalemate at the break until the 43rd minute. Tsiki Ntsabeleng played a deadly through ball into the box from the left side and Kaick was able to get on the end of it and power it through Alta keeper Denzil Smith’s outstretched hand to give the home side a 2-1 lead going into halftime. The goal was Kaick’s first in an FC Dallas uniform.

The second half remained fairly even, with Alta creating several dangerous chances from set pieces to keep themselves in the game. In the 72nd minute, Kamungo finished off a cross from second-half substitute Show and the hosts went on to wear down the lower division side and pick up some momentum heading into an MLS match with Real Salt Lake on Saturday. The goal was Kamungo’s first — in any competition — since October 21, 2023.

Dallas head coach Eric Quill made it clear that he has high expectations for his team in this year’s tournament.

“It’s not like league play where you get to make mistakes and you’ve got a game the next week,” he said. “You get punished in this format. If you lose, you’re out, right? So you have to heighten the concentration, mentality, and effort. All that’s got to be there and you can’t take plays off.”

Next up, FC Dallas will travel to New Jersey to face New York Red Bulls in the Round of 16 later this month.

 

2024 US Open Cup Round 5: FC Dallas holds off Tampa Bay Rowdies to earn historic trip to Quarterfinals

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Logan Farrington of FC Dallas celebrates with Marco Farfan after scoring a goal against the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the Round of 16 in the 2024 US Open Cup. Photo: FC Dallas.
Logan Farrington of FC Dallas celebrates with Marco Farfan after scoring a goal against the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the Round of 16 in the 2024 US Open Cup. Photo: FC Dallas.

In the 2024 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Round of 16 matchup between the Tampa Bay Rowdies and FC Dallas, the Texans were able to overcome a determined club in St. Petersburg, Fla. While the hometown team challenged their opponents, a difference in quality was most apparent between these teams when it came to finishing. Despite looking dominant at times, the second division Rowdies from the USL Championship had a terrible time beating Maarten Paes, in net for the Major League Soccer side. Dallas’s finishing, including from outside of the box, put them ahead and they would not relinquish the lead, winning 2-1. 

With the win, Dallas punches their ticket to the Quarterfinals for the 17th time. This ties them with Kutis Soccer Club (St. Louis area) for the most Quarterfinal appearances in the history of the competition, dating back to 1913. Dallas will take on Sporting Kansas City in the next round the week of July 9-10. FCD has never defeated Sporting in four previous attempts.

From the very first minute, the hosts wanted to take it to their opponents. Tampa Bay won two corners off of two very dangerous shots in the second minute. As per usual for the Green and Gold, most of the chance creation stemmed from their wingbacks, Blake Bodily on the left and Pacifique Niyongabire on the right. Despite some slight rotation in the attacking positions, the Rowdies were able to break through Dallas multiple times. 

As the adage goes, you have to put your chances away. Failing to do so opened the door for the top-tier visitors to put themselves ahead – and they would walk right through at times. Two goals in ten minutes for the Toros both started from set pieces going down Dallas’s right side. The first was a short corner which found Jesus Ferreira’s feet. At the top of the box sat Patrickson Delgado, waiting for his chance. Perfectly placed off the left peg, the Ecuadorian rifled it into the net.

The second goal in the 26th minute looked easier, as Logan Farrington was seemingly able to waltz into the Rowdies’ box and pick out a corner. 

Going into the second half, both teams started much the way they did in the first 45 minutes. The Rowdies were aggressive and got after it yet again. They wanted to be the protagonists and created many chances. This would play out in the final statistics. Tampa Bay ended the game with 30 total shots, of which 10 were on target. Their Big Chances tally, according to FotMob, was five. These are numbers that usually would lead to a win. The problem? Maarten Paes was in net for Dallas. 

Paes, who recently received his Indonesian citizenship, became a mixture at times between a brick wall and an agile cat. He refused to be beat from point-blank range on several occasions. The only way the hosts could get past him ultimately came from the final of their Big Chances, one taken from the penalty spot. Carl Sainte gave away the foul and Josh Perez stepped up to slot it home.

The Rowdies would not have enough time after that to create anything strong enough to slip past Maarten’s paws again. 

The game ended 2-1 for the visitors and they will move on to the Quarterfinals.

Dallas manager Nico Estevez noted how far his team have come after the game.

“We’re happy with advancing after a lot of years. Now we have that chance,” said Estevez.

He said of the Tampa Bay Rowdies: “For these teams this is the game of the year. Tampa is also a really good team. Trust me: this team is a really good team.” He also noted that during the 90 minutes, his side “didn’t come into the game with the right intensity. Tampa did. We were very effective and ruthless.” That will be the final takeaway from this tie: ruthlessness in the attack.  

2024 US Open Cup Round 4: Logan Farrington’s first pro goal gives FC Dallas narrow win over Memphis 901

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Logan Farrington of FC Dallas celebrates after scoring a goal against Memphis 901 FC in the Fourth Round of the 2024 US Open Cup. Photo: FC Dallas
Logan Farrington of FC Dallas celebrates after scoring a goal against Memphis 901 FC in the Fourth Round of the 2024 US Open Cup. Photo: FC Dallas

Logan Farrington’s first professional goal proved to be enough to help hosts FC Dallas take down USL Championship side Memphis 901 FC to advance to the Round of 16 of the 2024 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Farrington came off the bench in the second half and provided the ultimate spark as he got on the end of a Jesus Ferreira free kick and made the most of his chance.

Farrington was thrilled to make his mark on the tournament, but also tempered expectations after the match.

“It’s fantastic being able to score my first goal in this tournament and feeling the warmth and support of our fans after the goal. It’s amazing but it’s only the first step and we have more challenges ahead of us.”

It was the 37th US Open Cup win for FC Dallas in club history, which moves them into a tie for third place in the tournament’s Modern Era (1995-present) with the Seattle Sounders FC (who play on Wednesday night) and the LA Galaxy who did not enter the competition this year.

Dallas set the tone early, earning a corner kick in just the second minute. Katlego Ntsabeleng had arguably the best chance of the half in the 13th minute, but his point blank shot inside the box was deflected out for a corner; which Dallas failed to capitalize on.

Memphis came back with their best chance in the 22nd minute when Marlon Dos Santos Prezeres found himself in space inside the Dallas penalty box but his shot went over the crossbar.

Frustration began to set in for the home side as Dallas picked up back-to-back yellow cards in the 41st and 43rd minutes. Dallas finally picked up their first shot on goal in first half stoppage time, but Nkosi Tafari’s header was hit right at Memphis goalkeeper Tyler Deric.

Dallas wasted no time applying pressure in the second half, earning a corner kick in the 49th minute. Three minutes later, Petar Musa found himself 1-on-1 with Deric, but his chip went over the bar. Memphis responded immediately with a close range shot from Luiz Fernando Nascimento that went just wide of the goal. Both sides made multiple substitutions to try and shake things up in the 65th minute and the visitors from Memphis were able to quickly earn a corner kick, but ultimately couldn’t convert.

Dallas finally broke the deadlock in the 73rd minute. Ferreira whipped in a free kick towards the back post and Farrington needed just one touch to settle the ball and fire past the keeper for the goal. Memphis immediately came back to force back-to-back corner kicks at the other end but could not take advantage. Dallas maintained their hold over the game and Musa managed to conjure multiple shots on goal in the final 10 minutes, but failed to double his team’s advantage. In the end it wouldn’t matter though, as Dallas secured the 1-0 win to move on to the next round.

Dallas head coach Nico Estevez commended his team’s adjustments at halftime to help turn the tide.

“I think the adjustments we made at halftime, offensively and defensively, helped us to be more of a threat and aggressive. At the end, we couldn’t score more goals, and this is why it’s very important to score the first goal. It was late for us, but I think we gained good experience and now we have to recover and get ready for Austin (next league match).”

Dallas will hit the road in the Round of 16 to take on the winner of Birmingham Legion and Tampa Bay Rowdies.

2023 US Open Cup Round 4: Nashville SC still unbeaten at home in Cup play with win vs. FC Dallas

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Nashville SC players celebrate after scoring a goal against FC Dallas in the 2023 US Open Cup. Photo: Nashville SC
Nashville SC players celebrate after scoring a goal against FC Dallas in the 2023 US Open Cup. Photo: Nashville SC

FC Dallas travelled to FirstBank Stadium to take on Nashville SC in the Round of 32 of the 2023 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup and it was the hosts that booked their place in the next round of the competition after two goals and a good defensive showing made sure Dallas had no chance of coming back into the match.

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A crowd of 5,196 saw Nashville book their place into the Round of 16 for the second time in their club’s history after making it to the Quarterfinals in the 2022 season. A disappointing Dallas side exited the competition in the Round of 32 for the second year in a row and will be looking to bounce back before their rivalry matchup against Austin FC at the weekend.

The first half saw little to no action as each side had one shot but neither were on target. Nashville controlled the majority of the possession as they tried to counter Dallas’ high press and build out of the back. Nashville saw 54% of the ball throughout the first half as FC Dallas had no cohesion when pressing forward against a strong back line of Nashville.

The second half began just how the first had ended with possession from Nashville and constant pressure from Dallas. Both sides exchanged harsh tackles and picked up numerous fouls but referee Lukasz Szpala didn’t believe these tackles warranted a yellow card.

The first chance of the second half came from Dallas after Ema Twumasi slid a ball through Nashville’s back line into Jesus Ferreira who blasted a shot into a Nashville defender winning a corner for the away side. The pressure continued as Ferreira sent in a corner that met the Brazilian right back Geovane Jesus’ head as he redirected the ball straight into Elliot Panicco.

Nashville responded immediately to the pressure that Dallas had begun to bring and decided to take this tie into their own hands in the 63rd minute. Fafa Picualt was played a ball on the left flank and pressed towards the Dallas goal before cutting inside and placing a shot directly into the bottom right corner of the net. Jimmy Mauer could only attempt to save it as he was let down by poor defending from his back line.

The momentum had shifted completely in Nashville’s favor and they were looking for more. They thought that they had secured a 2-0 lead in the 76th minute when the ball bounced around in the six yard box and eventually found its way in, but the assistant referee ruled the goal out for offsides.

FC Dallas, a two-time winner of the competition, were given a lifeline but it did not last long before Nashville scored another to end the tie. A poor attempt to clear the ball ended with Alex Muyl receiving the ball on the edge of the box and with some skill and precision, he curled the ball into the net leaving Jimmy Mauer helpless yet again.

FC Dallas attempted to string attacks together with nothing going in their favor. Nashville secured their safe passage into the next round of the competition and remain undefeated at home (7-0-1, 1-0 PKs) in their club’s Open Cup history. For FC Dallas, it will likely be a long flight home after the club’s first one-and-done US Open Cup since 2012.

 

2022 US Open Cup Round 4: Sporting KC’s historic equalizer sparks OT comeback over FC Dallas

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Players from Sporting Kansas City celebrate after scoring a goal against FC Dallas in the Fourth Round of the 2022 US Open Cup. Photo: Sporting KC
Players from Sporting Kansas City celebrate after scoring a goal against FC Dallas in the Fourth Round of the 2022 US Open Cup. Photo: Sporting KC

A red card. A saved free kick. A corner.

It all happened late in second-half stoppage time for Sporting Kansas City, trailing by a goal. Remi Walter lined up the perfect corner, all Marinos Tzionis needed to do was get a piece of it.

He did. Jimmy Maurer didn’t have a chance in the FC Dallas net. That came in the eighth minute of second half stoppage time.

It was his first goal for his new club.

Sporting Kansas City, in front of 14,922 at Children’s Mercy Park, came back from a two-goal deficit to force extra time before winning 4-2 in Round 4 of the US Open Cup. It was the latest regulation goal in Sporting Kansas City history.

That two-goal deficit after the first half wasn’t for nothing.

Sporting was miserable in the first half and unplayable in the second. The hosts did not have a shot until deep into first-half stoppage time and it was nowhere near challenging Jimmy Maurer in the east-side net. After getting outshot 8-2 in the first half, Sporting outshot Dallas 23-12 by the time the match finished.

SKC looked left for dead after Edwin Munjoma made it 2-0 for Dallas, especially after the visitors’ opening goal came off a wrong-team assist from goalkeeper John Pulskamp to Franco Jara.

After the half-time whistle, though, Dallas’s collapse began.

“The first half was my fault,” Sporting Kansas City manager Peter Vermes said. “I think that we weren’t prepared to play in the system that we put together; we just didn’t feel comfortable. 

“We made a change in that first half, we went back to a 4-3-3, then all the sudden the guys started to get a little more comfortable.”

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The win comes at an important time for Kansas City, as its last victory in all competitions came March 26 against Real Salt Lake. It also extends the club’s unbeaten run in home matches in the Open Cup to 10, which is tied for the second-longest active streak with Chicago Fire. Philadelphia Union’s 11-match home unbeaten streak is the longest.

It was the fifth time the two clubs have met in the tournament — all SKC wins, all in Kansas City.

Tuesday was the third time in the past four Open Cups that the two had faced each other.

“We’ve been working hard,” SKC forward Khiry Shelton said. “We needed this. We needed to be lifted a little bit because we didn’t have the start we wanted this season, but the effort’s been there … It’s not like a team has actually beat us, it’s been our own mistakes.”

Two-goal comeback wins are not common in US Open Cup play. Tuesday’s rally by Sporting Kansas City was just the 17th time that a team overcame a two-goal deficit in the Modern Era (1995-present). It was the third time that Kansas City were the comeback kids.

Both teams had a completely different starting lineup from their most recent match.

Sporting’s revitalization was clear from the second-half kickoff. Fifteen minutes later, Nikola Vujnovic’s first goal for his new club, a rifle into the roof of the net, set off the comeback. Shelton’s shot deflected off Dallas defender Edwin Cerillo for an own goal to ice the match for the win for Sporting Kansas City.

“That was pretty funny actually,” Shelton said. “Sometimes you need some luck. That’s what happened on the first goal.”

Cerillo’s turnover in his own box in the second half of extra time led to Sporting’s insurance goal from Shelton, who needed to do nothing more than simply pass it into the open net.

“I’m big on energy, and I kinda took a peek over to their bench and everyone’s head is down. They’re kind of exhausted,” Shelton said. “We’re like, ‘Come on, this is ours. This is for us right now.’”

The story of the match lies on one coin — one side showing the comeback, the other showing the collapse.

Marinos Tzionis of Sporting Kansas City celebrates his equalizing goal with Remi Walter in the eighth minute of second half stoppage time against FC Dallas in the Fourth Round of the 2022 US Open Cup. Photo: Sporting KC
Marinos Tzionis of Sporting Kansas City celebrates his equalizing goal with Remi Walter in the eighth minute of second half stoppage time against FC Dallas in the Fourth Round of the 2022 US Open Cup. Photo: Sporting KC

Leading 2-0, FC Dallas should never have let that lead slip. Sporting Kansas City only made one substitution prior to its opening goal — a forced move in the 18th minute as Ozzie Cisneros made way for Cam Duke after an apparent injury. 

“I believe that we’ve been building towards this for a while,” Vermes said. “I think we’ve had really good performances… It has a lot to do with the fight of the guys.”

Dallas’ collapse began long before Jose Martinez’s red card in the 97th minute. The visitors came out flat in the second half, allowing Sporting Kansas City to dictate the match. From there, the chances piled up and the defense began to buckle.

It was only a matter of time. 

After Vujnovic scored Sporting’s first, it appeared that there would only be one winner.

“I was so happy for myself and for (the fans),” Vujnovic said. “For a second, I thought I would score a second one but then I got subbed out.”

2022 US Open Cup Round 3: FC Dallas wins 8th straight opener, 2-1 over FC Tulsa

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Franco Jara of FC Dallas celebrates after scoring a goal against FC Tulsa in the Third Round of the 2022 US Open Cup. Photo: Jessica Tobias | FC Dallas
Franco Jara of FC Dallas celebrates after scoring a goal against FC Tulsa in the Third Round of the 2022 US Open Cup. Photo: Jessica Tobias | FC Dallas

Two time US Open Cup winners FC Dallas moved into the Fourth Round of the tournament with a 2-1 win over FC Tulsa at Toyota Stadium on Tuesday night.

“The players were on edge, they gave a lot and I think they deserve a lot of credit,” said FC Tulsa head coach Michael Nsien. “You see some of the guys that played 90 minutes were going nonstop and were spent after the match. It is hard to take moral victories because we are professionals and we are competitive people, but in terms of what game speed is supposed to look like, I think we’ve seen today what we expect from our players, and we just need that continuity now.”

Franco Jara opened the scoring for the hosts just after the half hour from the penalty spot. The Argentine was felled by a clumsy challenge by Johnny Fenwick, before rolling the ball calmly down the middle of the goal.

The lead would only hold for ten minutes. Rodrigo da Costa sent in a corner, flicked on by Ronald Rodriguez, wasn’t dealt with by Lucas Bartlett in the Dallas back line. After a couple of stabs at the ball by the rookie, Bradley Bourgeois swiped the ball home from inside the six yard box.

Tulsa threatened a vastly changed FC Dallas side, pressing high and playing positively.

“I like what they proposed,” said FC Dallas head coach Nico Estevez. “They tried to play, they have tools and resources to build from the back, and it makes it more difficult when a team wants to come here to play because you have to be worried about how you’re going to press and win the ball.”

Jader Obrian restored FC Dallas’ lead in the 66th minute. Szabolcs Schon broke down the left, crossing from deep for Obrian to meet at the back post with an acrobatic volley.

Jimmy Maurer, a veteran of the New York Cosmos teams that knocked out New York Red Bulls and New York City FC in back to back Open Cup seasons, was called into action early by Joaquin Rivas. Brian Brown should have restored parity in the 71st minute, with the hosts again struggling at a set-piece, but the substitute could not control his close range header.

The MLS side began to bring in more familiar faces with the likes of US Men’s National Team striker Jesus Ferreira and franchise record signing Alan Velasco.
Ferreira – tied for leading scorer in Major League Soccer – had the ball in the net in the final minute, finishing off a pass from Jader Obrian, but the former Tulsa Roughnecks loanee was judged to be offside.

FC Dallas wins their opening round game in the tournament for the eighth year in a row. With the victory they advance to take on Sporting Kansas City on the road on May 11.

US Open Cup history: A final four with teams without a title game appearance is rare

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The 2019 US Open Cup Semifinals offer up a fresh and unique field of potential champions. Not only have none of the remaining teams ever won a US Open Cup championship, but none of them have ever been to a Final either. This is just the second time this has happened since MLS joined the competition in 1996, and it’s just the 10th time in the 106-year history of the tournament that fans are not only guaranteed a first-time champion, but none of the semifinalists have even reached a Final before.

We take a look back at the previous nine Semifinals that featured teams all seeking their first Open Cup title.

1920 National Challenge Cup
Robins Dry Dock (New York, NY) vs. Fore River FC (Quincy, MA)
Ben Miller FC (St. Louis, MO) vs. Packard FC (Detroit, MI)

It’s no real surprise the 1920 Semifinals lacked teams with Finals experience, for many reasons. For the 1920 edition, there were many teams returning to the competition after a two-year absence. World War I enlistments had greatly reduced the field of teams for the 1918 and 1919 tournaments, as many teams had to suspend operations due to a lack of players. Detroit’s Packard FC was one of those clubs, having participated in the National Challenge Cup from 1915-17, the club skipped the 1917-18 and 1918-19 competitions. Packard had achieved moderate success in their previous cup runs, but never got as far as the Third Round.

Fore River avoided the fate of many clubs and were able to field a team through the war since it’s home base of Quincy, Mass. was home to several shipyards, becoming an important employer during the war years. The Quincy shipbuilders had reached the Quarterfinals in 1919, where they fell to eventual runners-up Paterson FC (New Jersey) 2-1, in a replay of their scoreless draw.

Jimmy Miller of Ben Miller FC (Date unknown)
Jimmy Miller of Ben Miller FC (Date unknown)

The 1920 tournament was just the second for Robins Dry Dock, as the team was put together at the start of the 1918-19 season. The Robins club also contributed to the inexperience of the Semifinals by eliminating the Fall River Rovers (4-0 in Round 4) and Bethlehem Steel (1-0 AET in Quarterfinals). Bethlehem had appeared in the previous five Cup finals, while Fall River joined the Steelmen in the title game from 1915-17. The elimination of these two powerhouses greatly increased the chance of new clubs reaching the final in 1920.

 

The final piece of the puzzle was the Ben Miller FC from St. Louis. 1920 was the first year that clubs from St. Louis entered the tournament, leading to the Gateway City becoming a dominant force in the national tournament for the next 17 years.

In the Semifinals, Fore River overcame a 1-0 halftime deficit to stage a dramatic 2-1 win over Robins, with Tommy Underwood and Jack Kershaw each scoring in the final 15 minutes. Ben Miller reached its maiden cup final with a 4-2 win over Packard FC. Rube Potee and Larry Riley each scored twice for the Millers. In the Final, at Handlan’s Park in St. Louis, Ben Miller and Fore River traded goals in the first half, Hap Marre for the home team and Kershaw for the visitors. Future National Soccer Hall of Famer Jimmy Dunn scored what proved to be the winning goal in the 63rd minute, giving St. Louis the National Challenge Cup crown in their debut year.

1920 National Challenge Cup Semifinals

April 10, 1920
Coats Field – Pawtucket, RI

Fore River Rovers 2:1 Robins Dry Dock

Robins: Harry Ratican – 45’
Fore River: Tommy Underwood (Farquar) – 75’
Fore River – Jack Kershaw (Underwood) – 85’

April 25, 1920
Federal League Park – St. Louis, MO

Ben Miller FC 4:2 Packard FC

Ben Miller: Rube Potee (PK) – 8’
Ben Miller: Larry Riley (Rooney) – 10’
Packard: Mercer – 30’
Packard: John Hunter – 43′
Ben Miller: Larry Riley (Rooney) – 68’
Ben Miller: Rube Potee – 2nd Half

1920 National Challenge Cup Final

May 9, 1920
Handlan’s Park – St. Louis, MO

Ben Miller FC 2:1 Fore River Rovers

Ben Miller: Hap Marre 22′ (Potee)
Fore River: Jack Kershaw 37′
Ben Miller: Jimmy Dunn 63′ (Potee)

***********************************

1925 National Challenge Cup Semifinals
Abbot Worsted (Fore Village, MA) vs. Shawsheen Indians (Andover, MA)
Thistles FC (Cleveland, OH) vs. Canadian Club (Chicago, IL)

The 1925 National Challenge Cup Eastern Final. Newspaper archive: Boston Globe
The 1925 National Challenge Cup Eastern Final. Newspaper archive: Boston Globe

If there ever was a tournament of underdogs, it was the 1925 National Challenge Cup. Not because of any overachieving clubs, but rather a lack of heavyweights in the field. Frustrated with how the tournament was being run, the owners of the American Soccer League teams decided to boycott the 1925 competition. One concern raised by the owners was the fact that their clubs were forced to play early round games against amateur clubs, in which the gate receipts sometimes did not cover the cost of travel if the ASL teams were drawn away. Perhaps the biggest issue for the owners was the 33 1/3% cut the USFA took from the gate receipts from each cup game. The four professional clubs from St. Louis also joined in the boycott, leaving the 1925 National Challenge Cup devoid of all the major contenders.

Abbot Worsted, sponsored by the Abbot Worsted Yarn Company of Fore Village, MA was easily the most experienced team among the semifinalists. Worsted reached the semifinals in 1922, and notched quarterfinal appearances in 1923 and 1924. The Shawsheen Indians of Andover, MA were a familiar opponent for Worsted, as the clubs met in the first round in 1924. After a 3-3 draw, Worsted eliminated Shawsheen two weeks later in the replay, 3-1. A year later, it was Shawsheen’s turn, as the Indians took a 2-0 lead through goals from Peter Purden and Alex Carrie in each half. Worsted’s Dan Cummings scored with two minutes remaining, but it was too late to catch the winners.

Chicago’s Canadian Club and Cleveland’s Thistles FC had a closer affair at DePaul Field in the Windy City. Thistles’ Swede Johnson scored in the 40th minute, but the Canadians answered two minutes later through a Bob Hannah penalty kick. With eight minutes remaining, Joe Phillips put the Canadians on top for good, 2-1.

Played at Mark’s Stadium, home of the boycotting Fall River Marksmen, the 1925 Cup Final was a dismal affair at the gate. Only 2,300 turned up, with a reported 953 paid. In contrast, the Boston Wonder Workers of the ASL and St. Louis’ Ben Miller FC played a three-game “American Professional Soccer Championship” series that drew 18,000 fans over three games. Back in Fall River, with goals from Edmund Smith, Peter Purden and Alex Carrie, Shawsheen lifted the Dewar trophy for the only time.

The new champs then achieved their overall goal of being included in the American Soccer League, but their story would not have a happy ending. The team struggled in league play, and in mid-season the teams’ backers, the American Woolen Company, pulled their support after company owner William Wood died. The team finished 10th out of 12 teams in the 1925-26 season and ceased operations in March of 1926.

1925 National Challenge Cup Semifinals

March 22, 1925
DePaul Field – Chicago, IL

Canadian Club 2:1 Thistles FC

Thistles: Swede Johnson 40′
Canadian Club: Bob Hannah 42′ (PK)
Canadian Club: Joe Phillips 82’

April 4, 1925
Balmoral Park  – Andover, MA

Shawsheen Indians 2:1 Abbot Worsted

Shawsheen: Peter Purden 17’ (PK)
Shawsheen: Alex Carrie (2nd half)
Abbot Worsted: Dan Cummings 88’

1925 National Challenge Cup Final

April 19, 1925
Mark’s Stadium, Tiverton, RI

Shawsheen Indians 3:0 Canadian Club

Shawsheen: Edmund Smith (Blyth) 35′
Shawsheen: Peter Purden (PK) 41′
Shawsheen: Alex Carrie 50′

Madison Kennels and Sparta A&BA battle in the 1929 National Challenge Cup Semifinals. Newspaper archive: St. Louis Post Dispatch
Madison Kennels and Sparta A&BA battle in the 1929 National Challenge Cup Semifinals. Newspaper archive: St. Louis Post Dispatch

1929 National Challenge Cup Semifinals
Sparta A & BA (Chicago, IL) vs. Madison Kennels (St. Louis, MO)
New York Giants (New York, NY) vs. Hakoah All Stars (New York, NY)

Just four years after the ASL and St. Louis pro clubs skipped the 1925 National Challenge Cup, the ASL once again skipped the competition. This time the St. Louis pro clubs did not join.

The rift began when the ASL owners looked to break away from the United States Soccer Football Association. In 1927, the league came under scrutiny from FIFA for poaching players from Great Britain, and the ASL owners did not agree with the limitations set by the USFA to satisfy FIFA. In retaliation, the ASL forbid its teams from entering the 1929 National Challenge Cup, but Bethlehem Steel, Newark Skeeters and the New York Giants broke ranks with the league and entered the Cup anyway. The ASL suspended the three teams, and in turn the USFA suspended the ASL. The three renegade teams joined five teams from the Southern New York Soccer Association’s Eastern Soccer League, while the remaining ASL clubs played on as an outlaw league. With that said, the previous two Cup champions, Fall River Marksmen (1927) and New York Nationals (1928) were out of the running for the 1929 title.

However, Bethlehem Steel wouldn’t be one of the teams representing the ESL in the semifinals, having been eliminated by the New York Giants in the Quarterfinals.  The Giants’ semifinal opponents were the Hakoah All Stars, also of the ESL. Hakoah was founded in the fall of 1928 by several former players from Hakoah Vienna. The Austrian club came to the United States for a tour in 1926, and several of the players decided to stay in the United States. Several of those players played for the Giants from 1926-28 before forming their own team. In front of 12,000 fans at Brooklyn’s Dexter Park, a 78th minute goal from Hungarian international Josef Eisenhoffer was just enough for Hakoah to edge the Giants and earn a sport in the Final.

In the Western final, two new teams from familiar locations squared off. St. Louis’ Madison Kennels were a “new” club in the St. Louis Pro League for the 1928-29 season, having changed sponsors when the Morgan Haulers were sold to new owners. Madison knocked off 1926 Cup champions Ben Miller FC in the first round and made their way to the semifinals as the latest threat from St. Louis. Their opponents were Sparta Athletic and Benevolent Association (A & BA for short). Founded in 1915 by Czech immigrants, the club made their debut in the Cup in 1922, and by 1927 became one of the strongest clubs in the west.

The game at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis featured 11 goals in total. Madison took a quick 2-0 lead in the first ten minutes, and by halftime held a 4-2 advantage. Sparta and Madison alternated goals in the second half until the score was 5-4, but Madison eventually pulled away with two late goals for a 7-4 victory. Madison’s Buddy Grennon had a hat trick and assisted on two other goals.

The 1929 Final made history on many levels. It was the first Final to be scheduled for multiple games, a best-of-three format replacing the single game championship. The tournament’s attendance record also fell, as an estimated 15,000 (13,937 paid) fans witnessed the first game at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis, setting a new mark for soccer in that city.  Madison held off Hakoah for most of the game, but in the 80th minute Josef Eisenhoffer broke through for the first score. Two minutes later, Siegfried Wortmann doubled Hakoah’s lead for a 2-0 win in the first leg.

A week later, 21,583 fans packed Dexter Park in Brooklyn for the second leg, an Open Cup Final attendance record that would stand until the 2010 Final in Seattle which saw a crowd of 31,311. Madison proved no match for Hakoah, as future US National Team manager Erno Schwarz, Max Gruenwald and Austrian international Mortiz Haeusler provided the home side with a 3-0 win and a National Challenge Cup title. The Hakoah squad would stay together until the collapse of the original ASL in the summer of 1933, but never reach the heights of an Open Cup championship again.

1929 National Challenge Cup Semifinals

March 17, 1929
Sportsman’s Park – St. Louis, MO

Madison Kennels 7:4 Sparta A & BA

Madison: Dinty Moore (Hanson) 1’
Madison: Johnny Worden (Oster) 8’
Sparta: Joe Kratochvil (Karbec) 18’
Madison: Buddy Grennon (Flavin) 1st half
Madison: Buddy Grennon (Hanson) 31’
Sparta: Adolph Berger (PK) 44’
Sparta: Adolph Berger (Karbec) 65′
Madison: Charley Oster (Grennon) 2nd half
Sparta: Charley Oster (Own goal) 2nd half
Madison: Eddie Flavin (Grennon) 2nd half
Madison: Buddy Grennon (Flavin) 88’

March 24, 1929
Dexter Park – Brooklyn, NY

Hakoah All Stars 1:0 New York Giants

Hakoah: Josef Eisenhoffer 78’

1929 National Challenge Cup Final

First Leg
March 31, 1929
Sportsman’s Park – St. Louis, MO

Madison Kennels 0:2 Hakoah All Stars

Hakoah: Josef Eisenhoffer (Nicholsburger) 80′
Hakoah: Siegfried Wortmann 82′

Second Leg
April 7, 1929
Dexter Park – Brooklyn, NY

Hakoah All Stars 3:0 Madison Kennels

Hakoah: Erno Schwarz (Gruenwald) 22′
Hakoah: Max Gruenwald (Haeusler) 50′
Hakoah: Moritz Haeusler (Gruenwald) 70’

***********************************

1941 National Open Cup Semifinals
German Hungarian SC (New York, NY) vs. Pawtucket SC (Pawtucket, RI)
Chrysler (Detroit, MI) vs. Gallatin-Dunlevy (Pittsburgh, PA)

By 1941, the landscape of American soccer had changed drastically. Ravaged by the effects of the Great Depression, the American Soccer League was forced to fold in the spring of 1933 and re-emerge as a semi-pro circuit by the fall. Teams from Philadelphia and Baltimore joined the league, and the New England teams had their own division with a separate schedule. Former cup champions such as Bethlehem Steel, Fall River Marksmen and New York Nationals faded away into history.

After the Stix, Baer & Fuller dynasty ended in 1938, St. Louis’ dominance of the Cup came to an abrupt halt and wouldn’t re-emerge until the 1950s. Teams from Detroit, Chicago and Western Pennsylvania filled the void in the west. With World War II looming on the horizon, only 71 clubs put their names in the hat, and the entry total would not surpass 100 clubs again until 1947. No teams from St. Louis even entered the 1941 Open Cup. On top of this, Philadelphia’s Passon SC was the only non-New England ASL club to enter, meaning none of the ASL teams that made Finals appearances in the past five years were in contention.

With most of the ASL clubs out of the competition, the door was open for teams from the German American Soccer League (GASL). The German Hungarian SC made their way to the Semifinals to represent the GASL and found themselves opposing the top club in the New England division of the ASL, Pawtucket FC. The New York amateurs proved to be no match for Pawtucket, as the ASL pros took the first leg 3-0 at Pawtucket and left Starlight Park in the Bronx with a 5-1 win in the second leg for an 8-1 aggregate victory.

In the Western half of the semifinals, Western Pennsylvania’s Gallatin-Dunlevy was making the most of an unusual partnership. At the start of the 1940-41 season, the managers of the two clubs agreed to combine their teams in order to field a contender in both cup and league play. Gallatin reached the National Amateur Cup final in 1939, but neither club had seen much success in the Open Cup. Detroit’s Chrysler SC had been participating in the Cup since 1934 but had only recently found success, reaching the Quarterfinals in 1940. Chrysler prevailed in convincing fashion over two legs, a 3-1 win at Bridgeville, Pa. followed by a 2-0 triumph at home. Having failed in their bid to win a league or cup championship, Gallatin and Dunlevy went their separate ways the following season.

The Pawtucket-Chrysler final turned out to be one of the more thrilling championships in the history of the Cup. Pawtucket won the first leg at home 4-2 on May 5. In the second leg a week later in Detroit, Chrysler held a 3-0 lead in the second half, and just as Detroit looks to claim its first Open cup title, Ed Valentine scored for Pawtucket to even the aggregate score at 5-5. Pawtucket dominated the 30 minutes of extra time, scoring three goals to push the aggregate to 8-5 to claim the Open Cup. Chrysler would only last one more season, disbanding after a lengthy and bitter controversy with Chicago’s Sparta A & BA in the 1942 tournament.

1941 National Open Cup Semifinals

Eastern Final – First Leg
April 13, 1941
Coats Field – Pawtucket, RI

Pawtucket Rangers 3:0 German Hungarian SC

Pawtucket: Ed Valentine – 1st half
Pawtucket: Dave McEwan (Florie) – 67’
Pawtucket: Walter Dick – 86’

Eastern Final – Second Leg

April 20, 1941
Starlight Park – Bronx, NY

German Hungarian SC 1:5 Pawtucket Rangers

German Hungarian: Eddie Zbuchalski
Pawtucket: Ed Valentine
Pawtucket: Ed Valentine
Pawtucket: Mino Rebello
Pawtucket: Walter Dick

Pawtucket Rangers advance on 8-1 aggregate

Western Final – First Leg

April 6, 1941
Charleroi Stadium – Bridgeville, PA

Gallatin-Dunlevy 1:3 Chrysler FC

Chrysler: Tony Barra (Campbell) 20′
Gallatin-Dunlevy: Charley Lyons (Chislagi) – 23’
Chrysler: George Borg – 53′
Chrysler: Neil Campbell – 88′

Western Final – Second Leg

April 13, 1941
Chrysler Field – Detroit, MI

Chrysler FC 2:0 Gallatin-Dunlevy

Chrysler: John Lenard – 40′
Chrysler: Neil Campbell (Borg) – 81′

Chrysler FC advance on 5-1 aggregate

 

1941 National Challenge Cup Final

First Leg
May 4, 1941
Coats Field – Pawtucket, RI

Pawtucket Rangers 4:2 Chrysler SC

Pawtucket: Mike Souza – 3′
Chrysler: Tommy Ferrans (PK) – 1st Half
Pawtucket: Ed Valentine (Florie) – 1st Half
Pawtucket: Walter Dick – 1st Half
Chrysler: Tony Barra – 2nd Half
Pawtucket: Dave McEwan – 2nd Half

Second Leg
May 11, 1941
Chrysler Field – Detroit, MI

Chrysler S.C. 3:4 (AET) Pawtucket Rangers
(3-1 FT, aggregate 5-5 after full time)

Chrysler: Neil Campbell (Molly) – 1st Half
Chrysler: John Lenard (Molly) – 2nd Half
Chrysler: Tony Barra – 2nd Half
Pawtucket: Ed Valentine (McEwan) – 90’
Pawtucket: Dave McEwan (Anderson) – 97′
Pawtucket: Tommy Florie (Quinn) – 114’
Pawtucket: Dave McEwan – 119′

Pawtucket Rangers win National Challenge Cup 8-5 aggregate

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1958 National Challenge Cup Semifinals
UASC Lions (Chicago, IL) vs. Los Angeles Kickers (Los Angeles, CA)
Pompei SC (Baltimore, MD.) vs. Beadling (Beadling, PA)

Like the other Semifinals detailed so far, the 1958 National Open Cup final four featured four teams who had little previous success in the tournament or were newcomers to the competition. In addition to that, three of the heavyweight Cup contenders, Eintracht, Kutis and Harmarville, were eliminated ahead of the semis.

A scene from the 1958 National Open Cup Final between the Los Angeles Kickers and Pompei SC of Baltimore. Newspaper archive: Baltimore Sun
A scene from the 1958 National Open Cup Final between the Los Angeles Kickers and Pompei SC of Baltimore. Newspaper archive: Baltimore Sun

The Los Angeles Kickers got their start in 1951, but the teams from the state of California did not see Open cup action until 1954. The exclusion of California clubs in the cup prior to 1954 was largely a matter of travel costs, as commercial air travel was still in its infancy, and traveling to the west coast by train would take too much time. The LA Scots (1952) and McIlwaine Canvasbacks (1953) each had intentions of making their cup debuts before 1954, but both withdrew for financial reasons. In 1954, both Los Angeles and San Francisco held qualifying tournaments with the winners playing for a spot in the Semifinals. The Kickers dismantled AAC Teutonia 13-2 over two legs to reach the 1958 Semifinals.

The UASC Lions (Ukrainian American Soccer Club) were also a relatively new club, having been founded in 1949. The Lions cleared the path to its maiden semifinal berth by upsetting Kutis SC (St. Louis) 4-3 on aggregate over two legs in the Quarterfinals. In the matchup with the Kickers in Los Angeles, the Lions wilted in the 90 degree heat and fell 3-0. Future US international Willie Carson, Future US international and Hall of Famer Al Zerhusen and Pete Rumohr scored for Los Angeles.

Pompei SC began as the Baltimore Rockets in 1953 as a new American Soccer League club and changed its name to Pompei for the 1957-58 season. As the Rockets, the team found no real Open Cup success, but with the new name came new fortunes. Pompei outlasted perennial favorite Sport Club Eintracht (New York, NY) in a 9-8 aggregate Quarterfinal win. The second leg would go down as perhaps the longest game in US Open Cup history, as the teams played 180 minutes in an attempt to earn a semifinal berth. Bob Swinski put the game to rest with a 177th minute goal for Pompei.

MORE: 1958 US Open Cup Quarterfinals: Baltimore’s Pompei SC wins one of the longest, greatest Cup games of all-time

By far the longest tenured of the four clubs was Beadling, having been founded in 1898. While Beadling only had two quarterfinal appearances (1951 & 1955) in the years leading up to 1958, the club won the 1954 National Amateur Cup and were runners-up in the 1958 edition. Their path to the final four was opened up by an early round upset of by Rochester’s Redmonds SC over 1956 Cup champion Harmarville. Wins over Buffalo’s Simon Pure and Detroit’s Ukrainian SC led to a two leg affair with Pompei. The first leg went Beadling’s way, as two goals from Jerry Bressanelli cancelled Bob Lezenski’s 11th minute goal for Pompei in a 2-1 win. In the return game in Baltimore, the home club came out on top 3-1 on two goals in each half from Ray Surrock, and an additional score from Ed DeFonso. George Watson converted a penalty for Beadling in the first half. It was the first finals appearance by a Baltimore team since 1940, when Baltimore SC and Chicago’s Sparta A & BA infamously could not decide a winner when the clubs could not come to terms on a tiebreaking third game.

In the final at Kirk Avenue Stadium in Baltimore, 4,500 fans witnessed Pompei and the LA Kickers battle into extra time to determine a winner. Willie Carson drew first blood for the Kickers in the 8th minute, but just eight minutes later Joe “JoJo” DeFonso scored what sounds like a bicycle kick to tie the score. The Baltimore Sun described DeFonso’s goal as “a boot over his head with his back to the goal.” Neither team could score for the remaining 74 minutes, as each team’s leading scorers Al Zerhusen (Kickers) and Larry Surrock (Pompei) failed to find the net.  With ten minutes remaining in extra time Willie Carson struck again, pouncing on a rebound from a blocked shot to drive home the winning goal.

Pompei would go on to make one more quarterfinal appearance in 1960, but wound up folding early in the 1960-61 season. The Kickers would go on to win another Open Cup title in 1964 as the LA Kickers-Victoria after merging with the Victoria Soccer Club. The UASC Lions, Beadling and LA Kickers (now LA Soccer Club) are all still around today.

1958 National Open Cup Semifinals

Eastern Final – First Leg
May 4, 1958
Beadling, PA

Beadling 2:1 Pompei SC

Pompei: Bob Lezenski – 11′
Beadling: Jerry Beressanelli – 2nd Half
Beadling: Jerry Beressanelli – 2nd Half

Eastern Final – Second Leg
May 18, 1958
Kahler’s Park – Baltimore, MD

Pompei SC 3:1 Beadling

Pompei: Ray Surock – 33’
Beadling: George Watson (PK) – 1st Half
Pompei: Ed DeFonso (Cross) – 2nd Half
Pompei: Ray Surock – 78’

Western Final
April 20, 1958
Sentinel Field – Los Angeles, CA

LA Kickers 3:0 UASC Lions SC

Kickers: Willie Carson (Zerhusen) – 1st Half
Kickers: Pete Rumohr (Tyrell) – 2nd Half
Kickers: Al Zerhusen – 2nd Half

1958 National Open Cup Final

June 8, 1958
Kirk Avenue Stadium – Baltimore, MD

Pompei SC 1:2 (AET) LA Kickers

Kickers: Willie Carson – 8’
Pompei: Joe DeFonso – 16’
Kickers: Willie Carson – 110’

 

New York Hota from 1971

1971 National Open Cup Semifinals
Hamm’s (St. Louis, MO) vs. Yugoslav American SC (Los Angeles, CA)
Danube Swabian (Cleveland, OH) vs. New York Hota (New York, NY)

By 1971, the American soccer landscape had changed yet again. The North American Soccer League was in it’s fourth season, but despite pressure from the US Soccer Federation, the NASL clubs were not entering the Open Cup. By 1971, the ASL, which was down to five teams, had moved to a spring/summer schedule a few seasons prior. As a result, almost none of the ASL teams entered the cup because many of their players were cup-tied with clubs they played for in the fall/winter months.

One major difference separated this semifinal field from all the others covered here: Only one of the two semifinals games were played. The western half of the semifinals came down to Hamm’s of St. Louis and the Yugoslav American SC of Los Angeles. The game was set to be played in Los Angeles, and the controversy arose due to a change the USSF made during the offseason. Previously, it was up to the hosts to pay for the visiting team’s travel and lodging, and the change was made that required the visiting team to handle their own expenses or offer a guarantee, or the visiting team could offer a travel guarantee to host the match. The Hamm’s club took issue with this, and after going back and forth with the USSF, failed to appear at Rancho Cienega Stadium in Los Angeles on May 2, forfeiting the match to Yugoslav American.

New York Hota’s path to the Semifinals also featured a bit of controversy. In their 4-1 quarterfinal win over Taunton Sport, the Massachusetts side protested the eligibility of several of Hota’s players. Manager Gordon Bradley and five other players had played for the NASL’s New York Cosmos the day before in their season opener in St. Louis, then flew to Fall River, Mass. for the Open Cup game the next day. Taunton argued that the players could not be registered with two separate teams, thus making them ineligible. Hota argued that had the Open Cup not been behind schedule, the conflict would have been avoided.

The USSF ruled in favor of Hota and they were off to face another surprise semifinal entrant, Danube Swabian of Cleveland, who had upset the Ukrainian Nationals in the Quarterfinals with a 2-1 extra time win. The game was originally set to be played in Cleveland, but for unknown reasons was switched to Franklin Square. New York held a 2-0 lead on goals from John Delano and Karl Minor before Paulo Ramos scored for Swabian in the 75th minute. Five minutes later, Cosmos player Ceyhan Yazar put the game away for Hota by converting a penalty kick. The Clevelanders also protested the eligibility of the Cosmos players, to no avail.

The Final at Rancho Cienega Stadium in Los Angeles proved to be a wild affair and remains the highest-scoring Open Cup Final in history. The Yugoslavs opened the scoring through Jose Bergitas but was soon answered by Paul Delano of Hota. Bergitas scored once again for a 2-1 lead, but Hota drew level before halftime on a Horst Kneissl goal. Felipe Ruvalcaba put the Yugoslavs back in front in the 60th minute on a free kick, but with less than a minute remaining Karl Minor scored for Hota to send the game into extra time.

Two minutes into the extra session Randy Mitrovic put Hota ahead 4-3, and Minor netted his second to extend the lead to 5-3. Bergitas got his third goal of the game to give the Yugoslavs a glimmer of hope, but Kneissl put the game to rest with his second of the game for a 6-4 Hota victory.

1971 National Open Cup Semifinals

Eastern Final
May 3, 1971
Park Stadium – Franklin Square, NY

NY Hota 3:1 Danube Swabian

Hota: John Delano – 14′
Hota: Karl Minor – 66′
Hota: Ceyhan Yazar (PK) – 80′
Danube: Paulo Ramos – 75′

Western Final
May 2, 1971
Rancho Cienega Stadium – Los Angeles, CA

Yugoslav American SC vs. Hamm’s

Hamm’s forfeit, failed to appear

Hamm’s did not show for game against San Pedro because of no travel guarantee (for a traveling party of 18) to Hamm.

Yugoslav American refused a $2000 bid by Hamm’s to play in St. Louis

1971 National Open Cup Final
May 16, 1971
Rancho Cienega Stadium – Los Angeles, CA

Yugoslav American SC 4:6 (AET) NY Hota

Yugoslav: Jose Bergitas – 1st Half
Hota: Paul Delano – 1st Half
Yugoslav: Jose Bergitas – 1st Half
Hota: Horst Kneissl – 1st Half
Yugoslav: Felipe Ruvalcaba – 60’
Hota: Karl Minor – 90’
Hota: Randy Mitrovic – 92’
Hota: Karl Minor – Extra Time
Yugoslav: Jose Bergitas – Extra Time
Hota: Horst Kneissl – Extra Time

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1987 National Open Cup Semifinals
Mean Green (Dallas, TX) vs. Club Espana (Washington D.C.)
Mitre Eagles (Seattle, WA) vs. Busch Under-22 SC (St. Louis, MO)

By 1987, the Open Cup had been contested exclusively by amateur and semi-pro clubs for almost 15 years. The ASL folded in 1983 and the NASL followed in 1984, although the teams for each league began to skip the tournament in the early 1970s. Clubs from “non-traditional” areas of the nation such as Texas, Florida, and Washington rose to prominence in the Open Cup. Another new twist was that the USSF had begun to play all of its cup semifinals and finals on one central location, and for a few years that would be the St. Louis Soccer Park in Fenton, Missouri.

This semifinal field included teams that had gone deep in the tournament before. The Mitre Eagles of Seattle, whose roster included a mix of former Settle Sounders and University of Washington players, made a few deep runs in the Open Cup prior to 1987. Starting with a quarterfinal appearance in 1982 when the team was known as Croatian SC. The Eagles followed up with quarterfinal runs in 1983, 1985 and 1986. Finally, in 1987, the team finally won the Region IV title with a 2-1 extra time win over San Francisco’s Greek American AC.

The Eagles opponents were another team that had some Open Cup success, sort of. The Busch Seniors Soccer Club had the bad luck to have to qualify from the same state as the powerful Kutis SC, who had made finals appearances in 1983, 1985 and 1986. The lone gap in that run was stopped by Busch with a 5-0 win in the Missouri qualifying final, although Busch fell in the national quarterfinals to eventual Open Cup runners-up Croatian SC of Chicago. In 1987, Busch would stop Kutis once again in the Missouri final, but it wasn’t the Seniors who took the honors, but Busch’s Under-22 team. The Seniors squad fell in the second round of qualifying, but the Busch-22s kept going. After nudging past Milwaukee Sport Club on penalties in the quarterfinals to set a date with the Mitre Eagles.

The game was a high-scoring, extra time affair, in which Busch tied the game on Steve Trittschuh’s 85th minute goal. They would rally from a 4-2 deficit in extra time to tie the game in the 118th minute on Kevin Hundelt’s second goal of the game. A minute later, John Klein scored his second goal of the game to send the Eagles to the Open Cup Final.

The other semifinal featured Mean Green a team from just outside of Dallas, who took their name from the University of North Texas, where many of the players played college soccer. The Mean Green started as an independent club in 1984 before joining the Lone Star Soccer Alliance in 1987. The team mad an immediate impact, winning the National Amateur Cup in 1984, and reaching the semifinals of the Open Cup in 1985.

Opposing them was Washington, D.C.’s Club Espana, the 1985 National Amateur cup champions and a team that had already made plans to join the third version of the American Soccer League in 1988 as the Washington Diplomats. The contest was all Espana, as two goals from Richard Burks and another from Fernando Iturbe sent the future pros to the final with a 3-0 win.

Despite coming from opposite sides of the country, Club Espana and Mitre Eagles were quite familiar with each other. The two teams previously met in the 1985 National Amateur Cup final that Espana won 2-1. In a nod to the club’s future, Espana wore their Washington Diplomats shirts for the game. Each team finished down a man as Abdulwhad Al-Khaldi (Espana) and Stephen Englebrick (Eagles) were sent off in the 54th minute. The teams pushed through regulation and extra time without a goal, the 75th edition of the Open Cup Final would be the first to finish scoreless, as well as the first final to be decided on penalty kicks. Espana only needed to convert on their first three shots, as the Eagles missed each of their attempts.

1987 National Open Cup Semifinals

June 20, 1987
St. Louis Soccer Park – Fenton, MO

Club Espana 3:0 Mean Green

Espana: Fernando Iturbe – 11′
Espana: Richard Burke (PK) – 55′
Espana: Richard Burke (PK) – 84’

Mitre Eagles 5:4 (AET) Busch U-22s

Eagles: John Klein – 1st Half
Eagles: Eddie Kruger – 1st Half
Busch: Unknown goalscorer – 1st Half
Busch: Steve Trittschuh – 85′
Eagles: Peter Klein – Extra Time
Eagles: Andy Churlin – Extra Time
Busch: Kevin Hundelt
Busch: Kevin Hundelt – 118’
Eagles: John Klein – 119’

*other goal times not available

1987 National Open Cup Final

June 21, 1987
St. Louis Soccer Park – Fenton, MO

Club Espana 0:0 (AET) Mitre Eagles

Club Espana wins National Open Cup, 3-0 on penalty kicks

 

1995 US Open Cup champions: Richmond Kickers
After playing the El Paso Patriots to a 1-1 draw, the Richmond Kickers captured the 1995 US Open Cup title by defeating the Patriots on penalty kicks 4-2. Photo: Richmond Kickers

1995 US Open Cup Semifinals
El Paso Patriots (El Paso, TX) vs. Seattle Sounders (Seattle, WA)
Richmond Kickers (Richmond, VA) vs. Chicago Stingers (Chicago, IL)

1996 US Open Cup Semifinals
Dallas Burn (Dallas, TX) vs. D.C. United (Washington D.C.)
Rochester Raging Rhinos (Rochester, NY) vs. Colorado Rapids (Denver, CO)

In 1995 and 1996 the US Open Cup underwent perhaps the most drastic change in its history. For the first time since 1973, teams from the top two professional leagues in the country entered the competition. For its entire existence, none of the NASL teams ever took part in the Open Cup, and the last confirmed entry of an American Soccer League club was in 1973.  Starting in 1991, teams from the newly-founded Southwest Independent Soccer League (later to become the USISL, and then the United Soccer Leagues), although teams from the American Professional Soccer League continued to skip the tournament until 1995.

With Major League Soccer’s debut season coming in 1996, the APSL (a Division 2 pro league known as the A-League at this point) entered the Open Cup in 1995, ready to clash with the up and coming USISL (Division 3 pro). All four quarterfinal matchups were A-League vs. USISL affairs, and the USISL emerged victorious in three of the games. For all four clubs it wasn’t just their debut in the semifinals, but their debut in the Open Cup as a whole.  The first contest took place on July 30 as the USISL’s El Paso Patriots played host to the Seattle Sounders, the last remaining A-League club. Playing in 103 degree heat, the Patriots’ Gabino Amparan scored the lone goal in the 36th minute to sweep away the Sounders and earn a spot in the final. A week later in Richmond, the amateur Richmond Kickers of the USISL Premier League (which later became the Premier Development League, and currently known as USL League Two), played host to the professional Chicago Stingers, both members of the USISL but in separate leagues.

Players from D.C. United celebrate the club's 1996 US Open Cup championship.
Players from D.C. United celebrate the club’s 1996 US Open Cup championship.

The Kickers got off to a quick start with an opening minute goal from Brian Kamler, but Chicago answered ten minutes later through Don D’Ambra. The Stingers went into halftime with a 2-1 lead thanks to a 38th minute penalty kick from Steve Morris. Ben Crawley and Scott Snyder struck for two quick goals for Richmond midway through the second half for a 3-2 lead, but Chicago tied the game yet again when D’Ambra scores his second in the 88th minute. With extra time looming, Richmond’s Rob Ukrop was brought down in the penalty area in the 89th minute, and Crawley stepped up for his second goal of the game to put an end to a wild semifinal. The 1995 final in El Paso was a tight affair. Rob Ukrop put Richmond ahead in the first half, and Gabino Amparan scored late in the game for El Paso to force extra time. After a scoreless extra time, the Kickers won the penalty shootout as goalkeeper Jeff Causey saved the final two penalty kick attempts from the Patriots.

In 1996, it was time for Major League Soccer to make its Open Cup debut. Only four MLS teams entered, all entering in the Quarterfinals. However, the Colorado Rapids made an impromptu debut when they replaced the A-League’s Colorado Foxes, who were forced to withdraw when five of their starters were called up to the Jamaican National Team for World Cup qualifying. Kansas City, Dallas and D.C. United advanced to the Semifinals, but Tampa Bay fell 4-3 in extra time to the new sensation of American soccer: the A-League’s Rochester Raging Rhinos. The Rhinos drew the Colorado Rapids and wound up blowing by their MLS competition. Two goals from Doug Miller and another from Lenin Steenkamp sent 12,179 at Frontier Field in Rochester home happy. On the other side of the bracket, D.C. United only needed a pair of goals from Jaime Moreno to overcome the Dallas Burn, 2-0.

In the Final on October 30, D.C. United put an end to the Rhinos’ fairytale run 3-0 behind behind goals from Raul Diaz Arce, Eddie Pope and Moreno. D.C. United would appear in four more Open Cup finals, but their next title wouldn’t come until 2008. The Rhinos would make another cinderella run in 1999, knocking off four MLS teams to become the only non-MLS club to win the Open Cup since 1996.

1995 US Open Cup Semifinals

July 30, 1995
Dudley Field – El Paso, TX

El Paso Patriots 1:0 Seattle Sounders

El Paso: Gabino Amparan (Lorenzo Baeza) – 36’

August 4, 1995
Univ. of Richmond Stadium – Richmond, VA

Richmond Kickers 4:3 Chicago Stingers

Richmond: Brian Kamler (Scott Synder) – 1’
Chicago: Don D’Ambra (Unassisted) – 11’
Chicago: Steve Morris (PK) – 30’
Richmond: Ben Crawley (Assist?) – 64’
Richmoond: Scott Snyder (Assist?) – 69’
Chicago: Don D’Ambra (Steve Morris) – 88’
Richmond: Ben Crawley (PK) – 89’

1995 US Open Cup Final

August 27, 1995
SISD Student Activities Complex – El Paso, TX

El Paso Patriots 1:1 (AET) Richmond Kickers

Richmond: Rob Ukrop (Leigh Cowlishaw) – 49’
El Paso: Gabino Amparan (Sal Mercado) – 80’

Richmond wins US Open Cup, 4-2 on penalty kicks

***********************************

1996 US Open Cup Semifinals

October 12, 1996
Frontier Field – Rochester, NY

Rochester Ragin’ Rhinos 3:0 Colorado Rapids

Rochester: Lenin Steenkamp (Hector Marinaro) – 32’
Rochester: Doug Miller (Henry Gutierrez) – 56’
Rochester: Doug Miller (Hector Marinaro) – 85’

October 27, 1996
Cotton Bowl – Dallas, TX

Dallas Burn 0:2 D.C. United

D.C. United: Jaime Moreno (Marco Etcheverry) – 12’
D.C. United: Jaime Moreno (Unassisted) – 82’

1996 US Open Cup Final

October 30, 1996
RFK Stadium – Washington, D.C.

D.C. United 3:0 Rochester Ragin’ Rhinos

D.C. United: Raul Diaz Arce (Unassisted) – 45’
D.C. United: Eddie Pope (Tony Sanneh) – 63’
D.C. United: Jaime Moreno (Tony Sanneh) – 89′

 

2019 US Open Cup Round of 16: New Mexico United edges FC Dallas to continue inaugural Cinderella run

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New Mexico United rallied from a first-half deficit to advance to the Quarterfinals of the 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with a 2-1 win against FC Dallas on Wednesday night. | Photo courtesy Matt Begala / FC Dallas
New Mexico United rallied from a first-half deficit to advance to the Quarterfinals of the 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with a 2-1 win against FC Dallas on Wednesday night. | Photo courtesy Matt Begala / FC Dallas

New Mexico United’s historic inaugural season continued Wednesday night when they took down MLS side FC Dallas 2-1 at Westcott Field on the campus of Southern Methodist University. The two sides traded goals in the first half, but it was New Mexico defender Sam Hamilton’s 64th minute strike that made the difference and sent the visitors through to the Quarterfinals.

United head coach Troy Lesesne put the win into perspective after the game.

“It gives us a ton of credibility, not only in the USL Championship but then across the landscape in North American soccer and it allows the state of New Mexico to dream … now we open up a different world for our state and I love that.”

Hamilton concurred with his coach.

“It’s big for the players trying to make the jump and it’s just big for a first time organization to go this far into the Open Cup.”

Neither team is likely a stranger to the summer heat, but the temperature of 96 degrees (heat index over 100) at kickoff may have had something to do with the game’s slow start. Neither side registered a shot until the 15th minute and the first shot on goal – courtesy of Dallas’ Dominique Badji – didn’t arrive until the 30th minute. To drive the point home, there were three shots on goal in the first 40 minutes and two of them came from Dallas right back Ryan Hollingshead from outside the box.

Support TheCup.us and its coverage of the US Open Cup by purchasing a "We Want The Cup" shirt in your team's colors. Visit <a href="https://shop.thecup.us/">THECUP.US SHOP</a>
Support TheCup.us and its coverage of the US Open Cup by purchasing a “We Want The Cup” shirt in your team’s colors. Visit THECUP.US SHOP

But then in the 41st minute, Dallas’ Brandon Servania broke free on the corner kick and got on the end of Barrios’ service, firing home a rocket from just outside the box. The assist from Barrios was the fourth of his career in the US Open Cup.

New Mexico needed just four minutes to respond as Kevaughn Frater found himself at the right place at the right time and converted from inside the six yard box after Dallas keeper Jimmy Maurer failed to secure the initial shot on goal. Frater’s goal was his third in the 2019 tournament and the fourth of his career.

The visitors picked up a free kick opportunity in a dangerous area in stoppage time, but failed to make it count and the game went into halftime even at 1-1.

The second half picked up right where the end of the first left off. Two minutes after the break, Barrios found himself free in the box, only for his centering pass to be cleared for a corner. New Mexico came back in the 54th minute with a shot from inside the box by Daniel Bruce, but it didn’t clear the crowd of Dallas defenders. Dallas made the first change in the 58th minute with Paxton Pomykal replacing 16-year-old Ricardo Pepi, who didn’t look quite as sharp as he did in his debut in Round 4 when he went the full 90 and recorded an assist.

Then in the 64th minute, New Mexico earned a free kick near the corner flag and, after some ping-ponging inside the box, Hamilton’s shot squeezed through to put the visitors up 2-1. Six minutes later, Frater went down and needed treatment but would ultimately stay in the game.

Pomykal made his presence felt in the 74th minute with a slick run into the box, but his centering ball couldn’t get directed on frame. He put a shot on goal himself in the 82nd minute, only to be denied by New Mexico keeper Cody Mizell, who Lesesne called “an absolute rock for us.”

Dallas continued to make inroads, mostly through Barrios out wide, but Hamilton and the New Mexico defense stood tall and made no mistakes to help their side secure the win and move on.

“I think that we were under some pressure, but we handled that pressure well and just grinded out a fantastic victory and a historic moment for our club”, said Lesesne of his team’s defensive effort throughout the match.

New Mexico United continue to represent their state well this season. They are the second team from the state of New Mexico to ever reach the quarterfinals and the first to do so in the Modern Era (1995-present); the New Mexico Chiles made it all the way to the Semifinals in 1991. In Round 2 this year, United became the first New Mexico side in the Modern Era to even advance in the Open Cup. In Round 3 they became the first New Mexico side to win a game in the Open Cup. And in Round 4 they became the first side from the state to beat an MLS side. Now they have two such victories and they’ll look to make it three when they travel north on July 10 to meet Minnesota United in the Quarterfinals.

2019 US Open Cup Round 4: Michael Barrios, Ricardo Pepi lead FC Dallas to 4-0 win over OKC Energy

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FC Dallas celebrates one of their goals against Oklahoma City Energy FC in the Fourth Round of the 2019 US Open Cup. Photo: FC Dallas
FC Dallas celebrates one of their goals against Oklahoma City Energy FC in the Fourth Round of the 2019 US Open Cup. Photo: FC Dallas

FC Dallas (MLS) scored twice in each half and got big performances from both a club veteran and teenager making his debut to help the Hoops advance past OKC Energy (USL Championship). Winger Michael Barrios assisted on Dallas’ first goal and scored the second himself, while 16 year old Ricardo Pepi made his first team debut, recording an assist and going the full 90 as the center forward.

With seven goals in his first six matches to lead all USL League One goalscorers, Dallas head coach Luchi Gonzalez wasn’t shocked to see the youngster have an impact in his first appearance since being called up on loan.

“Pepi was Pepi. That’s why I gave him the opportunity.”, Gonzalez said after the game.

Pepi himself never imagined making his debut so soon, but he took it all in stride.

“I’m very thankful to FC Dallas for giving me this opportunity, it’s a good one. I was working hard for it, but I never expected it to come this fast. It was overall pretty positive; we can work a little better. It was pretty good.”

Dallas came out strong from the opening whistle, earning a corner kick just three minutes into the game. They got their second in the 11th minute and Hedges opened the scoring with a clinical header off the service from Barrios. It was Hedges’ fourth career Open Cup goal and his first since 2016 when he scored not one but two in that edition of the tournament. He is now tied with Barrios for the most Open Cup goals in FC Dallas history. Barrios’ assist was his sixth of the 2019 season, which currently leads all players.

Dallas retained a comfortable advantage in possession and nearly added to their lead in the 26th with a free kick from just outside the box but the header from Dominique Badji sailed just high and wide. OKC did earn a pair of free kicks in dangerous spots after that, but couldn’t capitalize and were made to pay.

Barrios doubled Dallas’ lead in the 43rd minute after getting a pass from Pepi at the time of the box and firing home at the far post. Halftime came with Dallas in complete control, having outshot the Energy by an eight to one margin. Gonzalez was asked how he kept his team focused in the second half, despite being so dominant.

“The motto is: score the next goal. Win the next ball…I thought tonight was a very professional performance,” he added.

At 16 years 5 months and 3 days, Pepi became the second youngest player in the Modern Era (1995-Present) to appear in a US Open Cup match. Only former DC United child star Freddy Adu (16 years 2 months and 1 day) was younger when he made his debut. Pepi is also just the second youngest player to record an assist in an Open Cup game, bested by Adu again for the record.

16-year-old Ricardo Pepi made his debut with FC Dallas in the club's Fourth Round match against OKC Energy FC in the 2019 US Open Cup. Photo: FC Dallas
16-year-old Ricardo Pepi made his debut with FC Dallas in the club’s Fourth Round match against OKC Energy FC in the 2019 US Open Cup. Photo: FC Dallas

The second half started with a bang as OKC Energy earned a free kick in the 46th minute and prior to the kick being taken, Deshorne Brown was handed a yellow card in the 47th for jostling a little too hard in the box. A minute later, Hedges found himself shaken up but he would return shortly after. Then in the 52nd minute, Dallas earned yet another corner kick and this time it was Badji, completely unmarked, who connected on the service from Jesus Ferreira to make it 3-0 Hoops. Badji stressed just how hard the team prepares for set pieces and was grateful for his teammate’s delivery.

“It’s a set play, so I knew he was going to hit it to me. It was a great ball.” he noted after the game.

OKC would go on to empty their bench with three substitutions in nine minutes, but none of Christian Eissele, Kal Okot, or Joshua Garcia could help the Energy break through with a goal. Dallas would finish as 4-0 winners, eliminating Oklahoma City for the third straight time in Open Cup play. The Hoops beat the Energy 4-1 in 2015, and ousted them in penalty kicks in 2016 to begin Dallas’ run to their second US Open Cup title.

Dallas’ Bryan Reynolds, making his first career start with the team, earned a penalty in the 89th minute and second half sub Reto Zeigler converted from the spot to send the home crowd happy with a thoroughly convincing 4-0 win to advance to the fifth round. Badji and Zeigler’s goals were their first in the Open Cup with FC Dallas.

Gonzalez, who played at Southern Methodist University as a college player, was happy to be back on campus.

“This is my alma mater and I have a lot of big memories here. I remember competing on this field as a player and now to do it as a coach is an honor so it was a great feeling.”

Dallas advance to the Round of 16 where they will return to SMU to host USL Championship expansion team New Mexico United on June 19. The winner of that game will will travel to play either Minnesota United or the defending Open Cup champion Houston Dynamo in the Quarterfinals. 

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