FC Kendall

2018 US Open Cup Round 1: David Ochoa’s hat trick lifts Miami United in Second Round

May 17, 2018 by Matthew Bunch

It didn’t start exactly how the team imagined, but the end result was sweet nonetheless. Miami United FC overcame an early deficit to storm back and defeat FC Kendall, 5-2. Miami United will advance to the Second Round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup to face The Miami FC 2.

The man of the match was clearly David Ochoa, who scored three goals, including a world-class free kick from more than 30 yards away that settled in the top-left corner of the net to beat FC Kendall goalkeeper Ronald Garces.

Ochoa amassed the highest goal total, but it was FC Kendall which struck first. After a strong stretch of play by Miami United, Kendall were able to counter and Andres Navas had a shot on goal in the 10th minute, which was deflected away. On the subsequent corner kick, Daniel Gonzalez was able to swing a ball near post that Alessandro Mion redirected past Bryan Martin.

It’s not what Miami United would have asked for, but it was apparently the punch in the face the team needed.

Miami United were able to equalize in the 17th minute, when Mion caught the leg of Tomas Granitto inside the box. Granitto took the penalty kick himself and equalized the match.

Momentum really seemed to shift in the 24th minute, when Nicolas Gorobsov took a ball from Nicolas Micoli just outside the 18-yard box and finished beautifully top-right corner to give Miami United its first lead of the night.

But it was the moment in the 32nd minute that was sublime. Miami United earned a free kick and Ochoa, seemingly determined to find a way to best his teammate Gorobsov, absolutely hit an inch-perfect kick to put Miami United up and above FC Kendall for good.

Ochoa would score twice more, once off a well-played through ball and a precise finish close to goal, and the third off a strange clearance that came straight to his foot while he was on the ground in the box.

In reality, despite the scoreline, Garces may have been Kendall’s man of the match. After the opening goal, Miami United had nearly all of the offensive action, save for a penalty kick earned by Gonzalez and converted by Santiago Schmid in the closing seconds.

The second-round opponent for Miami United will be The Miami FC 2, cross-town rival and conference foe who defeated Red Force FC 4-0 to advance. The two teams have played twice already this year, with both games ending in 1-1 draws. Thanks to the format of the Open Cup, we know that’s not a possibility, and the Magic City Clásico trophy will be handed out along with a ticket to the third round and a possible date with a United Soccer League opponent.

2018 Meet the Underdogs: Miami-based FC Kendall expanding beyond their Uruguayan roots

May 9, 2018 by Clement Williams

FC Kendall poses for a team photo after a 4-2 win over Nashville United in the 2018 US Open Cup qualifying tournament. Photo: FC Kendall

FC Kendall were founded as Uruguay Kendall FC in 2008 “to represent the Uruguayan roots of its founders and majority of its players in the local league of Kendall.”

They have since evolved into not only the preeminent football club in Kendall, Fla. but one of the top amateur sides in the Southeast. They have expanded both their focus and their player base beyond the Miami area’s Uruguayan community. As a result, the club changed their name to reflect this broader focus and status while respecting their proud roots, becoming FC Kendall last summer.

FC Kendall are an original member of the American Premier Soccer League (APSL), founded in 2015. The Florida league is a USASA-recognized Elite Amateur League boasting the membership of Boca Raton FC, burgeoning rival Red Force FC, and US Open Cup first-round opponent: Miami United FC, who field a team in both the National Premier Soccer League and the APSL.

Several clubs with sides in the APSL will be playing in the Open Cup this year but FC Kendall’s path was perhaps the most arduous. Despite handily dismissing their two Florida opponents in qualifying by a combined score of 15-0, Kendall were done no favors for their final Open Cup entrance examination.

The light blues would have to endure one of the longest trips of the qualifying tournament, all the way to Tennessee, to take on Nashville United. Furthermore, having flown out the morning before the game, the Floridians faced not only a venue change on account of bad weather, but also a tornado warning.

Club president Mauro Grignola labeled the game “the most important game in the club’s ten-year history” and their squad, featuring former professionals, were up to the task.

Both Argentine Gonzalo De Mujica and the experienced Uruguayan-born Martin Nunez plied their trade for the Strikers in the NASL and both were key to the victory in Nashville. With this veteran core supported by the likes of former FC Edmonton player Cristian Raudales, Ex-FIU captain Daniel Gonzalez, and prolific attacker Santiago Schmid, FC Kendall should not be taken lightly by their Open Cup opposition.

Geographically sandwiched between the footballing powerhouses of Brazil and Argentina, Uruguay has forged its own rich history on the global stage. With two world cup victories, only Brazil, Germany, and Italy have won more world titles than this plucky footballing nation of just under four million people. So FC Kendall, who don the colors of the national team, will surely be hoping to channel this Uruguayan spirit of cup success in their first ever US Open Cup appearance.

2018 US Open Cup qualifying: FC Kendall overcomes lengthy travel, bad storm to earn first USOC berth

November 20, 2017 by Josh Hakala

On Saturday, Nov. 18, FC Kendall’s flight left Miami at 6:30 a.m. and arrived in Nashville about four hours later. With only a few hours of sleep, the team anxiously waited and prepared for their “Win & You’re In” match in the 2018 US Open Cup qualifying tournament against Nashville United.

FC Kendall owner Mauro Grignola called it the “most important game in the history of the club thus far.”

After their lengthy trip to Nashville, which was a risky one considering they were flying out the morning of the gameday, they got settled and defeated the home team in a heavy rain storm, 4-2 to qualify for the US Open Cup for the first time.

The clouds were already thick when FC Kendall arrived in Music City before lunchtime. The winds picked up throughout the afternoon ahead of the 7 p.m. kickoff at Richard Siegel Soccer Park in nearby Murfeesboro, Tenn. With heavy rain in the forecast, the two teams agreed to move the match to the original venue, E.S. Rose Park in Nashville, (it was moved to Murfeesboro in the weeks leading up to the match) which featured an artificial turf field.

On the way to the field, players and coaches were receiving alerts on their phones informing them of a tornado warning. Fifteen minutes before kickoff, the rain stopped, but the gusty winds of more than 40 mph remained. The match commissioner and the referees decided that the game would begin on time.

After winning the coin flip, Nashville United decided to defend against the wind and they were more comfortable on their home field, creating a couple of chances which forced FC Kendall Ronald Garces into action in the opening five minutes.

FC Kendall, a team representing the American Premier Soccer League, started to build possession, and created a few wind-aided shots, but Nashville maintained control and no one was able to find a goal in the opening half-hour.

Shortly after the half-hour mark, FC Kendall took control of the match. It all started with an impressive combination play that found Daniel Gonzales on the right wing. Gonzales, a former captain at Florida International University, sent a low cross into the box where former Fort Lauderdale Strikers player Gonzalo de Mujica put the ball into the back of the net at close range.

Just a few minutes later, Gonzales was back at it again, as he made a run and was fouled just outside of the box. Former NASL player Martin Nunez, took the free kick and with a little help from the wind, he found the back of the net to make it 2-0.

And just a few minutes after the second goal, FC Kendall scored another. It was another similar combination play from the first goal. This time, it was Jona Andrade who was open on the right side of the penalty area. Andrade turned and beat the keeper with a low shot to the right of the netminder to give the visitors at three-goal lead.

Kendall did not take their foot off the gas pedal as they added one more goal before the halftime break. Santiago Schmid beat two defenders and fired a shot into the upper corner, to the left of the goalkeeper.

FC Kendall continued to put the pressure on but a couple of chances failed as they went into the halftime break with a 4-0 lead. On a windy and cold night, the visitors, used to the warm Florida weather raced into the locker room.

In the second half, Nashville came out firing and put pressure on Kendall. United received a pair of goals from Andrew Chamberlain (60th min.) and Joe Omondi (75th min.) but ultimately Kendall would hold on to win 4-2 to secure the club’s first-ever trip to the US Open Cup.