Complete U.S. Open Cup Coverage

Kitsap Pumas

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

by

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

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

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

Western Conference Qualifying Breakdown

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Top team qualifies for the US Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes

USL Premier Development League tiebreakers

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

(2) Total wins in Open Cup qualifying games

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

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

(5) Lottery conducted by the USL

All times Eastern

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Top team qualifies for the US Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes

USL Premier Development League tiebreakers

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

(2) Total wins in Open Cup qualifying games

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

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

(5) Lottery conducted by the USL

All times Eastern

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

Central Conference (Inside Look +)

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

Eastern Conference (Inside Look +)

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

Southern Conference (Inside Look +)

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

2010 US Open Cup Second Round: Dike’s hat trick leads Timbers past Pumas, into rematch with Sounders

by

Bright Dike had a hat trick and lead the Portland Timbers to a 4-1 victory over the Kitsap Pumas in Bremerton, WA in the second round of the 2010 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

The first 30 minutes the teams matched up fairly equally, until Alex Nimo’s corner in the 34th minute led to Ross Smith’s header to open the scoring for Portland. Dike attacked on the counterstrike to scorch the net just three minutes later. Kitsap was able to pressure the ball in the last five minutes of the half, but could not capitalize.

Two minutes into the second half, Dike found the net again, as Portland controlled the game almost the rest of the way. Dike had another score at 62 minutes, and it took Kitsap 87 minutes to finally establish themselves. Stephen Phillips found the net to restore some pride for Kitsap, avoiding their second consecutive shutout loss to Portland in the Open Cup.

Portland will host Seattle Sounders FC from MLS at PGE Park in Portland next Wednesday. The last time the two rivals met was in the third round of last year’s Open Cup when the Sounders prevailed 2-1 at PGE Park in Portland in front of the biggest crowd (16,382) for a non-final, non-doubleheader in the Professional Era (1995-present).

Lineups:
POR: GK Cronin, D Thompson (Purdy, 54), D Smith, D Danso, D Cameron, M Nimo, M McManus (Keel, 70), M Gaudet, M Pore (Keita, 74), F Dike, F DeMartin

KIT: GK Brim, D Mohn, D Scott, D Hyde (Gray, 45), D Lee, M Hepple, M Fishbaugher (Friesen, 70), M Besagno, M Cascio, F Perdido (Phillips, 63), F Christner

Scoring Summary:
POR: Smith (Nimo), 34
POR: Dike (Pore), 37
POR: Dike, 47
POR: Dike, 63
KIT: Christner (Phillips, 90)

2010 PDL qualifying recap: 8 teams qualify after tiebreakers, failed perfection, final day drama

by

PDL qualification for this season is complete, with eight teams punching their ticket to the 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The qualifiers – and their competitors – had to deal with multiple tiebreakers and plenty of final day nail biting action. Even then, for two teams, a perfect 4-0-0 record wasn’t enough to send them through.

CENTRAL CONFERENCE

GREAT LAKES DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA GF GD
Dayton Dutch Lions 4 3 0 1 10 8 1 7 +7
Michigan Bucks 4 3 1 0 9 8 3 8 +5
Chicago Fire 4 2 1 1 7 5 3 5 +2
Indiana Invaders 4 2 1 1 7 4 3 4 +1
Cleveland Internationals 4 1 2 1 4 4 9 4 -5
Cincinnati Kings 4 1 3 0 3 6 8 6 -2
Kalamazoo Outrage 4 0 4 0 0 3 11 3 -8

Top team qualifies for the U.S. Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes

HEARTLAND DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA GF GD
Des Moines Menace 4 3 1 0 9 7 4 7 +3
Rochester Thunder 4 2 1 1 7 5 2 5 +3
Real Colorado Foxes 4 2 1 1 7 7 4 6 +2
St. Louis Lions 4 2 2 0 6 7 5 6 +1
Kansas City Brass 4 1 2 1 4 2 6 2 -3
Springfield Demize 4 0 3 1 1 2 9 2 -6

Top team qualifies for the U.S. Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes
EASTERN CONFERENCE

MID-ATLANTIC DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA GF GD
Reading United AC 4 4 0 0 12 13 1 10 +9
Ironbound Express 4 4 0 0 12 9 0 9 +9
New Jersey Rangers 4 3 1 0 9 7 3 7 +4
Carolina Dynamo 4 2 1 1 7 11 7 7 +3
Central Jersey Spartans 4 1 2 1 4 3 6 3 -3
West Virginia Chaos 4 1 3 0 3 2 7 2 -5
Ocean City Nor’easters 4 0 2 2 2 4 8 4 -4
Northern Virginia Royals 4 0 3 1 1 5 13 5 -6
Hampton Roads Piranhas 4 0 3 1 1 3 12 3 -7

Top team qualifies for the U.S. Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes

NORTHEAST DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA GF GD
Long Island Rough Riders 4 3 0 1 10 9 2 6 +5
Albany BWP Highlanders 4 3 0 1 10 10 6 9 +4
Western Mass Pioneers 4 2 1 1 7 7 3 6 +3
MPS Portland Phoenix 4 1 0 3 6 6 3 6 +3
New Hampshire Phantoms 4 1 1 2 5 3 2 3 +1
Vermont Voltage 4 1 3 0 3 4 14 4 -7
Westchester Flames 4 0 2 2 2 2 6 2 -4
Brooklyn Knights 4 0 4 0 0 5 10 5 -5

Top team qualifies for the U.S. Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes
SOUTHERN CONFERENCE

MID-SOUTH DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA GF GD
DFW Tornados 4 3 1 0 9 6 2 6 +4
Rio Grande Valley Bravos 4 2 1 1 7 5 4 5 +1
Laredo Heat 4 2 2 0 6 11 5 8 +3
El Paso Patriots 4 2 2 0 6 4 8 4 -1
West Texas United Sockers 4 2 2 0 6 4 6 4 -2
Houston Leones 4 0 3 1 1 2 7 2 -5

Top team qualifies for the U.S. Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes

SOUTHEAST DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA GF GD
Central Florida Kraze 4 3 0 1 10 12 2 10 +8
Mississippi Brilla 4 3 0 1 10 11 2 9 +7
Baton Rouge Capitals 4 2 0 2 8 5 2 5 +3
New Orleans Jesters 4 2 2 0 6 11 7 7 +2
Atlanta Blackhawks 4 1 1 2 5 6 6 4 +0
Bradenton Academics 4 1 2 1 4 2 7 2 -3
Nashville Metros 4 1 2 1 4 1 5 1 -4
Fort Lauderdale Schulz Academy 4 0 4 0 0 0 10 0 -8

Top team qualifies for the U.S. Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes
WESTERN CONFERENCE

NORTHWEST DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA GF GD
Kitsap Pumas 4 4 0 0 12 12 0 11 +11
Portland Timbers U23s 4 4 0 0 12 9 1 9 +8
Tacoma Tide 4 2 2 0 6 8 6 6 +2
Yakima Reds 4 1 3 0 3 2 10 2 -7
Washington Crossfire 4 1 3 0 3 8 8 4 -2
Spokane Spiders 4 0 4 0 0 3 17 3 -12

Top team qualifies for the U.S. Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes

SOUTHWEST DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA GF GD
Ventura County Fusion 4 3 1 0 9 10 3 8 +5
Orange County Blue Star 4 2 0 2 8 14 6 9 +6
Los Angeles Legends 4 2 1 1 7 8 4 8 +4
Fresno Fuego 4 1 1 2 5 11 12 10 +0
Lancaster Rattlers 4 1 1 2 5 4 8 4 -2
BYU Cougars 4 1 2 1 4 4 5 4 -1
Hollywood United Hitmen 4 1 2 1 4 6 8 6 -2
Ogden Outlaws 4 1 2 1 4 4 10 4 -5
Southern California Seahorses 4 1 3 0 3 2 7 2 -5

Top team qualifies for the U.S. Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes

CENTRAL CONFERENCE

Great Lakes Division

With a week to go, Dayton and Chicago both led the division at 2-0. The Fire would stumble for the next two games, losing to Cincinnati and tying in Cleveland, allowing the Michigan Bucks to pass them, which they did so by defeating  Kalamazoo on the road and Cincinnati in a late game-winner. Dayton tied Indiana, which meant that they had to win in Kalamazoo in order to pass the Bucks and qualify for their first Open Cup. They took care of business by winning 4-1 to finish with a 3-0-1 record, one point ahead of Michigan.

Heartland Division

After last week, this division came down to one game, as Des Moines sat at 3-1, with Rochester on their heels at 2-1. Rochester needed to defeat the Kansas City Brass in order to qualify. The score was no matter as they held the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Menace. However, they couldn’t complete their task, tying Kansas City 0-0. This allowed Des Moines to qualify for their fifth trip to the US Open Cup. They share a record (with the Carolina Dynamo) for the furthest advancement by a PDL team, making it to the Fourth Round in 2005. Can they go further? It all starts with game #1 on June 15.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Mid-Atlantic Division

Two teams went all out in making sure they had their chance to make the US Open Cup: the Ironbound Express of Newark and Reading United AC (formerly the Reading Rage). Ironbound made their case by shutting out all the teams on their schedule, defeating the West Virginia Chaos, Central Jersey Spartans, New Jersey Rangers, and Ocean City FC. They finished with 9 goals scored. At the time, Reading was 2-0, having beaten Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia, and had a +5 goal differential with 6 goals scored. They would need to win both their games (both on the road) by a total of 4 goals, as well as having to  in order to make the tournament. Any slip up, and Ironbound were Open Cup-bound. They proceeded to beat West Virginia 1-0 and Carolina 4-0, finishing at 4-0 with a +9 goal differential (tying Ironbound) and 10 goals scored (edging the Express by 1 goal). With that, Reading United qualify for the US Open Cup for the second straight year, and their fourth trip overall. Ironbound received the unfortunate distinction of being the third team since the current PDL qualifying format began in 1997 to win all four of their games and still miss the tournament (the other two being the Colorado Comets in 1999 and the Southern California Seahorses in 2005). However, out of those three teams, they are the first to miss out after earning shutout victories in all four of their qualifying games.

Northeast Division

The Albany BWP Highlanders and Long Island Rough Riders were the two teams left in the running with a week to go. Albany had finished their campaign at 3-0-1, with Long Island sitting at 3-0 with a game in Westchester to play. A draw was all they needed to qualify, and a draw is what they got. They tied the Flames 0-0 to qualify for the US Open Cup for the fifth time, and their second as a PDL team.

SOUTHERN CONFERENCE

Mid-South Division

Three teams were in the running with a week remaining: DFW and El Paso, who sat in the drivers’ seats at 2-0, and Rio Grande Valley, who were at 0-1-1, but had games against both of those clubs remaining. The Bravos started their comeback with a 1-0 win over the Tornados, pulling themselves within two points. Meanwhile, the Patriots dropped a humiliating 6-0 result to the Laredo Heat. RGV then took care of business and finished off El Paso with a 2-0 win, to put themselves at 7 points. DFW then needed a win over Houston to qualify, as RGV held the head-to-head tiebreaker between the clubs. The Tornados did their job to fend off the comeback kids, beating the Leones 1-0 to qualify for their fourth US Open Cup, and their first since 2004.

Southeast Division

The loss of the Panama City Pirates made a serious mess in how division qualification worked here in the Southeast, and New Orleans and Central Florida had to adjust their schedules accordingly. The Jesters had a match against Bradenton count double for them, while the Kraze had an extra game against Fort Lauderdale only count for themselves and not for Schulz Academy. Both took advantage of their “extra” qualifying games, winning 5-0 and 3-1, respectively. Then the race to the finish got crazy, as three of the five teams still in the running did all they could to make it to the tournament. First, the Kraze defeated Atlanta to go to 2-o-1, tying Mississippi at the top, while knocking the longshot Blackhawks out. Then, in a matchup to decide who still got a chance, Baton Rouge defeated the Jesters 2-1 to move into the lead at 2-0-2, knocking New Orleans out. They would then have to wait for results from the Brilla and Kraze. Mississippi would bump the Capitals with a 3-0 win over Nashville to finish at 3-0-1, but their trip wasn’t quite booked yet. Central Florida had to win by 3 to make it, and win by 3 they did. A 3-0 victory over Schulz Academy gave the Kraze their first trip to the US Open Cup since 2007.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Northwest Division

The Kitsap Pumas and Portland Timbers U23s both lined up with the same schedule, and all at the same site (Tacoma/Washington at home, Spokane/Yakima on the road). They both proceeded to take care of business and win all four of their games. The final day consisted of the Timbers playing in Yakima and Kitsap hosting the Crossfire. Portland needed to better the result of the Pumas in order to qualify. They did their job, defeating the Reds 2-0, but then would have to wait and see how Kitsap would respond. The Pumas did so by defeating Washington 2-0 themselves, making the US Open Cup for the second straight year, in only their second year of existence. In the same token, Portland becomes the fourth team in PDL qualifying history – and the second of the DAY – to finish 4-0 and not qualify for the Open Cup.

Southwest Division

The Ventura County Fusion, the defending champions of the Premier Development League, are well on their way to a repeat, currently with a 4-1 record. Their first task, qualifying for the 2010 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup (their first), had already been achieved with a game to spare. They stand at 3-0, defeating Lancaster, Ogden, and Southern California. No other team can finish with more than eight points.

2009 First Round recap: Favorites survive first day, Barons pull off upset, Hawks just upset on day 2

by

2009 U.S. Open Cup First Round
(Home team listed on right)
June 9
Orange County Blue Star 2:5 Sonoma County Sol
Carolina RailHawks 2:1 Richmond Kickers
Western Mass Pioneers 3:2 (aet) Emigrantes Das Ilhas
Wilmington Hammerheads 2:0 Charlotte Eagles
Rochester Rhinos 1:1 Pittsburgh Riverhounds
Rochester advance on penalities, 4-2
Cleveland City Stars 3:0 St. Louis Lions
Chicago Fire (PDL) 3:1 Bavarian SC
Harrisburg City Islanders 4:1 Reading Rage
Minnesota Thunder 3:2 402
Charleston Battery 2:0 Atlanta FC
Miami FC Blues 2:1 Lynch’s FC
Austin Aztex 2:0 Mississippi Brilla
El Paso Patriots 2:1 Arizona Sahuaros
Kitsap Pumas 0:3 Portland Timbers
June 10
Real Maryland Monarchs 1:0 Aegean Hawks FC
(Match stopped in 74th minute)
Crystal Palace Baltimore 0:3 Ocean City Barons
——————————————————————
Player of the Round: Byron Carmichael (OCB)
Some things you should know about the First Round
Notable upsets in the First Round of the Open Cup

If seeing the underdogs prevail is your thing, then you went to sleep disappointed last night.

Of the fourteen matches first round US Open Cup matches last night, only one was won by a team from the lower division, and even that wasn’t much of an upset.

The evening began with the lone “upset” of the day, as the NPSL’s Sonoma County Sol, perhaps the hottest team of the 32 set to play in the First Round, defeated the PDL’s Orange County Blue Star 5-2. Shawn Percell scored twice and Trevor Hurst, Eric Lafon, Eric Larson added the others for the Sol. The Sol are 12-0-1 in all matches played in 2009.

The most dramatic game of the night was in Rochester, as the Rhinos needed a stoppage time equalizer and penalties to overcome the USL-2 Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Trailing 1-0 for much of the game, the Rhinos forced extra time when Tai Atieno knocked in a corner kick in second half stoppage time. Atieno then missed a potential game winning penalty kick with two minutes left in overtime, but Rhinos goalkeeper Scott Vallow came up with two saves in the penalty shootout to see his club through to the Second Round.

Two matches were postponed and were moved to the following day. Ocean City and Crystal Palace Baltimore was put off early in the day when heavy overnight rains left the Barons’ home field, Cary Stadium, flooded. The Dulles Sportsplex Aegean Hawks and Real Maryland Monarchs were forced to set their game back a day when heavy thunderstorms rolled through the Rockville, Md. area.

The next day, the Ocean City Barons became the first PDL team to beat a USL professional squad in the 2009 tournament, winning a 3-0 decision over Crystal Palace Baltimore of the USL Second Division.

Byron Carmichael opened the scoring in the 7th minute, with an assist from Neal Melchionni. Carmichael struck again in the 33rd minute with an unassisted goal to gibe the Barons a 2-0 halftime lead.

With 12 minutes remaining, JT Noone left no doubt as to who the winners were with a Ryan Richter-assisted goal. The game had been postponed on Tuesday due to a flooded field from heavy overnight storms.

In Rockville, Maryland, the Dulles Sportsplex Aegean Hawks were done in by Mother Nature on Wednesday night, as their opening round game versus the Real Maryland Monarchs was halted in the 74th minute after an hour and a half lightning delay, giving the USL-2 club a 1-0 win. The only goa,l of the match game from Ryan Cordeiro in the 14th minute, with an assist from Gary Brooks. Soon after, the Hawks were reduced to 10 men when Michael Goldman was shown a red card.

Hawks manager Jonathan Knight was understandably upset that the game was called. We have been told there was a 10 pm deadline, which is when the stadium lights had to be shut off (presumably by a city ordinance), and the game was official called at 10:18 pm. The game had to be rescheduled for tonight due to severe thunderstorms on Tuesday night.

This is the second year in a row weather has played a part in Real Maryland’s First Round Open Cup game. Last year their gasme against NY Pancyprian Freedoms was moves back three days after severe storms prevented play on the original date. Maryland won the rescheduled game 3-2 in extra time.

Ocean City will host Real Maryland next Tuesday in the Second Round.

2009 First Round: Portland Timbers need late goals to put away Kitsap Pumas

by

Bremerton Memorial H.S. – Bremerton, Wash. | 10 p.m.
Match Reports: Kitsap, Portland, Kitsap Sun
Twitter: @timbersfc
0
FT
 3
       
46’ Brian Faber (Keith Savage)
90’ Jason McLaughlin
90’ David Hayes (PK)

The Kitsap Pumas held close to the Portland Timbers for 45 minutes, and then in 25 seconds, it was wiped away.

Less than a minute into the second half was all the time Portland needed to score the goal that would eventually see them past the PDL side, who eventually won 3-0.

Brian Faber scored just after the break to put the USL-1 team ahead. In the final minute of the game, Portland scored two more times to leave no doubt of the result.

Jason McLaughlin put a loose ball past Pumas goalkeeper Dustyn Brim, and Davis Hayes scored from the penalty spot after Jesse Wheelock was called for a hand ball.

Portland will travel to face the Sonoma County Sol next Tuesday in the Second Round.

Copyright © 2026 • Built by Jacob Martella Web Development