NASL

2015 US Open Cup Round 4: New York Cosmos beat NYCFC in dramatic PK shootout to win East River Derby (video)

June 18, 2015 by Brian Venard

Photo: Gabrielle Dewey | New York Cosmos

UPDATE: The Round of 16 draw was conducted by the US Soccer Federation and it was determined that the New York Red Bulls will host the New York Cosmos in the next round.

The match was built up to be a huge one, and it surely didn’t disappoint. While there were highs and lows for both sides, the New York Cosmos prevailed on penalties, securing themselves a spot in the Fifth Round, as well as $15,000 for being the North American Soccer League (NASL) team to advance the furthest in the competition.

Even though the match ended on penalties, the way it got there was dramatic and entertaining for the announced attendance of 11,446 at Hofstra University. The scoring started off in the 24th minute when Kwadwo Poku of NYCFC scored on a spectacular run of play. The ball was crossed into the box from the left wing. Poku ran on to the ball, chipped the ball straight up in the air and with a defender on him, turned, and hit an over-the-head kick into the back of the net.

Poku wasn’t done, though, as he scored his second of the game in the 59th minute as Pablo Alvarez sent a ball over the top and Poku beat the goalkeeper to give the visitors a 2-0 lead.

Poku is a great example of a player who has used the Open Cup as a vehicle for advancing his career. He was discovered after scoring four goals for the Georgia Revolution of the NPSL in 2013. After playing against the Atlanta Silverbacks (NASL) that year, Atlanta signed him, which then caught the eye of New York City FC who signed him before this season.

After Poku gave NYCFC a 2-0 lead, the Cosmos brought on Leo Fernandes, one of their top performers from the club’s 3-0 Third Round win over the PDL’s Jersey Express. Only minutes after he came onto the pitch, Fernandes scored and brought the game back in to arms reach for the Cosmos with 25 minutes to go. After that goal, the momentum completely swung around. Just as it started to seem that NYCFC would escape with a win, Lucky Mkosana received a low cross from Hunter Freeman on the right wing, Mkosana took a soft touch and fired it past the goalkeeper to level the match and send the inaugural East River Derby into extra time.

In extra time, both teams had multiple chances to seal a goal, but none was bigger than the 98th minute when Hunter Freeman pulled down NYCFC captain Andrew Jacobson in the penalty area. Alvarez stepped up to take the penalty and the Cosmos’ Jimmy Maurer guessed wrong and dove to his right as Alvarez went down the middle and rattled the ball off the middle of the crossbar.

Nothing separated the two squads as the game had to be decided by penalty kicks. Entering penalties, there was an electric atmosphere, both supporters and staff and players alike all knew it was coming down to this. NYCFC found themselves leading 3-2 heading into the fifth round of penalty kicks and Patrick Mullins had a chance to send City to Round 5 but Maurer made a diving save. After Adam Moffat converted for the Cosmos, Maurer came up big again, saving Shay Facey’s attempt with a diving save to his right. The game-winning kick fell to Cosmos defender Hunter Gorskie who shot low and to the right. NYCFC’s Eirik Johansen guessed correctly and got a hand to hit, but it snuck just inside the post to send the Cosmos into celebration mode and their fans into a frenzy.

FULL MATCH REPLAY: NYCFC AT NEW YORK COSMOS

2015 US Open Cup Round 4: Full-strength New York Red Bulls cruise past Atlanta Silverbacks, 3-0 (video)

June 16, 2015 by Romulo Vieira

UPDATE: The Round of 16 draw was conducted by the US Soccer Federation and it was determined that the New York Red Bulls will host the New York Cosmos in the next round.

On Tuesday night the Atlanta Silverbacks traveled all the way to New Jersey to face the New York Red Bulls in the Fourth Round of the US Open Cup. With both teams coming off a loss in their respective leagues, a win was crucial to boost team moral. As promised, Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch fielded a team full of starters like Bradley Wright-Philips and Lloyd Sam. With their starters, the Red Bulls proved to be too much for the Silverbacks and won the game with a comfortable 3-0 score line.

The Red Bulls dominated the first half and kept control of play. The Silverbacks looked disorganized at times in the back. The Red Bulls team were playing well together and were able to create chances. New York opened up the scoring in the 7th minute when Lloyd Sam received a pass from Wright-Phillips in the box and was able to put the ball past Silverbacks goalkeeper Steward Ceus.

After the goal, the Red Bulls continued to do a great job controlling the ball in the midfield and not allowing the Silverbacks any chance of creating a threat to their goal. The Red Bulls were rewarded with another goal in the 15th minute when Ronald Zubar was able to put away a rebound from the goalkeeper after Sacha Klejstan hit the initial shot.

The Red Bulls could’ve gone into the half with a couple of more goals, but they missed many chances. Their best chance for a third goal in the half came in the 37th minute when Dax McCarty passed the ball to Wright-Phillips in the box, but MLS’ top goalscorer from last year couldn’t keep the ball down and it went over the bar.

After the halftime interval the game continued to be played in the same rhythm. While Atlanta was able to take more shots, they only had one shot on target throughout the entire game.

Wright-Phillips put another ball over the bar after a pass from Richards in the box.

The Red Bulls sealed their ticket to the fifth round in the 70th minute after a beautiful play between Wright-Phillips, Mike Grellla and Sean Davis. Wright-Phillips started the play by passing the ball to Mike Grella. Grella, feeling the pressure of two defenders approaching, played a beautiful back heel pass to Davis who was able to shoot the ball past Ceus.

After their third goal the Red Bulls continued to dominate the game without receiving any threatening chances from Atlanta. It was an easy night for the Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles.

After the game, Wright-Phillips assured everyone in the tournament that the Red Bulls are taking the tournament seriously this year and hope to win the Open Cup for the first time.

“It is one of our targets this season,” he said. “Jesse (Marsch) made it clear that we want to win this cup. You can see from the team he put out that he means business.”

The Red Bulls will now have to wait and see whom they’ll face in the next round. The draw for the fifth round will be this Thursday morning.

FULL MATCH REPLAY: ATLANTA SILVERBACKS AT NY RED BULLS

2015 US Open Cup Round 3: Louisville City scores two late OT goals to pull off sloppy road upset of Indy Eleven (video)

May 29, 2015 by Brandon Gee

With a late start due to the sky unleashing watery hell on Indianapolis’ Carroll Stadium, another USL-NASL matchup ended in dramatic fashion as Louisville City FC scored a pair of goals in added extra time to upset Indy Eleven, 2-0.

The wet artificial turf at Carroll definitely set the tone for play early on as struggles with the first touch and errant passing left Indy with little offensive momentum. Louisville seemed to handle the conditions somewhat better and held most of possession in the first half.

Louisville’s push toward the net earned them several corners in the first half, but solid marking by the Indy backline led by Greg Janicki and quick play by Kristian Nicht kept the visitors at bay. Indy’s offensive chances were few and far between except for highlights like Wolciech Wojcik sending a rocket on the Louisville net in the 13th minute, forcing City keeper Scott Goodwin to make a diving save. Goodwin won TheCup.us Lower Division Player of the Tournament with the Carolina RailHawks last year.

One had to feel for Indy’s Don Smart, who made numerous offensive advances only to be fouled outside the box, tripped up by the wet artificial turf or, when he could maintain ball control, sent a number of balls arcing into the space between the six-yard box and the penalty spot only for there to be not an Eleven player within 20 feet. His night ended early as he was subbed out in the 58th minute for Charlie Rugg.

Louisville remained in control to start the second half as Indy still seemed like they were fighting to just get solid footing.

Frustration mounted as time rolled on. In the 60th minute, Magnus Rasmussen declined to move forward even though he had a good 10 feet between himself and the nearest Eleven defender. After sending a shot wide right, he was loudly reprimanded by his captain Guzman.

City made two key subs in the 65th minute with Matt Fondy setting up on the right and Kareem Dacres on the left. Both players elevated the offensive pressure as Dacres’ skills with the ball and Fondy’s ability to evade defenders gave City formidable scoring chances. In the 85th minute, Indy nearly capitalized as Rugg made a run down the right side and sent a cross in to a streaking Bryan Brown. Unfortunately, as the ball entered the area, Brown and his trailing defender, Tarek Morad, both went tumbling to the ground as the ball continued toward the opposing sideline. The referee apparently didn’t see any infraction occur and play continued.

As the game went into extra time, it felt as if someone was going to get to be the hero and the win for their side. Fondy again charged down the right side and nearly gave City the go-ahead goal while Indy fought back and worked a sequence of shots before Louisville’s Goodwin was finally able to clear it out of his space.

In the first half of overtime, it finally came together for the Eleven. Employing runs down the flanks, Indy was able to speed past the midfield and sent numerous crosses into the Louisville 18. Louisville’s major chance in this frame was Fondy nearly scoring in the 98th minute as Indy’s Erick Morales went down in his own 18-yard area. As players slowed down awaiting a stoppage from the ref, Fondy slipped down the area’s left line and fired a shot on net. Nicht was forced to make a quick diving save to his left corner. Indy turned up the pressure on City’s backline, sending crosses into traffic, which forced City keeper Goodwin to make several saves on direct shots. We would go on to the back half of the overtime period still scoreless.

After the break, play opened up for both sides as fatigue set in for the midfield. The clubs traded runs down the flanks for decent scoring chances only to send them wide of the nets. Finally, as play collected outside Indy’s 18, Louisville popped the ball out of the congestion to Nate Polak at the left of the arc. Polak sent a rocket to the far side of the Indy net, just outside Kristian Nicht’s reach to give the USL upstarts a late 1-0 lead in the 115the minute. The goal sent City’s 100 or so supporters at the top of the stands into a frenzy as the rest of the nearly 7,000 fans sat in stunned silence.

As the Eleven quickly tried to regroup for the equalizer, the ball would end up back in Louisville’s possession. A Juan Guzman shot was knocked away by Nicht, but Sydney Rivera pounced on the rebound, sending it past the Eleven keeper for some insurance and as time ran out, a 2-0 victory.

The win is another milestone for the USL expansion side as they become the first team from the state of Kentucky to defeat a professional side in the tournament’s history. Louisville can now shift its focus to league play for a couple of weeks. When the Open Cup resumes on June 16, Louisville City gets its biggest challenge yet this season, traveling to Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill. for a match against the four-time Open Cup champion Chicago Fire.

HIGHLIGHTS: LOUISVILLE CITY AT INDY ELEVEN

2015 US Open Cup Round 3: Austin Aztex take sting out of San Antonio Scorpions, 2-0

May 29, 2015 by Chris Hockman

A Texas Hill Country derby was in store for fans in the Third Round of the US Open Cup and it was the Austin Aztex who advanced following a tense 2-0 win over the San Antonio Scorpions at Toyota Field.

Michael Ambrose and Trevin Cesar scored for Austin in the victory, which will play on the road against the Houston Dynamo of MLS in the Fourth Round.

The match got off to an even start with both sides looking to assert themselves. This created a tight midfield battle with chances rare in the early stages.

Guaraci Oliviera tried to liven up the match as he found space 25 yards out and shot. The swerve caught out Daryl Sattler who just got enough on it to send it out for a corner.

San Antonio may have had plenty of the ball but they just struggled to do anything with it, with Austin giving away plenty of fouls which broke up the flow for the Scorpions. The best chance for the Scorpions came in the 18th minute as a through ball for Billy Forbes forced Devin Perales off his line, only for Forbes to send his effort just wide.

After a lengthy lull in the match the Scorpions seemed to have control and in the 29th minute they had another opportunity. It came from a free kick as the cross came in to Zourab Tsiskaridze but he sent his header wide of goal.

The best chance on the latter stages came after a poor backpass allowed Eric Hassli a chance but he sent his effort wide of goal. San Antonio manager, Alen Marcina was obviously not happy as he brought on Rafael Castillo and Stephen DeRoux at halftime in an effort to get back into the match.

Those changes did not work as Austin hit the lead early in the second half thanks to back to back corners, which created confusion. The ball spilled out for Ambrose who hit it powerfully back past Sattler to open the scoring.

There was a great opportunity for the Scorpions on the hour mark as the ball was squared for a rushing Castillo. His powerful shot came from the edge of the area, but it was well-saved low by Devin Perales, which allowed Austin to clear.

Castillo was again set up after some neat work from Stephen DeRoux down the left. His square ball caught out the Austin defense, allowing him to shoot powerfully but Perales got down well and made the save.

After the Scorpions had a shout for a penalty denied in the 76th minute, Austin found their second thanks to a counter. The Aztex worked the ball up to Julio Cuero who sent the ball back for Cesar who made no mistake, sealing the win.

The Scorpions thought they had a goal in the 81st minute as the ball was in the back of the net but the goal was disallowed as two Scorpions players were caught by an offside trap.
With that as the last chance, the Aztex advanced to a smattering of boos from a frustrated San Antonio crowd.

The frustration boiled over afterward as San Antonio’s DeRoux and Julius James were given post-match red cards. Obviously, since the Scorpions are eliminated, those one-game bans will take effect the next time those players participate in the tournament.

2015 US Open Cup Round 3: Charlotte Independence makes Carolina RailHawks’ bad day even worse with surprise 1-0 win

May 28, 2015 by Neil Morris

Capping arguably the darkest day in Carolina RailHawks history, the USL expansion Charlotte Independence quelled the hosts 1-0, ousting Carolina from the US Open Cup in the Third Round. It’s the earliest the RailHawks have exited the Open Cup since 2010.

A match that saw little offense turned in the 81st minute when Ryan Finley beat Carolina’s backline before slotting the game-winner past goalkeeper Brian Sylvestre.

After the game, Sylvestre protested that Finley was offside. RailHawks manager Colin Clarke laid blame on his team’s lack of execution.

“We had a throw-in and we threw it to them,” Clarke said. “That’s where it starts. Awful decision, awful play.”

Prior to Finley’s score, both teams exchanged wanting scoring chances. In the 56th minute, an effective RailHawks buildup gave second-sub Jamie Dell with an open shot in the box. However, he pulled his attempt wide right of goal.

In the 61st, Charlotte’s Jorge Herrera held up the ball in the box before turning and unleashing a snap shot that nearly sailed over Sylvestre before the leaping 6-foot-5 keeper finger-tipped the ball over the crossbar.

In the 71st minute, Sylvestre rushed out of goal in an attempt to clear away a Charlotte through ball. Finley beat Sylvestre to the spot, but as Finley attempted to maneuver around Sylvestre the keeper dispossessed him to thwart an open-goal opportunity.

Sylvestre got the start upon being recalled from loan to the Philadelphia Union, where he earned a spot on the MLS Team of the Week last weekend.

After tonight’s loss, a visibly angry Sylvestre expressed his frustration over the outcome, seemingly channeling his teammates in the process.

“What ticks me off is we have the potential to go out there and beat anybody, but we’re not showing it,” Sylvestre said. “We have a great team. If we had played to our potential we would have killed this team, easily. I know that because I trained with these guys.”

The Independence not only scrimmaged the RailHawks during the preseason, but their roster includes three former RailHawks: Daniel Jackson and brothers Enzo and Alex Martinez.

Charlotte manager Mike Jeffries said insight wasn’t essential to preparing for Carolina. However, he admits to game-planning his team’s tactics to take away the RailHawks’ strengths, chiefly speedy midfielder Ty Shipalane.

“That was number one on the list, I gotta be honest,” Jeffries said. “I have a lot of respect for Shipalane and Novo, and we felt like we had to keep those two under wraps. We knew if we managed to do that we would give ourselves a great opportunity to win the game.”

Wednesday began with the soccer world awakening to the news that 14 FIFA executives and sports marketing officials were indicted in an ongoing US corruption probe. Among those charged is Aaron Davidson, now ex-Chairman of the Board of Governors for the North American Soccer League (NASL) and President of Traffic Sports USA, Inc., the company that owns the RailHawks. On May 14, Traffic Sports USA and their parent company Traffic Sports International Inc. pled guilty to wire fraud conspiracy.

The surreality of the day is capped by Carolina’s lackluster performance. Clarke refused to concede these shocking events impacted his players’ preparation.

“It wasn’t a distraction, doesn’t even come into it,” Clarke said. “I just didn’t think we did enough good things on the field. We had our moments but didn’t make their keeper work enough.”

Distraction or not, the RailHawks’ early exit is a bitter pill for a team accustomed to Open Cup success the past three years.

“It’s hard because we’ve been successful and now we won’t get that opportunity to play against one of the big boys,” Clarke said. “For the players, we won’t get that opportunity to showcase their talents. It’s disappointing.”

2013 US Open Cup Round 3: New York Cosmos dismiss PDL’s Jersey Express to set up NYCFC Round 4 match (video)

May 28, 2015 by Brian Venard

It’s always great to see a Cinderella story in the US Open Cup, but today at Belson Stadium, the sheer quality of the New York Cosmos ended one such storyline with a rout of the Jersey Express of the PDL.

From the start, the Cosmos dominated possession and continuously pressured the Express’ backline. The Cosmos high tempo offense led to many opportunities, three of which ended in the back of the net. Interestingly enough, the Cosmos accumulated 15 corners throughout the game, compared to Jersey’s zero. This stat barely shows the one-sided nature of the match.

The scoring started off in the 14th minute when Leo Fernandes blasted the ball into the back of the net off of a free kick and continued in the 40th minute when Guenzatti beat two defenders off of a brilliant pass by none other than Fernandes.

Throughout the match, it was quite obvious the Cosmos were playing an aggressive style of soccer, picking up four yellow cards and a red card. The red card in particular was very odd to see. In the 90th minute when the game was already sealed up, Samuel Caceres obtained a completely unnecessary second yellow card, leaving his team going into their Fourth Round match with NYCFC without him.

Even though the Express did not succeed on offense tonight, there were some fantastic saves by their keeper throughout the night. If not for Matthew Mahoney’s valiant effort in the net, the score could easily have been 6-0 or 7-0.

The hands down player of the match is the Cosmos’ Leo Fernandes, with a goal and an assist and a solid all around performance. Fernandes and the rest of his teammates will be looking forward to their June 12th match against NYCFC(MLS), the first meeting between the two New York sides will be very exciting to watch. After speaking with Cosmos head coach Giovanni Savarese, it is clear that while there is a different atmosphere around a derby match, the Cosmos will not get distracted and will continue to play their game regardless of the stature or location of their opponent. You can correlate this attitude towards the match to the “winning environment” Savarese is trying to create, where regardless of the importance of the match, you play to win.

This mentality will surely be important to the Cosmos in the short term, and will surely reap its benefits in the long run.

HIGHLIGHTS: Jersey Express at New York Cosmos

2015 US Open Cup Round 3: Atlanta Silverbacks force OT, knock off last NPSL club Chattanooga FC 2-1 (video)

May 28, 2015 by David Walker

Last year this same fixture featured a Chattanooga team that had just made history by being the first NPSL team to defeat a professional side of any level in the US Open Cup, besting the Wilmington Hammerheads 3-1 in the 2nd Round. Hard reality set in when Eric Wynalda brought the Silverbacks into town and administered a 5-0 beating to CFC.

This year’s results are much different. The fine line that separated the two teams last year was even finer, and at times you couldn’t tell which side was in the second tier of American soccer and which was in the fourth.

Surprises in the starting lineup of Chattanooga, as Luke Winter and Luis Trude started on the bench. Bill Elliott’s strategy was to conserve their legs (in addition to league and cup play, Chattanooga are also playing in the National Amateur Championship Tournament this weekend) and bring them in late should the score be close. It was a practical plan, and it nearly paid off.

For the first 15 minutes, Chattanooga did in fact look like the professional side; playing patient possession soccer while Atlanta played long balls over the top. Atlanta settled down quickly and began to control things for about 20 minutes. The only thing that separated the sides in terms of quality was speed, particularly that of Atlanta’s Jaime Chavez, who caused all sorts of trouble making runs down the left wing.

With ten minutes left in the first half, Chattanooga took complete control. Sustained pressure, several shots, including a side volley at point blank range by Jose Ferraz that, had it been struck just a bit more sweetly, would surely have been the first goal of the match.

The second half started with Atlanta firmly in control, unlucky not to score on more than one occasion. As the half went on, Chattanooga once again took control, and when Winter and Trude came on, you could start to believe a major upset was in the making.

Then in the 86th minute, the Cinderella story seemed to be coming true. A long ball from Ferraz was dummied onto Winter, who struck it first time from sixteen yards out, and the front office team began to mentally make plans to fit a trip to Red Bull Arena into their already busy fixture list.

But fate, and referee Guido Gonzalez, Jr., stepped in to change the evening from a moment of history to yet another close game between seemingly mismatched teams. Having let play go on relatively uninterrupted for most of the match, Gonzalez called a penalty in the 89th minute on what looked like a good tackle in the box. Shaka Bangura made no mistake from the spot and overtime was in play.

Yet even in overtime Chattanooga came agonizingly close on three occasions, including a header off the crossbar and a shot into the side netting that everyone at Finlay Stadium thought, briefly, was the go ahead goal.

But in the end it was Jaime Chavez scoring from the right side of the penalty area with a perfectly executed half-volley that beat Gregory Hartley to the near side.

Final: Atlanta 2, Chattanooga 1.

Silverbacks coach Gary Smith was highly complimentary to both the Chattanooga players and coach Bill Elliott. “In all honesty, I felt they were the better team for the vast majority of the game. They had a lot of great chances that on another day could have been the end of us. We managed to scrape through by the skin of our teeth.”

REPLAY: Atlanta Silverbacks at Chattanooga FC

2015 US Open Cup Round 3: Charleston Battery rally to hand Fort Lauderdale Strikers third straight loss (video)

May 28, 2015 by Sydney Hunte

The USL’s Charleston Battery struck for two goals in a span of three minutes, including the game-winner in the 80th minute by Dane Kelly, to rally for a 3-2 win Wednesday over the NASL’s Fort Lauderdale Strikers at Blackbaud Stadium.

Fort Lauderdale, poised for pull out the victory on the road, looked like the more dominant team to start, coming up with the bulk of possession and sought to create chances.

The Strikers opened the scoring in the sixth minute as Charleston defender Forrest Lasso slipped on the pitch, allowing Daniel Sanchez room to work. He found Bruno Nunes, who scored to lift the Strikers to a 1-0 lead.

But Charleston got it back in the 30th minute. Navion Boyd crossed the ball to Ricky Garbanzo, who settled it and struck it past David Meves to pull his team level.

But 11 minutes later, Fort Lauderdale regained the lead as a ball played outside the box by James Marcelin found Sanchez, who hit it cleanly past Odisnel Cooper to break the deadlock.

“I thought we respected (Fort Lauderdale) too much at the beginning of the game,” said Charleston coach Mike Anhaeuser. “Today, we kind of sat back. They were passing it, they moved the ball, they made the space and made us defend for 35, 40 minutes in that first half.”

Charleston, though, had numerous chances to tie it up in the second half, none better than a 52nd minute corner headed right on toward the net that was somehow dug out by Meves.

The Battery broke through on a textbook cross by Dane Kelly to Zach Prince in the 77th minute to tie it, then they took the lead in the 80th minute on a picture-perfect pass by Ricky Garbanzo to Kelly.

The Strikers had a dangerous opportunity in the 84th minute to knot it up once more but the Battery defense did away with the danger and preserved the victory and hand the Strikers their third straight tournament loss.

“You’ve got to commend the guys,” Anhaueser said. “We just didn’t want to go down 3-1 and our defense did a nice job in that game.”

For Kelly, it was his sixth career Open Cup goal. He has scored in five straight Cup tournaments, which ties a the Modern Era record.

Charleston welcomes old USL foe and MLS expansion side Orlando City SC to Blackbaud Stadium for a fourth round Open Cup match on June 17.

HIGHLIGHTS: Fort Lauderdale Strikers at Charleston Battery

FULL MATCH REPLAY: Fort Lauderdale Strikers at Charleston Battery

2015 US Open Cup Round 3: Saint Louis FC stops Minnesota United in PKs to earn date with Sporting KC (video)

May 28, 2015 by Matthew De Witt

The magic of the U.S. Open Cup – anything is possible.

Despite a short turnaround from a league game on Sunday and going 120 minutes exactly one week ago, United Soccer League side St. Louis FC held on to advance in penalty kicks, 3-1 over Minnesota United FC after tying 1-1 through regulation and overtime.

The home team, in its inaugural season, now gets a shot at Major Soccer League side Sporting Kansas City in a battle of neighboring states.

The North American Soccer League’s Minnesota United, a recent winner of an MLS-bid, took the lead in the second half. Working the right wing, Ramirez smashed a curling effort off the far post. JC Banks finished off the rebound into the open net to give the visitors the lead.

Brian Gaul, who was sent off in the 118th minute after a clash with Brent Kallman, made his mark on the game in the 80th minute. His penalty kick — set up by a clattering slide tackle from Tyler Polak — hit the right side netting to equalize.

“I think tonight was our best performance of the season in terms of keeping the other team away from the goal and disrupting their rhythm,” St. Louis FC coach Dale Schilly said.

The shootout was held on the end nearest the home support group. Minnesota, shooting first, had Daniel Mendes’s penalty saved by St. Louis FC goalkeeper Mark Pais, followed by Ibson putting his effort over the bar.

“I just calmed myself and tried to remove all the distractions,” Pais said. “I waited until the very last second, and when I saw him open up his hips. It was in my range, and I could push it past the post.”

Miguel Ibarra put his effort in the back of the net, and his partner-in-crime Ramirez finished off the dismal shootout with his effort off the post. Ramirez’s shot sprayed out in the opposite direction, and Pais was mobbed instantly by teammates and fans in the corner.

St. Louis’ Brandon Barklage, Patrick Doody and Oskar Gasecki each put their shots in the bottom right corner to take a 3-1 lead before Ramirez’s attempt.

Gaul will miss his side’s game on June 16, when St. Louis FC crosses state lines to take on Sporting Kansas City in Kansas City, Kan.

Sporting Park has hosted the two teams St. Louis FC beat to earn the trip to the MLS stadium. The Des Moines Menace, which St. Louis beat in extra time last Wednesday, and Minnesota United, both fell to Sporting Kansas City by 2-0 scorelines in 2013 and 2014, respectively.

St. Louis FC ends a five-game home stint with its game Saturday at Louisville City FC, getting back into action before the Open Cup fourth round match. Minneosta will try to rebound with a win over league-leading New York Cosmos back in the NASL.

REPLAY: Minnesota United at Saint Louis FC

2015 US Open Cup Round 3: Rob Vincent’s stoppage time winner lifts Pittsburgh Riverhounds over Tampa Bay Rowdies, 1-0 (video)

May 27, 2015 by John Krysinsky

Rob Vincent celebrates his stoppage time winner for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds against the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Photo: Pittsburgh Riverhounds

Rob Vincent’s stoppage time goal propelled the Pittsburgh Riverhounds to a 1-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the Third Round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup at Highmark Stadium on Wednesday night.

With the win, the Riverhounds advance to the fourth round of the Open Cup and will stay home to face Major League Soccer’s DC United on June 17.

In a pretty evenly played match that became more physical in the latter stages, Vincent — the Riverhounds’ leading scorer with eight goals, and two now in the Open Cup — found some space just outside the box after receiving a ball from Tyler Pasher.

With room to spare from about 25 yards, Vincent drilled a shot that gave the Riverhounds the lead just as the announcement came over that there would be three minutes of stoppage time added to the match.

“Every time Robbie gets the ball in attacking half, I say, ‘Shoot Robbie, shoot,’” said Riverhounds coach Mark Steffens.

It was an intense match, as both teams exchanged possessions and found various counter-chances. The Riverhounds were able to keep the ball for longer stretches and attempted 17 shots, forcing Rowdies goalkeeper Matt Pickens to make four saves, and the home side set up 11 corner kicks to just four for the Rowdies.

Concerned about the potential of the matching going into extra time, Steffens hoped for a goal in regulation as his team was playing its fourth game in the past 11 days, while the Rowdies hadn’t played since May 16.

“I knew we needed something magical, and we got it,” Steffens said.

In the opening stages, the Rowdies came out, as Steffens described, “with a lot of intensity,” setting up a corner kick in the first minute. They continued to advance the ball in the first 20 minutes numerous times with overlapping runs, crosses, but only tested Riverhounds first-year goalkeeper Ryan Hulings a few times.

In the 18th minute, Hulings had to make a nice save, going to his right to thwart an attempt by Martin Munez that was heading just inside the post.

Pittsburgh’s best chances of the first half came in a few sequences beginning in the 38th minute, on the second of three consecutive corners, when Kevin Kerr headed a high service from Vincent that sailed past a few heads and went past the left post.

Moments later, Kerr’s one-timer hit the right post, and the teams went into halftime scoreless.

Lebo Moloto was creating problems for the Rowdies back line at times and made runs into the box, but he was unable to set up any quality finishes.

Still, momentum swung toward the home side early in the second half.

“It seemed like as we were able to develop some rhythm and get going, they seemed to lose their intensity,” Steffens said of the Rowdies. “I thought we played very well and had momentum going into the second half.”

In the 51st minute, Vincent had let loose a blast, again from the top of the circle, that forced Pickens to make a diving save.

In one strange sequence in the 69th minute, Moloto battled Rowdies central defender Stefan Antonijevic for a ball by the right endline in the box.

Antonijevic fell, and with the ball lodged between his legs, Moloto fiercely tried to nudge it away from him.

For a split second, everyone seemed to look to referee Chuck Murphy to make a decision.

And then he did.

Murphy awarded the Hounds with an indirect kick for Antonijevic’s dangerous play. From the far right side just inside the penalty area, the kick was played back to Stephen Okai near the top of the box, but he sent his shot over the bar.

The Rowdies looked late for an opportunistic counter, but were not able to sustain any dangerous chances, with Darwin Espinal runs into the box stymied by a wall of black shirts defending the Riverhounds goal.

The Riverhounds outshot the Rowdies 17-11. Hulings made two saves while Pickens made four. Both teams had eight fouls.

The Rowdies drew the only two bookings of the match, as Ben Sweat knocked over Mike Green in the 15th minute and Robert Hernandez pushed Pasher in the 82nd minute as the Riverhounds defender was shielding a ball heading over the endline.

After Vincent’s goal, the Rowdies had three minutes of stoppage time to get the equalizer, but the Riverhounds got through it unscathed.

With the win, the Riverhounds remain unbeaten in five Open Cup matches played at Highmark Stadium since it opened in 2013. The Rowdies bow out of the competition in the third round for the second consecutive season.

REPLAY: Tampa Bay Rowdies at Pittsburgh Riverhounds