Complete U.S. Open Cup Coverage

Portland Timbers 2

2024 US Open Cup Round 1: Former champs El Farolito use red card to upset Timbers2 in Portland

by

Johnatan Mosquera of El Farolito celebrates after scoring a goal against Timbers2 in the FIrst Round of the 2024 US Open Cup. Photo: Craig Mitchelldyer-Portland Timbers
Johnatan Mosquera of El Farolito celebrates after scoring a goal against Timbers2 in the FIrst Round of the 2024 US Open Cup. Photo: Craig Mitchelldyer-Portland Timbers

For the first time since their inaugural season in 2015, the Portland Timbers MLS Next Pro side Portland Timbers2 competed in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

The MLS club’s second team hosted National Premier Soccer League power El Farolito, a club that was once known as the 1993 Open Cup champion under a previous name, Club Deportivo Mexico. El Farolito last competed in the 2017 and 2019 of the tournament.

Back in the tournament for the first time since 2019, El Farolito stunned a shorthanded Timbers2, 2-1 with goals from Johann Yabur and Dembor Benson in the second half.

“It’s a great experience to be back in the Cup,” El Farolito coach Santiago Lopez said. “The difference? Strategy. We knew their formation, we knew how to neutralize them under pressure. They never changed any formation, going a man down.”

Early on in the first half, El Farolito exploited their strong play and physicality to have the majority of the early chances at goal. But as the half wore on, T2 consistently caught them on the counter and through their speed.

KeeSean Ferdinand pounded on a mishandled ball in the box in the 30th minute, scoring from close range to lift Portland to a 1-0 lead it would hold through halftime despite an 8-6 shots deficit.

But El Farolito’s Santiago Lopez said the message was simple at halftime: “Score two in the next 45 — and that’s what happened.”

Timbers2 was wearing down El Farolito with their superior speed and wide play, but in the 53rd minute everything changed when T2’s Harvey Neville picked up his second yellow card, leaving his team down a player for the rest of the game.

That gave El Farolito an opportunity to mount a comeback. Yabur equalized in the 52nd minute, heading home off a beautiful cross from second-half substitute Judas Higuera to give the visitors a chance.

Benson then completed the comeback in the 68th minute, scoring the winner from teammate Jonatan Valdivia that sent El Farolito to the Cup’s second round.

T2 had one final chance in the last minutes, when Kyle Linhares was one-on-one with El Farolito goalkeeper Lizarralde. But Linhares’ shot sailed a foot wide.

“It was the first time for all of our players, for the team, for most of the staff on the bench, myself included, that we played the U.S. Open Cup game,” T2 head coach Serge Dinkota said. “We mentioned in the pregame that it was going to be a difficult game with maturity and experience required.”

MLS-owned USL teams not allowed in 2016 US Open Cup, per USSF policy change

by

The Seattle Sounders 2 and the Portland Timbers 2, shown here in a 2015 US Open Cup Round 3 match will not be competing in the 2016 tournament. Photo: Charis Wilson | Seattle Sounders FC
The Seattle Sounders 2 and the Portland Timbers 2, shown here in a 2015 US Open Cup Round 3 match will not be competing in the 2016 tournament. Photo: Charis Wilson | Seattle Sounders FC

UPDATE: TheCup.us has confirmed that 2016 USL expansion team Rio Grande Valley FC will be allowed to compete in the US Open Cup since they will be sharing staff with MLS’ Houston Dynamo, but they do not share ownership.

There was no announcement made, but according to a document posted on the United States Soccer Federation website, a policy change has been made that will have a significant effect on the field for the 2016 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

Posted on the federation’s Bylaws and Policies page, the 2015 Policy Amendments document states that on Sept. 8, 2015, the Board of Directors passed an amendment that will ban all Major League Soccer-owned USL teams from next year’s tournament.

The amendment says:

“Any Outdoor Professional League Team that is majority owned by a higher-level Outdoor Professional League Team shall be ineligible to participate in the Open Cup. The Open Cup Committee shall review and determine team eligibility annually pursuant to this provision and report its decisions to the National Board of Directors.”

This would keep the following teams from competing in next year’s tournament: Seattle Sounders 2, Portland Timbers 2, LA Galaxy 2, New York Red Bulls 2, Real Monarchs (RSL) and 2016 expansion teams Orlando City B, Bethlehem Steel and Swope Park Rangers (Sporting KC).

The New York Red Bulls 2 fielded seven academy players in their 2015 Round 2 loss to the Jersey Express (PDL). Photo: Bob Larson
The New York Red Bulls 2 fielded seven academy players in their 2015 Round 2 loss to the Jersey Express (PDL). Photo: Bob Larson

Questions have arisen about the status of 2016 USL expansion side Rio Grande Valley FC (RGVFC), who will be affiliated with MLS’ Houston Dynamo. TheCup.us has confirmed that RGVFC will be allowed to compete in the tournament because while the two clubs will be sharing staff and coaches, they do not share an ownership group. RGVFC are owned by Lone Star FC. According to the Dynamo website, “Lone Star, as they do with the Houston Rockets, will manage and operate the club, including a new stadium, while Houston’s technical staff will select the players and coaching staff.”

Concerns arose last year that reserve teams under MLS control were fielding weakened rosters due, in large part, to the fact that the senior teams didn’t want to cup tie players with a USL team, thus making them unavailable for their own tournament run. One could speculate that was one of the motivating factors that led to this change.

A prime example of this comes from this past tournament’s second round match between the New York Red Bulls 2 and the PDL’s Jersey Express. All of the players on loan from the Red Bulls senior club did not dress for the match and seven players from the team’s Under-18 and Under-16 development academy squads were on the gameday roster. Two of those academy players found their way into the starting lineup. The Express won the match 1-0.

Now, with this news, the number of professional teams has been reduced by eight teams, which will change the number of teams that will enter the 2016 competition. The deadline for professional teams to register for the tournament is Dec. 31, 2015 and in the weeks that follow, the matchups for Round 3 of the open division qualifying tournament will be released. At that point, the federation will announce the finalized number of teams for the 103rd edition of the Open Cup.

More details to follow …

2015 US Open Cup Round 3: Seattle Sounders 2 beat Portland Timbers 2 in OT to add new chapter to rivalry (video)

by

Photo: Charis Wilson | Seattle Sounders 2
Photo: Charis Wilson | Seattle Sounders 2

Seattle Sounders 2 extended their early dominance over rival Portland Timbers 2 with Pablo Rossi delivering the game winner in overtime of a 2-1 thriller to advance to the Fourth Round of the US Open Cup.

Timbers 2 got on the board first, but ten minutes after Rennico Clarke headed Portland into the lead, Andy Craven finally cashed in on one of his many shots to equalize, leading to the decisive overtime.
“We just wanted to come out there with the right mentality and set the tone for the rest of the game,” Craven said.
S2 pressed early, appearing to want to dictate terms and put T2 a bit on their heels. Seattle was able to get into interesting positions several times in the first ten minutes of the match, but lacked a finishing touch, as Portland keeper Justin Luthy was kept busy collecting shots that were never hard enough to cause him too much trouble.

A huge error in Portland’s back end gave Seattle a huge chance to make the early pressure pay. In the 8th minute, Danny O’Rourke attempted to pass across the field from the right flank, deep in his own territory. Unfortunately for O’Rourke, Vic Mansaray was the only person in the area. Mansaray quickly moved into attack and slid a nice ball forward for an on-rushing Sam Garza. Garza was able to get a shot off with plenty of heat behind it, but the ball was targeted at the chest of Luthy, who parried it away with a double fist.

After the resumption of play, it was T2’s turn to make an early push to tilt the battle in their favor, and unlike Seattle did during their early aggressive play, they created a goal from it.

Portland won a succession of corners by getting the ball deep and forcing S2 captain Damion Lowe to hurriedly shove the ball past the goal line. On the second such instance in a span of just a few minutes, Blair Gavin curled the ball in nicely from the right corner, finding Rennico Clarke, who skied above everyone to meet the cross and head it decisively past Kerawala for the 1-0 lead in the 55th.

“When we go down a goal, it’s like the energy just kicks up, and we just go to another level,” Garza said.
Seattle clearly found inspiration in finding themselves behind, launching into attack mode directly from the kickoff following the Portland goal. Mansaray was the catalyst for Seattle’s biggest chance of the match when he provided another great through-ball, this time for Craven. In what seemed like a must-score situation, the Seattle striker’s shot found only the keeper Luthy after the hour mark.

A few minutes later, Craven, perhaps frustrated  by the blown chance, earned the game’s first yellow with a foul at midfield.

Craven found a more-productive outlet for his energy a few minutes after going into the book. With Mansaray again delivering a great opportunity through a well-placed ball, Craven beat the Portland back line, circled Luthy, and made no mistake in equalizing for the home side in the 65th.

Though the two sides are natural-born rivals, due to geography and the history of their two parent MLS clubs, there were few signs of animosity between the players on the pitch, nor much bloodlust from the S2 fans directed toward the T2 players.

And then Danny O’Rourke emerged as the first villain in the USL version of the Cascadian melodrama.

Upon the resumption of play after Mansaray exited the match for substitute Lorenzo Ramos in the 74th, the bearded Portland right back wrapped his arm around the neck of Craven and pulled, with the action taking place in full view of the 1,737 spectators in the S2 stands. From that point on, any touching of the ball by O’Rourke was met with a chorus of booing, the last round of which came when his substitution was announced via the stadium PA after the start of overtime.

Pablo Rossi was already the S2 hero of the US Open Cup for his game-winning goal from a direct free kick a week ago. Last week, Rossi delivered just a few minutes into the first overtime to put an S2 stamp on the extra frame. This time, Rossi waited until near the end of the first overtime to send Seattle into the next round.

After both sides exchanged interesting chances in overtime, it was Sam Garza making a great individual play to escape his mark in midfield and start a rush toward the Portland goal. Garza sent a pass along the ground into the area for Rossi, but the ball didn’t have enough steam to catch up to Rossi as the midfielder moved toward goal. Rossi adjusted to move back toward the ball, turn, and launch the game winner across the area, out of the reach of Luthy and inside the far post in the 104th.

Portland managed a few chances in the final fifteen minutes, the most-notable in the 116th which was Harrison Delbridge’s header, off a corner kick, that skirted just wide of the post.

S2 had two huge chances, with Portland conceding space in the back end as they pressed for the equalizer, but neither were converted.

REPLAY: Timbers 2 at Sounders 2

2015 US Open Cup Round 2: Portland Timbers 2 take over second half, hold off Michigan Bucks 2-0

by

Team introductions for the Portland Timbers 2 and Michigan Bucks at the Ultimate Soccer Arenas in Pontiac, Mich. | Photo: Eric Wasser
Team introductions for the Portland Timbers 2 and Michigan Bucks at the Ultimate Soccer Arenas in Pontiac, Mich. | Photo: Eric Wasser

It was a quiet night in Pontiac, Mich. as the reigning PDL champion Michigan Bucks got ready to play the Portland Timbers 2 (T2) in the Second Round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. An announced crowd of about 467, about a quarter of the audience for their First Round match against Detroit City FC, saw the Bucks compete in the opening half, only to have the pros from Portland take over in the second frame.

Seth Casiple assisted on two second half goals, one early from Kharlton Belmar and a stoppage time breakout tap-in by Fatawu Safiu to lift the Timbers to a 2-0 victory. With the win, the Timbers will play the winner of the Kitsap Pumas (PDL) and Seattle Sounders 2 (USL).

As each team warmed up in the echoing expanses of the indoor facility there was a notable difference in the alacrity of each squads’ preparations. T2’s preparations looked significantly more focused and intentional, perhaps testing the indoor playing surface.

As the game kicked off, the hometown Bucks truly controlled the game. For nearly the first half hour they dominated possession, and as a result had many good looks on goal. Few were on target, and less posed a challenge to the T2 keeper. Their best shot of the half came in the third minute, yet the lack of consistent offensive pressure from Portland allowed Michigan the freedom to continue to take the necessary risks to create so many chances.

Around the 27th minute, there was a palpable change in the composure of the T2 players, as they began to challenge the Bucks’ defense with quick counterattacking chances. It took all of Michigan keeper Stephen Patterson’s talent and athleticism to keep the ball out of the net, including pulling one shot away that looked to have broken the plane of the goal. This flurry of offensive opportunity seemed to give T2 their first bit of confidence, which gradually led to a stalemate of possession, and an equal amount of promising opportunities for both teams going into the second half, with Portland having finally found their identity on the pitch.

The change from a purely reactionary, counterattacking squad led to a couple of quick chances for Portland in the first minutes of the second half, while Michigan seemed slightly less assured past their defensive half. Finally, in the 55th minute the scoring was broken open as Portland’s debut player Seth Casiple sent a long, outward curling cross to the back of the box, which found itself driven into the back of the net by a powerful header from Kharlton Belmar.

From this point onwards, Portland controlled the tempo of the match, as Michigan was constantly forced backwards into their defensive third of the pitch, clearing the ball long to reset T2 possessions. Around the 80th minute, though, the Bucks renewed their sense of urgency, and created what were their three best chances of the night. In the 83rd minute Michigan had the T2 keeper beaten with a strong head from a corner going straight into the upper left corner of the net. Fortunately for Portland, defender Blair Gavin held fast to his position and managed to head the shot away at the last moment.

“I was assigned to the front post, and I had to defend it,” Gavin commented post-match when asked about his game-changing defensive stand. “You drill that every day in practice, and I knew to stay in my position.”

After that, Michigan’s David Goldsmith and Nick Wysong both had open looks at goal (in the 87th and 92nd minutes, respectively), facing only the keeper, and both sailed their shots long over the bar. After the latter, Portland took the goal kick quickly, creating a three against one situation. Casiple again had the ball at his feet to assist the goal, as he forced Patterson to commit to him before laying the ball off to the flanking Safiu for a 93rd minute goal that certainly put the Bucks’ hopes of advancing beyond salvaging.

Seth Casiple walked off the pitch surrounded by congratulatory teammates, and was quick to praise them and the club.

“It’s incredible to come out and win with a team like this on a night like this,” he said breathlessly, still exuberant from celebration of his two-assist debut. “This club makes it so easy to want to come out and play for them, they make it so easy to feel apart of something.”

Copyright © 2026 • Built by Jacob Martella Web Development