San Nicolas FC

2019 US Open Cup qualifying: San Nicolas files protest after loss to Cal FC

September 24, 2018 by Josh Hakala

Cal FC poses for a team photo before the club's 2019 US Open Cup qualifying match against San NIcolas FC. Photo: Cal FC — Cal FC poses for a team photo before the club’s 2019 US Open Cup qualifying match against San NIcolas FC. Photo: Cal FCUPDATE

UPDATE (10/4/18): TheCup.us has learned that San Nicolas FC’s protest has been denied.

The local qualifying tournament for the 2019 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup kicked off this past weekend, and there is already a controversy.

After they suffered a 3-1 loss to Cal FC in the tournament’s opening round on Saturday, Sept. 22, San Nicolas FC has filed a protest. The Pomona, California-based club claims that Cal FC should not be eligible because they did not play the minimum number of games in their current league.

In Section 202, the 2019 US Open Cup Open Division Handbook, it says:

(a) To enter the Open Cup, a team must be an outdoor soccer team based in the United States and a member of a club or league of an Organization Member of the Federation. The team must be playing in a regular club or league competition of at least four (4) teams and the competition must consist of at least ten (10) matches for each team in the competition each fiscal year.
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(c) Teams Entering Through the Open Division:

(1) To remain eligible throughout the tournament:

(i) A team must remain a playing member in good standing within its club/league competition, starting from the Open Division entry deadline and continuing until the Open Cup Final for the competition year;

(ii) A team’s league must be in operation from the Open Division entry deadline until the Open Cup Final for the competition year.

(2) Any team whose league is starting its first season of competition must have started its league schedule at least thirty (30) days prior to the Open Division entry deadline.

(3) Any team starting its first season of competition in an existing league must have started its new league’s schedule at least thirty (30) days prior to the Open Division entry deadline.

The basis of the protest is that Cal FC did not play in a league during this past season because the club was on hiatus for the last two years. While Cal FC will be returning to the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) for the upcoming fall season, San Nicolas claims that Cal FC have also failed to meet the criteria of a club that is starting its first season of competition, in addition to not playing in a league last season. Cal FC played their first game of the 2018 USPL Fall Season on Sept. 16 when they defeated the Kern County Mustangs 3-2. That does not, according to San Nicolas, satisfy the requirement of starting the season prior to that 30-day window.

“The game should have not been scheduled,” said San Nicolas FC general manager Daniel Collazo. “US Soccer told us to play it and then protest if we happen to lose. It is not fair for all the teams that enter sanctioned leagues and pay so many fees, refs, and home fields year-round to be eligible for this Open Cup local qualifying tournament and then Cal FC gets rolled a red carpet.”

According to Cal FC, they are confident that Saturday’s result will stand.

“We believe the win will be upheld,” said Cal FC owner Michael Friedman. “My organization was approved by the UPSL and US Soccer to participate in the 2019 US Open Cup. Our paperwork is in order and we have taken all the necessary steps to be eligible.”

According to Friedman, it was a merger that makes his club eligible for the 2019 US Open Cup.

Friedman launched Cal FC in 2006 and the club made a name for itself in the 2012 US Open Cup when they stunned the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer. The club was a member of the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) until health issues forced Friedman to put the team on hiatus in late 2016. With Friedman healthy again, he announced that the club will return to the UPSL for the league’s fall season.

What clears the team from any wrongdoing, Friedman said, is that he purchased the UPSL club Los Angeles Roma and merged it with Cal FC prior to this season. Friedman has since confirmed this transaction with TheCup.us.

LA Roma had played in the UPSL since the 2017 Fall Season and by essentially taking over that club, Friedman said the merger puts Cal FC in good standing as well. In a sense, Cal FC takes over LA Roma’s playing history, and they should not be considered a new team, according to Friedman. (NOTE: The owners of LA Roma have since moved on to launch a new UPSL club called “LA10.”)

2016 US Open Cup Round 1: FC Tucson pull away from 10-man San Nicolas FC

May 12, 2016 by Ted Prezelski

FC Tucson's Dom Papa (right) opens the scoring by sending a cross past San Nicolas goalkeeper Jose Miranda. Photo: Dulce Santamaria Vega — FC Tucson’s Dom Papa (right) opens the scoring by sending a cross past San Nicolas goalkeeper Jose Miranda. Photo: Dulce Santamaria Vega

This story also appeared in the Tucson Sentinel.

FC Tucson defeated Pomona’s San Nicolas FC on Wednesday night at Kino Stadium by a score of 3-0. The match was part of opening day of the US Open Cup, with Tucson getting the right to advance in that tournament.

It would be easy to cast the match as a youthful FC Tucson, which like many teams in their league is built on college players, against a veteran San Nicolas squad, except all three of FC Tucson’s goals came from long time players on that team.

FC Tucson quickly established themselves in San Nicolas’s half of the field and earned a free kick in just outside of the box. Minh Vu, a former Rochester Rhinos player and local standout, sent the ball through the box where it seemed to travel by every player that tried to get a touch on it. It finally got to Dom Papa, who goes back to FC Tucson’s first match in 2011, just past the far post. Papa rocketed it into the net to give the local team their first goal.

San Nicolas made a good effort to exploit the inexperience of the FC Tucson back line, but was able to generate few shots. Their first quality chance came in minute 22 when Cesar Rivera, a former player for Orange County Blues, got taken down by Papa just outside the box. The ensuing free kick went straight to FC Tucson keeper Borja Angoitia.

A handball in the box in minute 31 granted FC Tucson their next goal as well as two yellow cards for San Nicolas, both for dissent. Vu took the shot which easily sailed past San Nicolas keeper Jose Miranda.

FC Tucson’s Gordon Hall saw the wrong side of a Cruz Hernandez tackle in minute 37. The former University of Connecticut player was shown an immediate red card and the match was delayed for several minutes as Hall was treated and San Nicolas staff protested.

Despite the card, San Nicolas did a better job of getting behind FC Tucson in the final part of the first half. Rivera earned his team a free kick just outside of the area in minute 42 (this time, a now healthy Hall was the instigator), and took a shot that got bobbled by Angoitia. It took quick thinking by FC Tucson’s defense to keep the ball away from a charging Rivera for what would have been a sure goal. A subsequent attempt by Rivera that beat the keeper was ruled off side.

A much more composed San Nicolas side greeted FC Tucson in the second half. Even down to ten men, they made numerous moves into FC Tucson’s final third. Still, it was FC Tucson to hit the net first in the second half. Vu scored in minute 57’ off of a service by Jon Bakero.

A strong chance for San Nicolas came in minute 70 off of a free kick earned just outside of the box. Another former Blues player, Luis Gonzalez, stepped up to take the shot. The wall did its job and San Nicolas stayed off the board.

FC Tucson had a flurry of offense in the next few minutes, with Miranda making several saves that kept the game at the respectable 3-0 level.

Erlys Garcia, one of several Cuban national team defectors playing for San Nicolas, earned a strong shot in minute 78 that went wide.

FC Tucson ended the match on top and earned their first Open Cup win since 2013. After the game, said that going in they knew that the early goal was key.

“We knew we had to come out early and put one in on them,” said Dom Papa. “Especially with veterans, they are going to know how to play. Put one in early, you can control the game.”

The team will host the second round match against Arizona United SC next Wednesday.

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FC Tucson v San Nicolas FC
Kino North Stadium

Scoring summary
FCT – Dom Papa (6′)
FCT – Minh Vu (pk 31′)
FCT – Vu (57′)

Misconduct summary
SNFC – Jose Miranda (caution 22′)
SNFC – Eduardo Barba (caution, 24′)
FCT – Dom Papa (caution, 27′)
SNFC – Erlys Garcia (caution, 31′)
SNFC – Cruz Hernandez (ejection 37′)
FCT – Musa Morris (caution, 76′)

FC Tucson: Borja Angoitia – Sean Keith, Zachariah Joens, Gordon Hall (Gonnie Ben-Tal 76′), Edgar Reyna – Musa Morris (Tate Schmitt 82′), Minh Vu, Jon Bakero (Francesco Bartolillo 88′), Evan Waldrep, Dom Papa – Damian German

San Nicolas FC: Jose Miranda – Erlys Garcia, Diego Jimenez (Gerardo Martinez 63′), Cruz Hernandez (ejected 37′), Oscar Castillo – Noel Castillo (Edgar Espinoza 79′), Amilicar Lopez, Rene Corona – Eduardo Barba (Jose Gomez 66′), Cesar Rivera, Luis Gonzalez

2016 Meet the Underdogs: UPSL champ San Nicolas survive brawl, ready to make US Open Cup debut

May 3, 2016 by Dennis Pope

San Nicolas FC of the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) is a young club, and it’s already building a strong reputation.

The Pomona (Calif.)-based club has qualified for the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup for the first time this year and has gained standing as a hard-working group with big aspirations. They have been on a roll as of late, winning their final five league matches to finish fourth in the Southeast division standings and qualify for the playoffs. They kept that streak rolling and won the UPSL championship, defeating fellow 2016 Open Cup qualifier LA Wolves FC in the title game.

“We literally had to win every single game to clinch the last spot to get in (to the playoffs),” said San Nicolas general manager Daniel Collazo.

Their difficult road to the championship started with a win over old rival and fell 2016 US Open Cup qualifier La Maquina FC. After San Nicolas rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win their quarterfinal meeting, 3-2, a brawl broke out. According to Collazo, La Maquina’s goalkeeper was sent off but after the match was over, he confronted the San Nicolas player involved with the incident that got him sent off. The situation escalated quickly.

When the dust settled, San Nicolas advanced to the semifinals, later winning the championship game, but the incident was reviewed by the UPSL. After San Nicolas lifted the trophy, the review was completed and the league ruled that San Nicolas would be suspended for the first six games of next season, while La Maquina would be suspended for the entire campaign.

“It was very hard, to receive the six-game suspension,” said Collazo, who has an Open Cup resume that includes being the general manager of PSA Elite.

However, the suspension could be viewed as a blessing in disguise with a busy schedule ahead of them. The UPSL actually did two things: They suspended them six games and because the venue where the brawl took place — a common field for many teams in the division — banned both teams, the league moved San Nicolas to a new division, requiring additional travel. Starting off with six losses, and all the extra travel made it a lost season for the club, so they decided to field a B-team in the league and focus their efforts on the Open Cup, the Silver Mug International Tournament in Las Vegas (of which they have won three times) and friendlies.

The club has played friendlies against United Soccer League clubs LA Galaxy II and OC Blues this year, and recently defeated the UPSL Arizona’s Phoenix Monsoon, 3-0. They have another friendly scheduled with NPSL club Deportivo Coras USA next on Friday, May 6.

The team travels to Arizona to take on the Premier Development League’s (PDL) FC Tucson at Kino North Stadium in a Lamar Hunt US Open Cup first round game on Wednesday, May 11.

“All the players come from different backgrounds and they have a lot of different things to do, but they’ve kept a piece of their mind on this task,” said Collazo.

New head coach Jose Botello, who spent time in the 1990s with the Los Angeles Galaxy and is an accomplished youth coach in Southern California, has a talented roster to work with. The most notable name on the roster is former Cuban international and Major League Soccer veteran Maykel Galindo, but the Lions have a range of talented players.

Amilcar ‘Mike’ Lopez and Eduardo ‘Lito’ Barba were San Nicolas’ top scorers during qualification, and Collazo expects stalwart goalkeeper Cesar Castillo, a former standout at Sacramento State, to be in between the pipes.

“Our priority this season, what we wanted is to bring the reinforcements,” Collazo said. “There’s a lot of leagues in , and the core of the players are constantly playing together.”

The club only had to win one game to qualify for the Open Cup. Their opening match was forfeited when their opponent, Corinthians USA, failed to register enough players. However, the forfeit proved to be costly as the two teams decided to play the game anyway, even though Corinthians had forfeited. Unfortunately, Galindo, San Nicolas’ 34-year-old star veteran, suffered an injury and missed their second round game.

However, they would not need the former Chivas USA forward as they cruised to a 3-0 win over So Cal Premier League side Real Sociedad. With the final round of the qualifying tournament canceled, the win proved to be their ticket to the Open Cup.

For a club making its first appearance in the tournament proper, the opportunity is lost on Collazo.

“Every single player, myself, all the sacrifice for four to five years has been developed into this,” he said.