San Pedro Monsters

2018 US Open Cup qualifying: “Mentally strong” Santa Ana Winds beat San Pedro Monsters to earn first USOC berth

November 20, 2017 by Omar Avalos

Kyle O'Brien (orange) of Santa Ana Winds battles for the ball in a 2018 US Open Cup qualifier against the San Pedro Monsters. Photo: Santa Ana Winds — Kyle O’Brien (orange) of Santa Ana Winds battles for the ball in a 2018 US Open Cup qualifier against the San Pedro Monsters. Photo: Santa Ana Winds

Santa Ana Winds FC made club history by qualifying for the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup for the first time, in their second attempt. The club defeated the San Pedro Monsters FC of the SoCal Premier League by a score of 4-1 at the Lake Forest Sports Park in Lake Forest, Calif.

Winds FC fell one game short of qualifying to the 2017 Open Cup, but much has changed from then until now. Most importantly, the club has found a consistency that has eluded them in the past. Continuity has been the key to their success as of late, in both UPSL play and Open Cup qualifying.

Winds FC got on the board in the 15th minute on a header by striker Kramer Runager. Two minutes later, he assisted striker Jordan Gorman on his first goal of the night. With Santa Ana up 2-0, the club got itself into trouble with disciplinary calls, first with an early yellow then with a red card in the 22nd minute. San Pedro took advantage of their man advantage to get one back on a header by Francisco Ramirez on a pass from Yoni Garcia in the 43rd minute.

With the momentum seemingly in San Pedro’s favor, Gorman came through again for Winds FC, this time in the 66th minute on a left-footed shot, assisted by midfielder and attack orchestrator Kyle O’Brien. Runager sealed the win for Santa Ana in the 84th minute with his second goal of the night on a fortuitous deflection in his favor caused by a Winds FC shot on goal, blocked by the San Pedro goalkeeper.

After the match, Winds head coach Jose Lopez attributed his club’s win to, “Doing the same things we’ve been working on in the last three to four months. We were mentally strong. We didn’t have to make any changes, and we were confident coming into this match.”

Santa Ana Winds FC returns to UPSL play, where they sit in fifth place behind regional powerhouses LA Wolves, OC Invicta, Orange County FC and La Máquina at the time of this writing with a record of 3W – 1L – 3T, while they await the draw for their First Round 2018 Open Cup opponent. Two of Winds FC’s three ties came against Invicta and La Máquina.

2016 US Open Cup qualifying: Outbreak FC lose late lead, recover to beat San Pedro Monsters in OT

November 25, 2015 by Josh Hakala

Players from Outbreak FC (blue) and the San Pedro Monsters battle for the ball in a 2016 US Open Cup qualifying match. Photo: Joe Walsh

Outbreak FC took the next step toward qualifying for the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup for the first time with a 4-3 extra time win over the San Pedro Monsters. The two Southern California-based teams squared off at the Toyota Sports Complex in Torrence, Calif. and it appeared that Outbreak FC was going to cruise into the final round with a 2-0 lead midway through the second half, but the Monsters scored a late equalizer to send the match into extra time.

In extra time, Outbreak prevailed to put themselves one win away from punching their ticket to the 103rd edition of the tournament.

Outbreak is one of four remaining Southern California teams in the competition, and the only SoCal Premier League team. They will play a “Win & You’re In” match the first weekend in April and will learn who they will play in that game when the draw is announced on Jan. 7, 2016. The likely opponent will either be the LA Wolves FC, La Maquina or San Nicolas FC.

MORE: CHECK OUT A PHOTO GALLERY FROM THIS GAME BY JOE WALSH (Twitter @TMesisFC)

Outbreak’s 2-0 lead was built by a pair of Cal State Fullerton teammates. After the club maintained the majority of the possession, it paid off in the 37th minute when Jameson Campbell finished off a quick touch in the box from Oscar Aguero.

Aguero followed that up with a goal of his own in the 60th minute off a pass from former UC Irvine standout Gray Bailey.

The second Outbreak goal sparked San Pedro into action as they stepped up the pressure to get back into the match. Outbreak goalkeeper Brandon Welch preserved the lead with some highlight reel-quality saves, but the Monsters had their first breakthrough in the 75th minute when they scored on a penalty kick.

San Pedro continued to press the rest of the half and were finally rewarded when a mistake on the Outbreak backline led to an 89th minute equalizer.

Extra time started as regulation began with Outbreak taking control of the match. Their possession would lead to a goal as Torey Edwards finished a spectacular side volley into the upper left corner on a cross in the 103rd minute.

In the second overtime period, Aguero fired a shot that led to a rebound goal by former professional Jason Boyce to give Outbreak a two-goal lead heading down the stretch. Boyce, 40, was originally drafted by the Colorado Rapids in 1998 and played for the Miami Fusion, Orange County Zodiac/Blue Star, Seattle Sounders (USL) and others.

San Pedro scored in the final minute to make it a one-goal game, but that’s as close as they would come as Outbreak advanced to the final round.

“I’m not sure if we are the Cinderella story, but we go into every game knowing we are capable of winning,” said Outbreak FC president Trent Bryson. “We don’t have practices or trainings. Everyone is responsible for their own trainings. We play for the love of the game and all possess a competitive instinct that focuses on winning. Perhaps the most significant quality to our team, is not what they do on the field but rather off the field. All are successful businessmen, corporate citizens and fans of the game.”