Complete U.S. Open Cup Coverage

South Georgia Tormenta FC

2025 US Open Cup Round 3: MD Myers’ historic hat trick leads Charleston Battery over Tormenta FC

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MD Myers celebrates with Charleston Battery fans after scoring a hat trick inn a 4-0 win over South Georgia Tormenta FC in the Third Round of the 2025 US Open Cup. Photo: Wade Wimberly - TheCup.us
MD Myers celebrates with Charleston Battery fans after scoring a hat trick inn a 4-0 win over South Georgia Tormenta FC in the Third Round of the 2025 US Open Cup. Photo: Wade Wimberly – TheCup.us

For the third time in the past four years, South Georgia Tormenta (USL-1) and Charleston Battery (USL-C) have been paired in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. The familiar foes had split the previous two meetings and Tuesday night’s Third Round match at Patriots Point saw the host Battery cruise to a comfortable 4-0 victory.

MD Myers loves to score goals against Tormenta. Myers recorded a hat trick against Tormenta in the 2024 tilt and followed it up with a historic hat trick in this season’s tournament. Myers is now the first player in the Modern Era to record hat tricks in back-to-back Open Cup campaigns.

“Its exciting, before the game today I was thinking it would be hard to top what I did last year against Tormenta,” Myers said. “The first goal came (by) just hanging around the net and then a couple more easy goals landed at my feet. I’m just happy to help the team win. 

“I’m a poacher around the goal, I just like to get in the box for one-time finishes. It was just working for me tonight.”

The match started with the Battery pressing the attack in the first quarter hour. The best chance of this run of play was when Jackson Conway broke free on a long run and forced a sprawling 1v1 save from Tormenta goalkeeper Austin Pack. After the save, the momentum of the match swung in the visitor’s favor and Tormenta enjoyed its best spell of attack over the following few minutes.

Against this run of play, the Battery earned a corner kick that was cleared by Tormenta to the top of the box where the Battery’s Chris Allen collected a poorly cleared ball, faked a quick shot and cut to his right where he drove a ball that deflected off a Tormenta defender’s foot. The ball looped up and over the crowd in the box and into the bottom left corner of the net to give the Battery a 1-0 lead in the 32nd minute.

Tormenta looked to be getting back into the game just before the break after they won a penalty kick in the 45th minute. A trip inside the box awarded Tormenta the penalty kick but the Battery keeper, Christian Garner, guessed correctly by diving to his right to turn away the low shot for a corner kick. The Battery cleared the following corner kick, catching Tormenta in a classic counter-attack situation. Charleston drove the length of the pitch before slotting the ball into the feet of Myers inside of the Tormenta box. Myers dribbled around a defender to calmly place the ball into the back of the net as the Battery took a 2-0 advantage to the locker room.

The second half was all Charleston. The field seemed to tilt in the Battery’s favor and wave after wave of black and gold threatened the Tormenta nets. All of that pressure created a mistake inside of the Tormenta box in the 52nd minute that Myers was first to pounce on and deposit in the net for a 3-0 lead.

The Battery attack kept Tormenta pinned deep in their half and in the 70th minute it was Myers again, pouncing on a Tormenta mistake to complete his historic hat trick. Shortly after his third goal, Myers got a curtain call and was subbed out of the game and into Lamar Hunt US Open Cup history.

In 2024, Myers needed 120 minutes to score his hat trick, but Tuesday only needed 70 minutes to complete the historic Cup moment.

Photo: Wade Wimberly – TheCup.us

The Battery maintained its dominant attack but was unable to find the net again. The result books the Battery into the Round of 32. The draw is set for April 17th.

“I think the score-line was a little bit flattering for us overall because it nearly was 1-1 for the entire first half,” said Battery Coach Ben Pirmann. “Credit to Tormenta, they played a good game, but in the end of it I think we did a lot of good movements and selfless attacks to create those chances and finish them off. It was good to see MD  bang in some goals and for Chris (Allen) get his first (goal) for the club in his third season and a younger player, Viggo (Ortiz Cordova) making his debut. 

“A good performance, and with these tournaments, it’s kind of chaos, you never know how it’s going to play out, so we’ll take it and advance and turn our attention to league play on Saturday.”

 

2025 US Open Cup Round 2: South Georgia Tormenta need 3 go-ahead goals to fight off FORO SC

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Players from FORO SC (Orange) and South Georgia Tormenta FC battle for the ball in a Second Round match in the 2025 US Open Cup. Photo: Wade Wimberly | TheCup.us
Players from FORO SC (Orange) and South Georgia Tormenta FC battle for the ball in a Second Round match in the 2025 US Open Cup. Photo: Wade Wimberly | TheCup.us

It was a Lamar Hunt US Open Cup instant classic Tuesday night in Statesboro, Georgia as South Georgia Tormenta defeated visiting FORO SC 3-2.  The UPSL side from Texas just refused to go away and twice leveled the game in the final 20 minutes before Tormenta found the late, late winner to advance.

The match started with both teams looking to control the midfield spaces with Tormenta studying their opponent as they read and reacted to the visitors from Texas.  This was all part of the plan for Tormenta Head Coach Ian Cameron.

“It was a quick turnaround (from the USL One game last Saturday) and the mentality of the group was to see what they bring and then test ourselves as a staff and players to see if we can adapt to their tactics within the game”.  

In the 38th minute, Tormenta adapted their attacking pattern and found space down the right flank to drive the ball deep and FORO SC in their penalty box.  The ball was then dropped to the 18 where defender JP Perez floated a ball into the center of the box as midfielder Aaron Walker rose first and rose highest to head the ball down into the left corner of the net for the 1-0 advantage.  

The score line stayed in the hosts favor all the way into the 65th minute when Tormenta thought they had scored a second goal only to see the offside flag wipe it away.  From this moment on the match went bonkers.

FORO SC found their first goal in the 67th minute as Gibran Rayo pressed forward from his right back position and hit a curling shot into the back post upper 90 to level the match at 1-1.  FORO SC had dribbled into the attacking third of the field followed by some quick passes from the center to the right flank which opened up the Tormenta defense. This allowed the ball to be cut back to Rayo for the first-time shot at the edge of the penalty box.  The scrambling Tormenta keeper Austin Pack had no chance of even getting a touch to the bending shot up over his outstretched arms.

The match picked up tempo as both teams pressed for the game-winner and Tormenta substitute Yaniv Bazini was slipped a ball at the top of the box in the 85th minute and he perfectly timed his run and calmly converted the chance versus the onrushing FORO SC keeper low to the left post for the 2-1 Tormenta lead.

FORO SC threw everything forward after the Tormenta goal and a scrambling save by Austin Pack in the 90th minute looked to preserve the result.  

The following run of play saw FORO SC deliver the ball into a dangerous area of the Tormenta box where a penalty kick was won by FORO SC to send US Open Cup first round hero Brayan Padilla to the spot.  Padilla converted the penalty at 90+2 minutes and again FORO SC had leveled the match and looked to be sending the match to extra time.

Tormenta forward Sebastian Vivas had other ideas and scored the decisive goal for the hosts at the 90+4 minute mark taking all the wind out of the Cupset minded FORO SC attack.  Tormenta pushed the ball down the right flank and won a very physical duel 1v1 to serve the ball into Vivas at the goal box where he nodded the ball down to the right past the frozen FORO SC goalkeeper.  The hosts finished out the final minutes of the match and claimed the win to advance to Round Three.

“I thought they (FORO SC) were terrific,” said Tormenta Head Coach Ian Cameron.  “Their touch, their movement, their togetherness…they are all on the same page.  They made it really difficult.  It wasn’t just spirit, or their World Cup Final with them playing up; it was proper football they played.  It was really cool to see.”

The win keeps South Georgia Tormenta’s home US Open Cup undefeated streak alive at 5-0-0 in home matches played inside Tormenta Stadium which opened in the fall of 2022

Tormenta now awaits the third round draw to see who their next opponent will be.

 

2025 US Open Cup Round 1: South Georgia Tormenta comfortably advance, 3-0 vs. Harbor City

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Players from South Georgia Tormenta (white) and Harbor City FC battle for the ball in the First Round of the 2025 US Open Cup. Photo: Wade Wimberly | TheCup.us
Players from South Georgia Tormenta (white) and Harbor City FC battle for the ball in the First Round of the 2025 US Open Cup. Photo: Wade Wimberly | TheCup.us

The South Georgia Tormenta (USL League One) cruised to a comfortable 3-0 win over visiting Harbor City FC (UPSL) in the First Round of the 2025 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Thursday night in Statesboro, Ga.

Both teams battled the strong winds around the park during the match but it was the hosts who found the better run of play and the goals needed on the night to separate the two sides.  Tormenta were the more aggressive side and Harbor City FC sat in a deep defensive block giving Tormenta the majority of possession and scoring opportunities.

Tormenta opened the scoring in the 23rd minute as Jonathan Nyandjo collected a floated ball across from the right flank and slotted it neatly into the bottom corner of the net through a crowded six-yard box for the 1-0 advantage.  Tormenta looked to find a second goal late in the first half but were just off the mark to send the game to the half up one.

The second half saw Tormenta again create chances around the box but the hosts were just unable to find the final goal-scoring touch until the 75th minute when substitute Niall Reid-Stephen streaked into the box on the end of a Connor Doyle pass to bury the ball for a 2-0 lead. 

Reid-Stephen had just subbed into the match in the 71st minute and made an immediate impact in the match. Just a few minutes after his first goal, he put the game out of question on a free kick as he curled a driven ball around the Harbor City FC wall at the top of the box in the 80th minute for the 3-0 final score line.  

The driven free kick just swerved around the hip of the defender guarding the near post and Harbor City FC goalkeeper Bryce Notardonato was surprised low to the near post as the left-footed curler nestled in the back of the net.

When asked about the free kick after the game Reid-Stephen had a simple answer as to what he saw, “a goal,” he said with a huge smile. “I just struck it…from practice, after training every day I keep putting in the reps.”

The early rounds of the Open Cup are about a “survive and advance” mentality, said Tormenta head coach Ian Cameron.  

“We are through, I don’t think we conceded too many chances,” he said. “We had control of the game in some tricky circumstances — the wind and a lack of atmosphere — as they we’re up and at it too aggressively, but we navigated the round to move on and see who we get in the next round.”

Round Two of the 2025 US Open Cup will be played April 1 and 2 and Tormenta now awaits the draw to see who they will face in the next match.

2024 US Open Cup Round 4: MD Myers completes hat trick with late OT winner as Charleston Battery beats Tormenta FC

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MD Myers of the Charleston Battery celebrates after scoring a goal against the South Georgia Tormenta FC in the Fourth Round of the 2024 US Open Cup. Photo: Wade Wimberly - TheCup.us
MD Myers of the Charleston Battery celebrates after scoring a goal against the South Georgia Tormenta FC in the Fourth Round of the 2024 US Open Cup. Photo: Wade Wimberly – TheCup.us

Both teams knew the assignment entering Wednesday night’s 2024 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Round of 32 match at Patriots Point just across the Cooper River from downtown Charleston: Win and host Atlanta United in the Round of 16.

The Charleston Battery would take care of business in front of their home fans with a 3-2 extra time win over the South Georgia Tormenta FC. All of the scoring would come from one man: MD Myers, the club’s offseason signing who came over from NYCFC II of MLS NEXT Pro.

With that extra motivation in mind, both teams stood toe-to-toe and traded jabs in the midfield over the first 15 minutes of the match looking for an advantage. The Battery used a high-press and suffocating midfield pressure to squeeze the ball away from Tormenta higher and higher up the field.  All this pressure paid off in the 22nd minute as MD Myers looked to deliver a knockout blow as he stole the ball from the Tormenta goalkeeper and went on a dribbling, slalom run around the penalty box evading both goalkeeper and defenders alike before he put the ball into the empty through a crowd for the 1-0 lead.

The goal, however, didn’t seem to impact either team’s pattern of play or urgency in the match. The visitors regained their shape after the goal allowed and counterpunched via the quick counterattack to climb their way back into the match. Tormenta’s Pedro Fonseca collected a through ball right up the middle of the field and then went on a solo run to the top of the box where he buried a shot to even the game at 1-1 in the 40th minute. Again, the goal didn’t seem to impact either team’s mindset or urgency as they seemed very committed to their game plan. 

Just when it looked like the match would go to the half knotted at 1-1, it was a quick Battery combination up the left flank in first-half stoppage time that quickly circulated the ball forward before it was floated into the box where Myers rose first and rose highest to nod the ball into the near post to give the hosts a 2-1 advantage at the break.

The second half opened just like the first half with both teams trading jabs in the midfield and then after several attack-minded substitutes were made by both teams, the game really opened up. The USL Championship and Battery leading score Nick Markanich was slotted in on a breakaway 1-v-1 versus Tormenta keeper Drew Romig in the 80th minute forcing a spectacular double save to preserve the score line. The Battery had been looking to put the game away with increased pressure on the Tormenta goal and then totally against the run play the visitors broke down the right flank as Niall Watson outpaced the Battery defense to slide ball across the goal mouth where Gabriel Rodriguez turned in the low cross to level things at 2-2.

As the game went to extra time, it was the Battery who came out the strongest throwing everything forward as they delivered ball after ball into the Tormenta box looking for the knockout blow. One last cross in the final seconds of the first extra time forced a point-blank reaction save out of Romig in the 105th minute to keep the score knotted 2 to 2.

As the second half of extra time was set to expire, the Battery made one final push dumping everything they had into the attack that created a scramble inside the Tormenta goalmouth that fell neatly to Myers who made no mistake as he rifled the ball through the crowded box for the knockout blow, a hat trick and the 3-2 Battery victory.

Myers becomes just the third Battery player to score a hat trick in Open Cup play. He joins Darren Spicer, who scored three against the ACS New Stars in the opening round of 2008, and Heviel Cordoves who scored his hat trick against the Panama City Pirates in the Second Round of the 2014 tournament. Cordoves’ trio of goals was scored nearly 10 years to the day.

Charleston will now host the Alonso Division final in the Round of 16 as Atlanta United visits the Point on Tuesday, May 22 or Wednesday, May 23. The last time the Battery hosted Atlanta in the USOC was the 2019 Tropical Storm match at MUSC Stadium on Daniel Island that was not played due to poor pitch conditions.  That fixture was flipped to a closed-door meeting in Kennesaw a few days later that Atlanta won before going on to win the 2019 US Open Cup title.

2024 US Open Cup Round 3: South Georgia Tormenta’s man advantage sparks second half comeback at Miami FC

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South Georgia Tormenta FC pose for a team photo before a match against Miami FC in the Third Round of the 2024 US Open Cup. Photo: South Georgia Tormenta FC
South Georgia Tormenta FC pose for a team photo before a match against Miami FC in the Third Round of the 2024 US Open Cup. Photo: South Georgia Tormenta FC

South Georgia Tormenta FC continued its US Open Cup undefeated mark against Second Division competition as the USL League One side scored three second-half goals with a man advantage in a 4-2 victory over host USL-C’s Miami FC on Wednesday night at Florida International University.

The win gave South Georgia a third win in a single tournament for the first time in club history.

It wrapped a game full of drama that overshadowed the night with many calls from the referees coming into question that certainly gave manager Antonio Nocerino plenty to assess going forward for his team.

It was apparent in the first few minutes that Tormenta hadn’t lost momentum after a dominant Round Two win against Savannah Clovers.

Early in the first half, Tormenta seemed to step on the pedal and apply pressure, causing multiple issues at the back with Miami defender Dalton Knuston mistiming his passes playing from the back.

This sent Nocerino into a frenzy immediately, clearly not impressed with how his team was handling the game.

Nerves were on the rise as the referee made no mistake on a foul in the 13th minute by Knuston which led to a free kick outside the penalty box. The defense seemingly asleep and confused, miscommunicated with keeper Khadom Ndiaye, who could not prairie the ball properly, and fell to a simple tap-in header for defender Jake Dengler in the 12th that left Miami FC stunned in front of their fans.

Despite shouts of frustration — especially with Frank Lopez and Nicolas Cardona who seemed to not able to connect on the switch-up play — Miami immediately had their answer in the 20th minute with forward Luisinho producing a moment of brilliance turning over his marker and shooting from distance with a thunderous shot in the top right corner that even Miami’s bench stood to celebrate with the forward.  

After that it was Miami’s game to play for, with Tormenta sitting back and absorbing the offensive pressure until the end of the half.

Ndiaye, who had a nightmarish first few minutes, clashed with Gabriel Rodriguez in a corner that sent both tumbling to the ground with Ndiaye instantly shown a red card without any hesitation and left Miami down to 10 men for the remaining five minutes.

Miami’s bench and staff were furious as they shouted “This is not American football! This is soccer. That is no way a red card!”

Miami FC’s academy product Daniel Gagliardi came in as a substitute keeper. Making his debut at only 19 years old, he seemingly showed no nerves.

With Miami stuck in their half in the final minutes, all they did well was hope and pray for another moment of brilliance. Their prayers were surprisingly answered quickly after Frank Lopez wrestled out defender Callum Stretch — beating him with physicality — and darted forward, slotting in a low cross for Luisinho to score his second of the night, sending Miami into halftime despite being a man down, 2-1.

Tormenta’s creator of ideas with two assists already in the tournament, Philip Spengler, immediately made an impact, slicing in a through pass that allowed captain Conor Doyle to tie up the match at 2-2 in the 70th.

Unlike in the first half, Miami lost its legs in the second half with their only hope being that they could maybe hold on until extra time. That never came as Tormenta, with fresh substitutes, had the team firing on all cylinders.

Tormenta scored to take the lead again, with Stretch redeeming himself after his mistake at the end of the first half from a rebounded header into the bottom corner.

With Miami having no choice but to send players forward to salvage some luck, even if it meant leaving the back exposed, it proved faulty in the end. Another corner allowed Tormenta to go on the counter which left a 3-on-2 which allowed Foneca to easily cutback and square it for late substitute Sebastian Vivas who sealed Tormenta’s comeback win in an impressive style.

Ian Cameron could be heard from the sidelines calmly congratulating his team, “Well managed lads, these things matter.”

An upset Daltyn Knuston admitted that the referee’s decision proved too much in the end.

“We knew the lead going in (second half) and we were just gonna have to sit in and try to catch a breakaway but, they kept up the pressure for 45 minutes so it was always going to be hard,” Knuston said.

2024 US Open Cup Round 2: South Georgia Tormenta dominates Savannah Clovers FC in rare Peach State battle

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South Georgia Tormenta FC players celebrate after scoring a goal against the Savannah Clovers in the Second Round of the 2024 US Open Cup. Photo: Holt Wimberly | TheCup.us
South Georgia Tormenta FC players celebrate after scoring a goal against the Savannah Clovers in the Second Round of the 2024 US Open Cup. Photo: Holt Wimberly | TheCup.us

The South Georgia Tormenta FC stormed past the visiting Savannah Clovers FC 4-0 Wednesday night in Statesboro to book their spot in the Third Round of the 2024 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.  Tormenta scored early, added a late second-half goal, another one in stoppage-time and dominated the patterns of play in-between during this first-ever meeting of Coastal Georgia regional opponents.

With just seconds expired in the first half the Tormenta high pressure forced a Clovers’ turnover in the attacking third of the field that Pedro Fonseca whipped into the Clovers’ box where Niall Watson nodded the hosts into the lead in the 2nd minute.  From this opening moment, Tormenta never looked back.

More Tormenta pressure constantly turned the ball over in advantageous positions and kept the Clovers off-balance as they tried to find a way back into the match. Tormenta looked like a team playing in their sixth competitive match (four USL-1 and two US Open Cup) while the Clovers were more unsure of their patterns playing in just their second competitive match of the year due to the delayed start to the 2024 NISA regular season.

Tormenta added a second goal in the 35th minute as Jackson Khoury drove a low cross through the Clovers’ box eluding all the runners except Joshua Ramos who smashed the ball into the open net for the 2-0 halftime advantage.

In the 58th minute Tormenta’s Fonseca again provided a perfect service from the flank finding a streaking Sebastian Vivas inside the box with a low driven ball for a third goal on the night.  The nightcap to balance the scoring came with just seconds to play in the 90th minute as Austin Wehner was first to react to a loose ball in the box pouncing on the opportunity to push the final score to 4-0.

Goalkeeper Drew Romig posted another Open Cup clean sheet for Tormenta and was there to put out any dangerous moments the Clovers created.

“It’s always helpful to score early,” said Tormenta head coach Ian Cameron after the game. “But what I really liked about the group is how they responded to that goal, they went back on the front foot. It was a very solid performance. David Proctor (Clovers head coach) is a good coach with a good group of players. There’s lots of good footballers in this county and Savannah Clovers have a bunch of them but I thought our unity, our team culture, our organization showed tonight.”

Wednesday’s game marked just the third time in the Modern Era (1995-present) that an Open Cup game has featured an all-Georgia matchup. In 2012, the NASL’s Atlanta Silverbacks defeated the NPSL’s Georgia Revolution 1-0 in the Second Round. The two teams met again the following year in the same round, with the Silverbacks winning 3-2.

South Georgia Tormenta now waits for the third round draw to see which USL Championship side they will face in mid-April.

2024 US Open Cup Round 1: Early diving header by Nick Akoto gives Tormenta win over FC America CFL Spurs

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South Georgia Tormenta pose for a team photo prior to their First Round match against FC America CFL Spurs in the 2024 US Open Cup. Photo: Tormenta FC
South Georgia Tormenta pose for a team photo prior to their First Round match against FC America CFL Spurs in the 2024 US Open Cup. Photo: Tormenta FC

The South Georgia Tormenta FC slipped past the visiting FC America CFL Spurs 1-0 to gain a Round 2 berth in the 2024 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup on Tuesday night in Statesboro, Ga. It marked the third straight tournament where Tormenta FC has won their opening round game.  

The USL League One Tormenta saw a very evenly played 90 minutes of Cup soccer from the visiting amateur side from Florida, who were up for the match and keen for its Cup debut.

The lone goal of the evening was off the head of Tormenta winger Nick Akota in the fifth minute as he neatly tucked the driven Ajmeer Spengler cross into the low-near post just out of reach of the sprawling Spurs’ keeper.  This would prove to be enough to see Tormenta into the next round.

Tormenta Head Coach Ian Cameron praised both individual and team performances on the evening.

“I though Niall Watson came in and did a really nice job tonight,” Cameron said. “He made a lot of runs off the backline either to get in or make space for his teammates.”

For the others it was about management according to Cameron with the quick turnaround from USL League One action on Saturday to the US Open Cup match on Tuesday. 

“From Saturday the movement of the frontline had to get better and a willingness to mix up the game between playing it and being more direct,” Cameron said. “We probably flipped the wrong way and went too direct at times but that’s with no training and that’s just off video. That’s improvement from Saturday but we have more things to work on.”

The early minutes of the match that were all Tormenta seemed to flip to the Spurs as they became more aggressive and direct over the next 15 minutes of play.  Several waves of Spurs’ attacks had Tormenta pinned deep in their defensive third as the hosts absorbed the pressure and weathered the storm.

Tormenta goalkeeper Drew Romig made a spectacular diving save in the 15th minute as centerbacks Jake Dengler and Preston Kilwien settled down the back line and was able to answer every Spurs question to keep the hosts in the advantage.

In the 20th minute, Tormenta took the air out of the game and began to circulated the ball around their half to regain the momentum and control of the match. A ball off the post and several other scrambles inside the box including what looked like a handball on Spurs saw Tormenta go into the halftime break winning 1-0.

The second half saw mostly Tormenta possession translating into pressure on the Spurs defense but with neither team able to outduel their opponents in front of goal to find the critical final touch.  Late in the match, Spurs made a few final attacks throwing everything forward but just couldn’t break down the concentrated Tormenta defensive block to level the match.

Tormenta travels to Richmond for league play this weekend and then looks forward to the US Open Cup match in two weeks.

“If we are lining up on a field, if we’re in a parking lot, I don’t care. If we’re playing another team, we’re going to try and win the game,” Cameron said.

 

2023 US Open Cup Round 3: Charlotte FC avoid “trap”, cruise to win over South Georgia Tormenta

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Charlotte FC players celebrate after scoring a goal against South Georgia Tormenta in the 2023 US Open Cup. Photo: Alana McCallion
Charlotte FC players celebrate after scoring a goal against South Georgia Tormenta in the 2023 US Open Cup. Photo: Alana McCallion

A very focused, full-strength Charlotte FC (MLS) side pushed past the visiting South Georgia Tormenta (USL-1) 4-1 in their first-ever home game in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. More than 3,500 fans crowded into the Matthews Sports Plex on the outskirts of Charlotte on Tuesday night to see the home team use four different goal scorers in their convincing win.

“A game like this could very well be a trap, especially for the younger players,” said Charlotte FC Head Coach Christian Lattanzio. “They need to understand the intensity is so important. We need to go and press every ball and it doesn’t matter the result, they have to play with this kind of mentality. 

“(Tormenta) have some quality players. They can play, they can run, they’re young, some of them are quite talented and it can easily go differently than the way it started.” 

Charlotte FC forward Chris Hegardt echoed his head coach’s ideas about avoiding the Tormenta “trap.”

“I think Cup matches are good, it gives a lot of people that haven’t played much some opportunity, and obviously it’s fun to play teams that aren’t in your league and it’s very competitive,” he said. “ You saw Tormenta, they’re a really good team and they have a lot of good individual players.  So these games aren’t easy, some say it is like a trap game because they (Tormenta) go in and play so hard, so we had to match that intensity today and I though we played really well. So we’re happy about it.”

When asked about the strong lineup Lattanzio added “To us, first and foremost, we want to respect the opposition, you have to play strong and go with your strong team. 

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“We are building here.”

Tormenta began the game on the front foot, forcing two Kristijan Kahlina saves in the first few minutes. After this initial action, Charlotte FC began to control the midfield spaces and possess the ball, working around the perimeter of the Tormenta defense. For the first 20 minutes, Tormenta was able to deal with any ball played into their concentrated defensive block then counterattack to find some relief from the Charlotte pressure.

In the 24th minute, a lofted cross into the box from the left flank was kept alive by a Hegardt header to find Kamil Józwwiak, who took a clever touch from a sharp angle as he looped a shot up and over the outstretched Tormenta keeper. Despite some tough tackles and some close calls the teams went into the half at 1-0 Charlotte.

The cloudy skies of the day had turned into a slight drizzle in the evening with the natural surface became very fast and greasy. The half opened with a quick red card to Tormenta’s Davey Mason on his second caution in the 48th minute which totally tilted the pitch in favor of the host. Charlotte FC used this man advantage to increase pressure on Tormenta, forcing the game deeper in the visitor’s defensive third and the second goal for Charlotte came off a turnover and driven Brandon Cambridge cross that was tapped into the open net in the 55th minute by forward Enzo Copetti.

Charlotte FC didn’t hold back after the second goal and wave after wave of attacks pinned Tormenta deeper and deeper in their end until a Derrick Jones worm-burner in 65th minute from the top of the box skimmed on the greasy surface, deflecting through a crowded penalty area, and into the Tormenta goal for a 3-0 home advantage

Tormenta did pull a goal back in the 83rd minute off the foot of Mathaus Cassini who hit a blistering shot from outside the area that rocketed passed a diving Kristijan Kahlina. Charlotte FC immediately answered the Tormenta goal just a minute later to end any hopes of a comeback and put the game on ice as Karol Świderski calmly took a page from Jones’ shooting school and produced his own worm-burner that skimmed through the box and tucked neatly into the near post for the final 4-1 advantage to the Crown.

2023 US Open Cup Round 2: South Georgia Tormenta claims another USL Championship upset, 2-1 vs. Rio Grande Valley

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South Georgia Tormenta FC players celebrate after scoring a goal against Rio Grande Valley FC Toros in the 2023 US Open Cup. Photo: South Georgia Tormenta FC
South Georgia Tormenta FC players celebrate after scoring a goal against Rio Grande Valley FC Toros in the 2023 US Open Cup. Photo: South Georgia Tormenta FC

South Georgia Tormenta used a goal in each half along with a second-half penalty save to advance 2-1 in the 2023 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup over the visiting Rio Grande Valley Toros.

The Rio Grande Valley Toros (USL Championship) had entered the match undefeated with a record of 1-0-3 to face the defending USL League One champions, which owned a 1-2-0 record.  Throw out the previous results, add an ideal full-moon night for soccer, and sprinkle in some US Open Cup magic and the recipe for tonight’s game was complete.


Both squads were managing the extra load of recent games and rotated their squads for tonight’s match.  Tormenta seemed to adjust faster and had a strong opening 15 minutes of play pressuring the Toros to open the match. The Toros then found their footing and midfield possession game to control the rest of the first half except for one major breakdown that Tormenta punished for a goal in the 39th minute.  A quick switch of the ball by Mukwelle Akale caught the Toros unbalanced in front of the net and John Murphy Jr. made no mistake putting Tormenta up 1-0 heading into the half.


Rio Grande Valley regrouped at the intermission and opened the second half with more possession and sustained pressure on the Tormenta backline.  This pressure forced a penalty in the 69th minute that Tormenta keeper Pablo Jara turned aside with a strong left hand to deny the Toros’ leveling the score.  Energized by the Jara save, Tormenta opened the game up and a pair of substitutes caught the Toros over shifted on a Nick Akoto cross from the right flank in the 81st minute when Kingsford Adjei smashed in the second of the night for the Birds.

The final minutes of the match saw Tormenta fend off wave after wave of Toros’ attacks and as the seven minutes of stoppage time were being announced Ricky Ruiz found the net on a low drive to put the Toros on the board.  The Toros continued to press the attack but simply ran out of time as Tormenta held on for the 2-1 win.

Tormenta Head Coach Ian Cameron was very pleased with the win and noted how ideas worked on in training were the difference in the match tonight. 

“We knew we wanted to cross the ball early because their (Toros) center backs get very man oriented and get sucked into the pockets,” Cameron said.  “So if we could play early balls across, that would make a big difference and both goals came from crosses.  We’re a team that’s not crossed the ball enough so that was something we worked on this week and we got two goals off of it, so maybe we should do it more often.”


Goalkeeper Pablo Jara was asked what it is like to save a penalty kick, then laughed and replied, “I don’t know, I’ve never scored a goal but I would say like scoring a goal. For goalkeepers saving a penalty gives you a boost, maybe a reminder of why we choose the position, it’s an amazing feeling.”

John Murphy Jr. scored the first goal and praised his teammates for a solid 90 minutes of work.

“This game lands at the perfect time (in the schedule) because whether it was in the league or Open Cup we were desperate for a win.  So as you could see the boys were fighting’, some of them dropped to the ground after the final whistle, it was an excellent effort from all the guys.”

It was the third time that Tormenta have won a game in the US Open Cup, with all three coming against USL Championship opposition. With the win, Tormenta will travel to play Charlotte FC (MLS) in Round 3. 

2022 US Open Cup Round 4: Inter Miami CF capitalize on Tormenta mistakes in 3-1 win

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Ariel Lassiter of Inter Miami CF attempts a shot against South Georgia Tormenta FC in the Fourth Round of the 2022 US Open Cup. Photo: Inter Miami CF
Ariel Lassiter of Inter Miami CF attempts a shot against South Georgia Tormenta FC in the Fourth Round of the 2022 US Open Cup. Photo: Inter Miami CF

The Lamar Hunt US Open Cup made its return to the former site of Lockhart Stadium, now known as Drive Pink Stadium. It was the herons of Inter Miami hosting the visiting ibises of South Georgia Tormenta FC. USL League One teams have so far been the nice surprise of this edition of the tournament, with Union Omaha and Northern Colorado Hailstorm both upsetting MLS teams in the previous round. Tormenta came down to South Florida looking to hopefully add on another cupset to League One’s tally.

In the end, Inter Miami was too strong playing in front of their home fans, beating Tormenta 3-1 to earn a spot in the Round of 16. Ariel Lassiter led the way with a pair of goals to keep Miami’s inaugural cup run moving.

Tormenta’s coach Ian Cameron made it clear that they were going for it and at the start of the match, his squad were instantly pressuring Inter Miami. A handful of on-target attempts by Tormenta in the first ten minutes were saved by Inter’s Drake Callender.

Two players stood out in the first half with Jamil Roberts orchestrating Tormenta’s attack while Miami’s Ariel Lassiter led a siege each time he got on the ball with his blistering pace.

Tormenta looked the better side and it seemed like it was only a matter of time before they scored. It was going to take one quick counter attack for someone to breakthrough. Near the end of the first half, Inter Miami won possession which led to a counter attack led by Gonzalo Higuain and Indiana Vassilev. Returning loanee Vassilev set up Lassiter’s first goal of the night, playing a pass to the left side of the penalty area. Lassiter settled and fired a shot inside the near post to beat Tormenta goalkeeper Pablo Jara to give Miami the lead before halftime. Tormenta were unlucky to be going into the break down a goal despite their dominance.

Higuain’s return only lasted the first 45 minutes as he was subbed off and Robbie Robinson took his place at the start of the second half. He made an instant impact by scoring 87 seconds into his stint; giving Miami a 2-0 lead. The Tormenta goalkeeper attempted a pass along the ground up the middle of the field to a teammatte but Jara’s pass was knocked away by Miami’s Robert Taylor who stepped in from behind to send the ball up to Robinson just outside the box. Robinson made Tormenta pay for their mistake, firing a shot into the back of the net from the right side for his first career Open Cup goal.

In the 65th minute, Robinson made a different kind of impact by engaging in a physical altercation with Tormenta’s Jake Dengler. This would see both players sent off and the teams playing with just 10 men for the remainder of the match.

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A lapse in concentration from Inter Miami’s defense in the 73rd minute gave Tormenta a chance to get one goal back. Before Kingsford Adjei could score, Jairo Quinteros was able to clear the ball and keep Inter’s lead intact. Tormenta had another short stint of great attempts but Miami held strong.

Despite the best efforts of the Ibises, Ariel Lassiter would seal the game for Inter Miami with a “Schrodinger’s goal” that was hard to tell if it went in after deflecting off the underside of the crossbar. The referee judged that it did as Lassiter bagged his seventh career Open Cup goal, six more than his father Roy scored in his playing career that spanned more than a decade.

Tormenta would not leave quietly into the night, as their long-awaited goal would come from Kazaiah Sterling in the final minutes, taking away Callender’s clean sheet performance. The game would end 3-1 with South Georgia Tormenta being eliminated in the Round of 32.

“I didn’t take much joy out of winning this game,” said Phil Neville in the post-game press conference. He felt that Tormenta should have been multiple goals up by halftime and called his squad’s first half performance “unacceptable.” He added that some players who were asking for playing time got their wish and showed why they won’t be playing in this Saturday’s league fixture.

Having played local rival Miami FC in the Third Round, now Inter Miami face the possibility of matching up with league rival Orlando City SC in the Round of 16. Both sets of fans will eagerly watch the draw on Thursday to see if the first ever Open Cup edition of the Sunshine Classico will happen.

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