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Ventura County Fusion

2026 US Open Cup Round 1: Joe Gallardo’s late PK sends Spokane Velocity past Ventura County Fusion

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Graphic by Frank Lanham

Spokane Velocity ground out a 2-1 victory over Ventura County Fusion in their U.S. Open Cup First Round affair on Wednesday night.

Playing at home in Ventura, the Fusion, an amateur side from USL League Two who qualified through the direct spots from league play, challenged their professional visitors deep into the second half before Spokane secured the win with a late penalty.

The Velocity found themselves travelling in the First Round for a 3rd consecutive year due to the unusual situation of their home stadium hosting MLS side Seattle Sounders’ CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16 second leg matchup. It was the Fusion’s 9th, and 2nd consecutive, Open Cup appearance, while Spokane were making their 3rd appearance. 

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Spokane controlled the game from the start, but it was Ventura County who had the first big chance of the game in the 15th minute as Ryan Guerra, a Fusion academy product making his first-team debut, made a phenomenal run in behind the Velocity defense before sending the ball just wide. 

Gagi Margvelashvili nearly headed the Velocity into the lead off a corner in the19th minute before his teammate Anuar Peláez Paba headed home his second career Open Cup goal just a minute later to open the scoring in the 20th minute. The Fusion defense were caught ball watching as the Velocity’s Shavon John-Brown headed former United States men’s national soccer team player and Open Cup goal-scorer Luis Gil’s cross back across goal to Peláez, who put the ball in the back of the net to give the away side the lead. Peláez’s goal was the culmination of a beautiful buildup series that began with John-Brown near midfield. 

Despite going down a goal, Ventura County continued to apply strong pressure throughout the rest of the first half and nearly got a goal back in the 26th as a Jorge Lopez free kick curled just outside the far post of the Spokane goal. Nonetheless, Peláez’s goal remained the difference at the halftime whistle.

The Fusion brought on Abubakar Fofanah at the start of the second half as they searched for an equaliser, and their strong pressure was rewarded with a point to the spot with just twelve minutes to go as Moses Mensah brought down Jackson D’Alessandro. The penalty call was not without controversy as the replay appeared to show that Mensah’s foul took place over a yard outside the penalty box, but regardless Fofanah, who played his college ball at nearby UC-Santa Barbara, stepped up and sent Velocity goalkeeper Sean Lewis the wrong way to level at 1-1.

Spokane were awarded a penalty of their own in the waning moments of regulation after Fusion goalkeeper Nicholas McCune got caught out on an in-swinging set piece and brought down Velocity defender Camron Miller. Joe Gallardo Jr. cleanly rolled his penalty into the bottom right corner to give Spokane the lead for a second time in the 89th minute.

Jorge Lopez had a golden opportunity to pull Ventura County level for a second time in stoppage time but his shot narrowly missed the mark.

Despite not registering a shot from open play through the entirety of the second half, Spokane did just enough to survive and clinch their place in the Second Round for a third consecutive year.

For Ventura County Fusion, the loss made some unfortunate history as their US Open Cup home winless streak reached six games, which breaks the Modern Era (1995-present) record. Their last home victory (PK wins officially count as draws) came in the First Round of the 2014 US Open Cup.

2025 US Open Cup Round 1: AV ALTA FC beat Ventura County Fusion in club’s inaugural match

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Sebastian Cruz of AV ALTA FC fires a shot against Ventura County FC in the First Round of the 2025 US Open Cup. Photo: AV ALTA FC
Sebastian Cruz of AV ALTA FC fires a shot against Ventura County FC in the First Round of the 2025 US Open Cup. Photo: AV ALTA FC

It was a frigid night of firsts for AV ALTA FC as they defeated Ventura County Fusion FC 3-1 Tuesday night in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Fans were bouncing, excited to see AV ALTA in the newly remodeled Lancaster Municipal Stadium. The first goal in club history came from Jerry Desundes, who recorded a brace. AV ALTA’s first US Open Cup saw them win 62% possession and pour on 19 shots, 10 of which were on target.

From the beginning, AV ALTA sought to retain possession through simple and effective passing. After probing the Ventura County defense, a breakthrough came in the 28th minute after physical hold up play by Joaquin Acuna allowed Desundes to find some space and smash the ball in the back of the net.

Ventura County equalized after a long ball was sent to a streaking Buba Fofanah behind AV ALTA’s defense in the 42nd minute. The celebrations were halted before half time when AV ALTA was awarded a penalty in the third minute of stoppage time after a poor tackle from Dorian Drucks. Desundes’ slow approach led to a powerful penalty shot which put AV ALTA up going into half time.

The second half continued to focus on effective passes and putting pressure on the defense. It paid off early in the second half as c dashed towards goal and beat Drucks to make it 3-1.

A penalty was awarded in the 75th minute after Jerry Desundes was taken down in the box. As Desundes stepped to the spot the crowd chanted “Jerry, Jerry” a la the Jerry Springer show. This time, Drucks stretched to save the penalty. ALTA ensured Ventura County had little time on the ball for the rest of the match, earning the club a 3-1 win, the first in club history

After the match, Desundes said the team wanted to give the supporters a good showing after the last match.

“Losing the first match made us work harder as a team. We wanted to give the fans things to cheer for”.

 

2023 US Open Cup Round 1: Hevany Ramos-Mota helps Capo FC pull away from Ventura County Fusion

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Capistrano FC poses for a team photo before the club's match against Ventura County Fusion in the First Round of the 2023 US Open Cup. Photo: Capo FC
Capistrano FC poses for a team photo before the club’s match against Ventura County Fusion in the First Round of the 2023 US Open Cup. Photo: Capo FC

In its first ever US Open Cup match, Capistrano FC enjoyed a veteran-like second half to come-from-behind and advance to the Second Round of America’s oldest soccer tournament.

Hevany Ramos-Mota’s two goals and an assist led Capo FC in its 4-1 win over Ventura County Fusion in the First Round of the 2023 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup on Wednesday at Ventura College Sportsplex.

The game-winning goal was scored by Ramos-Mota in first half of stoppage time after the Fusion attack hit the post three times in the first 45 minutes.


“To walk out of here with a 4-1 result is an unbelievable result and a huge win for us,” Capo FC head coach Peter Carey said. “We have a youth club, and these guys are inspiring a bunch of kids back home.

“It’s bigger than just a game for us so we’re enjoying the moment we’re having right now.”

The hosts started the game on the right foot, scoring the game’s first goal just six minutes into the match through Jerry Desdunes’ back-post tap-in. For Desdunes, it marked the second tournament in a row that he has scored a goal. Last year, he scored the game-winning goal for the Northern Colorado Hailstorm (USL League One) in the 96th minute as they knocked off the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC (USL Championship). 

Just 10 minutes later, Capo FC equalized against the run of play when Ramos-Mota, surrounded by three players, surged into the box and crossed the ball to Joshue Gallardo for the close-range finish.

“It was a shitty start from us to be honest,” Carey said. “They had a lot of chances and it could have been a different result. But I think as the game went on, we found our rhythm and confidence, and I told these guys at the beginning of the game, ‘if we score our chances, we’ll win the game,’ and that’s what we did.”


The Fusion ended the half in frustration after leading the shot column 9-2 after 30 minutes of play.

In the final 15 minutes of the first half, Ventura went on to hit the bar on three occasions while Capo FC equalized and brought the shot tally to 9-6.


Ramos-Mota went from provider to scorer three minutes into first half stoppage time when Sergio Vega nodded a cross back across the six-yard box for the former to knock the ball beyond the line for the lead.

“We were aware of that,” Ramos-Mota said postgame about his team’s underdogs tag going into this game. “No one believed in us, but we believed in us so we came here and we believed. We say every day in practice to believe so we came here and left with a win.”

In the second half, Capo FC went from looking like the timid newcomer, lucky to be ahead after 45 minutes, to showing that they belong in the US Open Cup.


Just eight minutes into the second frame, Capo FC extended its lead via Parker Scalzo.

The forward lost his marker and pounced on a loose ball inside the box to make it 3-1 with 37 minutes left for Capo FC to hold onto and advance to the next round.

“We had our chances just didn’t put them away,” Fusion head coach Mike Elias said. “It could have been 4-0 before they scored their first and it’s a different game.”

With 13 minutes left, Ramos-Mota capped off his man of the match performance with his second goal of the night.

He received the ball with his back to goal, set himself up to turn and shoot in one motion, and finished past Ventura goalkeeper Matthew Escareno.


The loss for Ventura means five consecutive home losses in the Cup, tying the record for most consecutive losses at home in the tournament.

Up next for Capo FC is a meeting with USL Championship outfit Orange County Soccer Club in the Second Round.

“It’s obviously a big fish for us,” Carey said about facing OCSC. “We’ve been surprising people so far now let’s try our best to surprise again and see what happens.

“We’re excited to get here and we’re going to work hard to prepare for that.”

2017 US Open Cup Round 1: Late PK save helps “dream come true” for Moreno Valley FC in debut

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moreno-valley-fc-logoWill Vicente has never been to Oklahoma.

But that’s where the Moreno Valley FC owner/coach is headed with his team after Wednesday night’s 2-1 win over the host Ventura County Fusion (PDL) in the First Round of the US Open Cup.

“I think it’s the beauty of soccer,” Vicente said. “We started a project and we have big goals. It’s just amazing that we won a game in the US Open Cup.”

Javier Castro and Norberto Ochoa scored goals in the opening 20 minutes and Jose Mirada saved a late penalty kick as the two-year-old United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) club hung on to advance to a Second Round trip to face the United Soccer League’s Oklahoma City Energy.

“That’s the best thing ever,” Vicente said about advancing to play a professional team. “It’s a dream come true for us.”

The loss was a bitter reunion for Ventura County, who was making its eighth straight US Open Cup appearance, as they fell to a team that started four former players at its home at the Ventura College Sportsplex.

Miranda, Castro, fullback Ruben Rodriguez and midfielder Edgar Gonzalez were the former Fusion players playing in Moreno Valley’s orange jerseys.

Castro put Moreno Valley on the board in the 16th minute after latching onto a misplaced backpass and finishing simply.

Four minutes later, Moreno Valley doubled the lead when Ochoa smashed home a volley from 12 yards after the Fusion failed to clear a corner kick.

“That was what we wanted to do,” Vicente said. “The first two times we attacked, we scored. And then we were able to defend the game until the end.”

After a slow start, the Fusion gradually built some momentum, outshooting Moreno Valley 16-3.

“We created plenty of chances, there’s no doubt about that,” Ventura County coach Rudy Ybarra said. “But we didn’t finish them and, you know, we end up even missing a PK.”

Two minutes after Miranda saved an 89th minute penalty kick, Fusion attacker Kevin Feucht capitalized on a defensive mistake to pull Ventura County within 2-1 late.

The Fusion won a free kick in the sixth and final minute of stoppage time, but it flew over the crossbar.

Falling behind early was just as troubling to Ybarra as the missed chances. “But you look at the two big mistakes we made and they capitalized on them,” Ybarra said. “Those are two big blunders. Those guys finished them well. Yeah, he ripped that second one with a volley, but it
should have been taken care of before then.”

Miranda was excellent, making seven saves plus the PK stop. “Pepe is one of a kind,” Vicente said of his goalkeeper. The loss was the second straight to start the season for the Fusion,
who opened USL Premier Development League play Saturday with a 3-0 home loss to San Francisco City FC.

Series of forfeits, teams with ineligible players overshadow 2016 US Open Cup

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2016-usoc-ineligible-players-bigWith dozens of amateur and professional teams battling for the United States’ true national championship, every Lamar Hunt US Open Cup creates numerous storylines.

Whether it’s the 1999 Rochester Rhinos doing the impossible of becoming the only lower division side to win the final since the introduction of MLS teams, or amateur teams Cal FC and the Michigan Bucks both upsetting MLS teams in 2012, every Cup is usually remembered for at least one or two moments.

The early part of the 2016 edition of the tournament has featured three disqualifications, the most of any competition in the Modern Era (1995-present). And those three disqualifications were just the ones that were caught in what appears to be a combination of spotty rule enforcement from the United States Soccer Federation and a lack of rule awareness by teams and players.

Section 203. Part (c) of the 2016 US Open Cup handbook is pretty clear:

“Any player who plays in any part of an Open Cup match for a team, including any match in any Open Division qualifying round, may not be included in the Open Cup roster or play for any other team in the Open Cup competition for that competition year.”

This rule is new for 2016 as the federation kicked off its inaugural open division qualifying tournament, a single-elimination competition made up of any amateur team that does not belong to the Premier Development League (PDL) or the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL). Prior to this year, players were only cup-tied if they played for a team in the Open Cup proper.

The reason for the ruling was to keep players from jumping from team to team. Occasionally players would play for one team during qualifying and if they got eliminated, sign with a team that qualified.

At publishing time, TheCup.us is aware of at least five teams who broke this rule by fielding or including on their roster cup-tied players in the first or second rounds of the tournament. However, only two of the teams were discovered in time to file a protest and have the result of the match overturned.

1. In their Second Round penalty kick upset victory over the Charleston Battery (USL), the Villages SC of the Premier Development League (PDL) started Paulo Vaz, who had previously played for Boca Raton FC in the open division qualifying tournament that took place last fall. The Battery discovered this after the game and immediately filed a successful protest which eliminated the PDL side and pushed Charleston into the next round.

“We were unaware of Paulo Vaz playing for another team in the qualifying rounds of the Cup,” said Alex Perez, a spokesperson for The Villages SC. “In all of his registration paperwork with us that we filed with the PDL, Paulo listed his last club as Floridians FC. It’s an unfortunate situation.”

Villages SC defeated Kraze United in Round 1 with that same ineligible player, which led Kraze United to file a protest after the Battery match in Round 2 was complete. The protest by Kraze United was denied due to the rule that states that “official match protests are required to be submitted by 5:00 p.m. CT the day following the match. (Section 306. Part (a) of the 2016 US Open Cup handbook.)

2. In a 3-1 First Round loss to the Sacramento Gold, the Burlingame Dragons started Gabe Silveira, who had taken part in the open division qualification tournament for San Francisco City FC.

According to the Dragons, they were told by US Soccer that Silveira was cleared to play. This was not discovered in time and no protest was filed.

3. In that same game, the Sacramento Gold included Andre Brown on their bench, who played for Davis Legacy in the qualifying tournament. While he didn’t appear in the match, just having him on the gameday roster is a potential violation. The USASA has disqualified teams for such a violation during qualifying, however, there is no precedent in the US Open Cup proper in the Modern Era.

4. CD Aguiluchos USA fielded ineligible players in both their first and second round matches. In their 3-0 Round 1 win over San Francisco City, substitute Ahmad Hatifie was cup-tied to Ballistic IFX. CDA also subbed on a cup-tied player in Arthur Bahr in their 5-0 loss to Sacramento Republic FC. Bahr played for San Francisco City in qualifying.

San Francisco, like Kraze United, submitted a protest, but it was also denied since it was filed long after the deadline.

5. Perhaps the most notable protest involved the Ventura County Fusion’s use of Gabe Gonzalez, who had played for Cal FC in qualification, in a 2-1 First Round victory over the LA Wolves FC.

According to the Fusion, the club was aware of Gonzalez’s participation in the qualifying rounds, but were told specifically by USSF that Gonzalez was cleared to play for the Fusion. How did the Wolves know he was ineligible? Because he played against them in qualifying for Cal FC. The Wolves edged Cal FC 2-1 to clinch their first-ever Open Cup berth.

The Wolves protested the decision and the Fusion were disqualified from the tournament.

“Rules are in place for a reason and they must be followed by all teams,” said Skwara. “The new rules for 2016 may not be perfect, but all teams still have to follow the rules or risk the repercussions.”

Ventura County then filed an appeal on the decision, which was denied by the USSF and the Wolves advanced to Round 2 to face the Orange County Blues of the USL.

According to Fusion media coordinator Polo Ascencio, the Fusion were never given a reason for the denial.

“The reply was a very simple, ‘your appeal was not successful,’ Ascencio told TheCup.us. “They just said, ‘no.’”

The federation has yet to confirm why the appeal was denied or if informing teams of the specifics of the decision are a common practice.

Ascencio said decisions like these only hurt the credibility of the tournament and the amateur teams participating in it.

“It needs to change,” Ascencio said of the roster rules. “The teams, the amateur teams, and you guys know this, in the lower levels, they take this very, very seriously for many reasons … it gives you exposure. it’s given us exposure that we didn’t want, not this way. It gives you exposure. It gives your players a chance to play against higher competition as you move on and on and on.”

With the forfeit, the Fusion’s Modern Era record streak of six consecutive First Round victories came to an end.

“We have really good, young talent looking forward for a chance and to have the chance taken away by a system that is broken,” Ascencio said. “But at the end, we did nothing wrong. We asked our players, the players that came forward didn’t play, we thought we were good. But obviously we were not good.

“We asked US Soccer for a list before the tournament started … of players who have played . Give us rosters of the teams that have played so we know,” he added. “To this day, it’s been already a couple of weeks since the started the first round, we don’t have any of those lists.

Ascencio believes the federation must have too much on its plate.

“Either they’re too busy doing something, MLS or Copa America-related, or the US Open Cup doesn’t really matter until you get the big teams in the Cup,” Ascencio said. “It’s a chance for our players to succeed, to put a spotlight on them. It’s a chance for our teams to bring our fans an experience that they might not get with our local, amateur team.

For the Fusion, Ascencio says its a missed opportunity for the team and the players.

“And obviously there’s money involved there,” he concluded. “The more you advance, the more money you can make. For some of these amateur teams … $15,000 could be a lot of money. It could be a couple year’s worth of attendance. It hurts for all the reasons, but at the end of the day it hurts because we won, but at the end, somebody said, ‘no you guys didn’t because you used a player that we said was okay to play. But, guess what, he’s not okay to play.”

Ascencio said that the Fusion plan to participate in future tournaments due to the opportunity it provides but maintains that the kinks need to be worked out.

“There has to be , there has to be,” Ascencio said. “Because if they’re not gonna change it, then things like this are going to keep happening and the teams that are going to be affected are going to be the amateur teams, not the professional teams. This is a cup that is made so that the amateur teams can flex their muscles or go on to face top competition. To have something like this happen, not only to us, but a few other teams around the nation…I feel bad for all those teams,”

None of the other teams involved in the situation that TheCup.us reached out to chose to comment on the record. The US Soccer Federation did not respond to a request for comment.

TheCup.us senior editor Josh Hakala also contributed to this report

Replay coming? There is precedent for Ventura County Fusion’s appeal of disqualification

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Ventura County Fusion LA WolvesUPDATE: The US Open Cup committee denied Ventura County Fusion’s appeal

Shortly after the Ventura County Fusion defeated the Los Angeles Wolves, TheCup.us learned that the Wolves would be filing a protest. The following morning, they did just that, on the grounds that one of the Fusion players who played in Wednesday’s US Open Cup First Round match had played for Cal FC during the open division qualifying tournament.

The new roster rules that were adopted prior to the 2016 US Open Cup stated that any player that plays for a team during the qualifying tournament is cup-tied to that team for the remainder of the entire tournament.

Gabriel Gonzalez played for Cal FC in both qualifying games against Valley United FC (Oct. 25, 2015) and the LA Wolves (Nov. 21, 2015). Since the Wolves had already played against him, it was easy for them to notice the familiar face playing for the Fusion on Wednesday night, and as a result they filed the protest.

The US Soccer Federation announced on Friday that the protest would be upheld and the Fusion were disqualified. The Wolves would move on to Round 2 to take on the Orange County Blues of the USL on May 18.

Shortly after the announcement, Fusion spokesperson Polo Ascencio told TheCup.us they were planning to appeal the decision.

The reason for the appeal is very familiar to those who have followed the US Open Cup in recent years, but we will get to that shortly.

According to Ascencio, the Fusion were completely unaware of the fact that Gonzalez was cup tied. His registration was approved by the federation, so as far as they knew, he was eligible.

“We are embarrassed by the situation,” said Ascencio. “We registered our players and they all came back cleared. That is why we played .”

Ascencio says they asked the players if they had played previously in the tournament. Two players came forward, but Gonzalez was not one of them.

There has been a situation very similar to this in recent years. On April 7, 2013, the New York Pancyprian Freedoms defeated Connecticut’s Newtown Pride SC 1-0 in a US Open Cup qualifying match, but were later disqualified for using an ineligible player. Back then, .

Here is what happened (TheCup.us – April 20, 2013):

According to the Cosmopolitan Soccer League’s official website, New York player Andreas Chronis was sent off in a league game on Dec. 9 against Hoboken FC 1912 for “rough play … insulting a referee with racist remark, also trying to assault a referee with headbutt.” Chronis was suspended until August 31, 2013 as a result of his actions.

According to George Halkidis, general manager of the Freedoms, the CSL website’s description is wrong and Chronis attempted to headbutt an opposing player, and not the referee. Regardless, the overall offenses, most of all the verbal abuse he inflicted upon the match official during and after the game, were seen as a serious offense, and thus making him ineligible for league and cup play.

Serious offenses, such as assaulting match officials, is a ban that stretches federation-wide, therefore, since the incident occurred during league play, it would carry over into cup competitions, such as the Open Cup. The bottom line is that Chronis was not eligible to participate in the April 7 game against Newtown SC.

Had the newly-renamed Newtown Pride SC not discovered the suspension listed on the CSL website, no one would have noticed the error. The Freedoms GM, like all teams do, submitted his roster to his league prior to the match and it was cleared, which is the main reason why Halkidis’ team has been given a lifeline.

The Freedoms appealed the disqualification and since their league mistakenly approved the player for the tournament, and the team acted on that advice, the federation ordered a replay. Newtown won the replay in penalty kicks.

Back then, the federation authorized local officials to approve team rosters. For the Open Cup proper, the federation themselves are responsible. If the federation is at fault, and if the Freedoms/Newtown situation is any indication, we could see the Fusion and the Wolves on the field again soon.

UPDATE: Ventura County Fusion disqualified for using ineligible player; LA Wolves advance to Round 2

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LA Wolves Los Angeles WolvesUPDATE: The Wolves’ protest has been upheld by US Soccer and Ventura County Fusion have been disqualified. Read the details here.

UPDATE: The US Open Cup committee denied Ventura County Fusion’s appeal

There was plenty of drama in the opening round of the 2016 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup on Wednesday night. However, one of the results may be overturned due to the use of an ineligible player.

The Ventura County Fusion of the PDL defeated the Los Angeles Wolves of the UPSL 2-1 with all the scoring taking place in the first half. However, one of the players the Fusion put out on the field may ultimately bring the team’s Modern Era record of six consecutive opening round wins to an end.

According to LA Wolves head coach Yan Skwara, the Fusion fielded a player that was already cup-tied to another club.

“We have determined that the Ventura County Fusion clearly used an ineligible player who played for Cal FC in the qualifying rounds against our team and per the US Open Cup rules, that would be deemed a forfeit.”

The Wolves defeated Cal FC 2-1 on Nov. 21, 2015 in a game that would ultimately clinch a spot in the US Open Cup.

Skwara says he plans to file the protest on Thursday morning and is very confident that the result will be overturned.

According to the new roster rules stated in US Soccer’s 2016 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Open Division Handbook, players who are registered with a team during the open division qualifying tournament are cup-tied to that team for the remainder of the competition.

player-eligibility
“Rules are in place for a reason and they must be followed by all teams,” said Skwara. “The new rules for 2016 may not be perfect, but all teams still have to follow the rules or risk the repercussions.”

If the Fusion are disqualified, the Wolves would host the USL’s Orange County Blues in Round 2 on May 18.

2016 US Open Cup: Motor City rematch headlines most intriguing First Round games

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The Michigan Bucks cruised to a 3-0 win over Detroit City FC in their first meeting in 2015. Photo: Michigan Bucks
The Michigan Bucks cruised to a 3-0 win over Detroit City FC in their first meeting in 2015. Photo: Michigan Bucks

It’s (almost) back!

The United States Soccer Federation announced the first and second round matchups for the 2016 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Round 1 will kick off on Wednesday, May 11 and features 18 Premier Development League (PDL) teams, 14 National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) sides, and 14 Open Division qualifiers representing the best teams competing in regional leagues throughout the country.

There will be a total of 23 first round games, but here are the five most intriguing matchups (in no particular order):

Detroit City FC (NPSL) at Michigan Bucks (PDL)
Oakland University Soccer Field; Rochester, MI
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET

While this list is not in any particular order, most neutral fans would agree that the rematch between two Metro Detroit rivals is the headliner of Round 1.

Detroit City FC has been one of the NPSL’s biggest success stories off the field as their fan base’s growth and revered supporters culture continues to grab national headlines across the soccer world. Founded back in 2012, the club and its rabid fan base have developed a following that many lower division pro teams would love to have. They averaged 3,528 fans per game last year, which is more than FC Edmonton of the NASL drew in 2015. If Detroit City competed in the 24-team USL, their attendance would rank 10th (granted, with fewer home games).

Just a small sample of Detroit City FC's fans.
Just a small sample of Detroit City FC’s fans.

The fans recently put their money where their collective mouth is as the team announced plans to move to and renovate 80-year-old Keyworth Stadium in Hamtramck. Keyworth is so old that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt attended the stadium’s opening. The team is working with the local community to fix up the historic stadium and recently wrapped up a record-breaking fundraising campaign that saw the club pull in a jaw-dropping $741,250. With support like that, many have speculated that’s it’s only a matter of time before the club outgrows its current amateur status.

Saying their opponent has a strong resume in this competition is a bit of an understatement. The Michigan Bucks hold a number of Modern Era (1995-present) records but two of them have helped the club make a name for themselves nationally. No amateur team has more pro team upsets than the Bucks’ nine and only two clubs have more than three (Des Moines Menace with six, Ocean City Nor’easters with five). In fact, if you exclude the Carolina RailHawks, the Bucks have more wins over pro teams than all of the active NASL teams combined (8).

But their biggest accomplishment is that they are the only amateur team to eliminate two Major League Soccer teams. They stunned the New England Revolution at Foxboro Stadium in 2000, 1-0 on a 90th minute winner by Chad Schomaker. They followed that up in 2012 when they hosted the Chicago Fire at the Ultimate Soccer Arenas (their indoor home) and beat the four-time Open Cup champions 3-2 in extra time.

Despite their on-field success, the Bucks’ fan support is only a fraction of what City draws. The Bucks play their home games in Pontiac, Mich. which is almost the exact same distance from downtown Detroit as FC Dallas’ Toyota Stadium is from downtown Dallas. There is a rivalry between the two teams that have developed off the field as Detroit City’s fans mock the Bucks’ lack of fan support. On the other side, Bucks fans point to their on-field resume with two PDL titles (2006, 2014), the most wins in league history and their Open Cup success. While they have been very good in their first four seasons (32-7-11 in regular season play), DCFC has yet to advance beyond the conference final in the NPSL playoffs.

The two teams finally met on the field for the first time last year in the First Round of the US Open Cup. At the Bucks’ indoor home in Pontiac, the City fans vastly outnumbered the Bucks fans in the stands, but it was the Bucks who outnumbered City on the scoreboard. Michigan got three first half goals by David Goldsmith, Peri Marosevic, and Brad Ruhaak and they won 3-0. Thanks to the way the draw worked out, there will be a rematch this year. Only this time, the game will be played outdoors at the Oakland University Soccer Field in Rochester, Mich.

Boca Raton FC (USASA) at Miami Fusion FC (NPSL)
North Miami Athletic Stadium; North Miami Beach, FL
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET

Photo: Twitter @BocaRatonFC
Photo: Twitter @BocaRatonFC

South Florida is the place to be if you’re a fan of the beautiful game at any level. David Beckham is leading the charge for the future, yet-to-be named MLS team while Miami FC, led by head coach and AC Milan legend Alessandro Nesta, kicked off its inaugural North American Soccer League (NASL) season last week against fellow South Beach rivals Fort Lauderdale Strikers. Now it’s Miami Fusion FC’s turn to get in on the action. The Fusion will be looking to make a deep run in their first US Open Cup appearance after a successful inaugural NPSL season in 2015 when they took the Sunshine Conference title with seven wins, one loss, and one draw. The club, who are led by former New York Cosmos player Ferdinando De Matthaeis, are not related to the now-defunct MLS team by the same name that finished runner-up in the 2000 US Open Cup.

Their opponent, Boca Raton FC, are coming off a pretty impressive debut season themselves. They cruised to first place in the 2015 American Premier Soccer League (APSL) Fall Tournament with five wins in their seven matches and tournament-best plus-11 goal differential. The APSL is a newly-formed South Florida-based amateur league that are part of a new trend of regional amateur soccer leagues across the country. This will be the third straight Miami-based club that they will have to face, as they narrowly defeated fellow APSL clubs Real Miami CF and Uruguay Kendall (in penalty kicks) to qualify for the Open Cup.

The winner will head north to take on the USL’s Wilmington Hammerheads, who have been knocked out of the tournament by an amateur team in three of the last four seasons.

New York Red Bulls U-23 (PDL) at New York Pancyprian Freedoms (USASA)
Belson Stadium (St. John’s Univ.); Jamaica, NY
Kickoff: 7:30p.m. ET

New York Pancyprian Freedoms 2015 Team Photo
New York Pancyprian Freedoms 2015 Team Photo

You wouldn’t be out of line calling this an “old school vs. new school” matchup. New York Pancyprian Freedoms dominated the US Open Cup in the early 1980’s winning the title in 1980, 1982, and 1983. They even followed up their 1983 title with a semi-final run in what was known back then as the CONCACAF Champions Cup. Today it’s known as the CONCACAF Champions League. You won’t find too many clubs that can match their history and pedigree as they continue to be among the elite in the fabled Cosmopolitan League. It was not an easy path through the open division tournament as the Freedoms had to defeat their biggest rival, and four-time US Open Cup champion, New York Greek Americans in Round 1 by a score of 4-2. They punched their ticket with a 2-1 win over 2012 Open Cup qualifier Jersey Shore Boca.

Representing the “new school” side of this tie is the U-23 side for one of Major League Soccer’s (MLS) premier clubs: the New York Red Bulls. The Red Bulls’ youth side is one of two teams representing the Mid Atlantic division of the PDL’s Eastern Conference (Jersey Express). The Red Bulls have enjoyed a lot of success in their first six years as a club. They played their first five seasons in the NPSL, winning three division titles in addition to a league title in 2014. They celebrated their first NPSL championship by leaving the league to join the PDL. They qualified for the tournament in 2013 and 2014, and would have made the cut in 2015 but it was unlikely that the NPSL was going to give up one of their Open Cup spots to a team that just left to join a rival league.

The way the draw works out, the winner of this game will get a rather favorable matchup. Rather than playing a USL team, as most Round 1 winners will, the Red Bulls or the Freedoms will take on the winner of Jersey Express (PDL) and the Clarkston Eagles (NPSL).

LA Wolves FC (USASA) at Ventura County Fusion (PDL)
Ventura College Sportsplex; Ventura, CA
Kickoff: 10 p.m. ET

LA Wolves (orange) and Del Rey City squared off in the opening round of the 2016 US Open Cup open division qualifying tournament. Photo: Del Rey City SC
LA Wolves (orange) and Del Rey City squared off in the opening round of the 2016 US Open Cup open division qualifying tournament. Photo: Del Rey City SC

“Play Like A Wolf” is the slogan for the United Premier Soccer League’s (UPSL) LA Wolves FC. The senior team sure looked like alpha dogs in 2015, winning 20 of their 21 competitive matches (20-0-1) and ultimately falling short in the league title game, losing to fellow Open Cup qualifier San Nicolas FC. Now they’ll set their sights on a new competition as they enter the Open Cup for the first time in team history. To get there, they had two win two games in the open division tournament, one against fellow UPSL side Del Rey City SC and the other against Cal FC, the team that made a name for themselves in 2012 when they upset the Portland Timbers of MLS. The Wolves are one of three qualifiers from the Los Angeles-based UPSL, a fast-growing amateur league that has expanded to Nevada and Arizona in recent years.

Their opponent, the Ventura County Fusion, have qualified for the seventh straight year, one shy of the amateur record for the Modern Era (Reading United AC – 8). In addition being one of the most consistent PDL teams in the league, the Fusion have also hosted teams from the EPL, Liga MX, and other top divisions from around the globe for friendlies.

They’ve seen it all in their 10-year history with eight playoff appearances, three division titles and a 2009 PDL championship. In Open Cup play, they have won a Modern Era amateur record five straight opening round games, which is a Modern Era record, and have upset a pair of professional teams on the road. They beat the Los Angeles Blues (now Orange County Blues) of the USL in the 2012 Second Round, and knocked off the LA Galaxy II (USL).

A fair warning to those who will be in attendance: be prepared for LOTS of orange. Both sides feature a healthy dose of it in their uniforms.

CD Aguiluchos USA (NPSL) at San Francisco City FC (US Club Soccer)
Beach Chalet #4; San Francisco, CA
Kickoff: 10:30 p.m. ET

San Francisco City FC defeated Cal FC 2-1 in their US Open Cup debut in the 2015 Preliminary Round. Photo: San Francisco City FC
San Francisco City FC defeated Cal FC 2-1 in their US Open Cup debut in the 2015 Preliminary Round. Photo: San Francisco City FC

Finally, we turn our attention to the northern half of California. Oakland-based CD Aguiluchos were founded in 2012 in honor of El Salvadoran side CD Augila and, as you might expect, feature a roster full of players drawn from the Bay Area’s Salvadoran population. The club is also managed by former CD Augila coach Hugo Coria. And if you’re still not convinced of their love of all things El Salvador, their away kit is blue and white to honor the national team. This is their second trip to the tournament after qualifying in 2014. They were one-and-done after traveling to Southern California and losing to the Ventura County Fusion, 2-1. The club missed out in 2015 but are back after finishing third in their division with a 7-4-1 record. That third place finish was enough to get into the NPSL playoffs and they made a run all the way to the national semifinals. They lost to the New York Cosmos B, one of the few pro teams in the league that moved on to win the NPSL title and later withdrew from this year’s US Open Cup.

On the other side of the draw is another team with close ties to its community, though in a different way. San Francisco City FC is 51% owned by its club members while the other 49% belongs to their investors/partners. Their Board of Directors, which must vote unanimously to make major changes to the club, is made up of three members: one from the membership group, one from the investor group, and one from the club’s staff. The approach seems to be working as the club is growing. They made the movie from a local amateur league to the PDL, where they will begin play in 2016. There have been reports that the club is being courted to join one of the professional leagues down the road. The roster that will take part in the Open Cup this year will not be the PDL roster that will be on the field this summer, it will be the one that qualified for the competition through the open division qualifying tournament. making its PDL debut this season. This is also their second consecutive Open Cup appearance. Last year, they lost a 2-1 decision to Cal FC at Kezar Stadium.

2015 US Open Cup Round 3: PSA Elite’s 2-1 win over Ventura County earn them $15,000, another shot at MLS

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PSA EliteThe $15,000 match was decided by dueling substitutes Wednesday night at the Ventura College Sportsplex.

Abdullah Adam scored three minutes into his Ventura County Fusion debut to equalize with 18 minutes to play.

But Justin Dhillon answered with an 80th-minute winner seconds after coming on as a substitute to lift the United States Adult Soccer Association club PSA Elite to a 2-1 win in the Third Round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

The Irvine, Calif.-based club advances to a Fourth Round showcase against Major League Soccer champion Los Angeles Galaxy on June 17 at the Stubhub Center.

It also earned US Soccer’s prize money as the top amateur side in the competition.

“From back to front, they’re a quality team,” Ventura County captain Javan Torre said of PSA Elite. “They have plenty of (youth) national team experience, plenty of ex-professionals. They did well together and they hung onto that win.”

Three of the five amateur clubs left in the tournament entering Wednesday were based in Southern California. After the Jersey Express and Chattanooga FC were eliminated earlier in the day and Chula Vista FC fell behind early, US Soccer’s $15,000 may as well have been pushed into the center circle.

Both clubs were all in.

The field was littered with some of Southern California’s finest NCAA Division I talent. PSA Elite goalkeeper Wade Hamilton and Ventura County midfielder Matt LaGrassa, as well as Dhillon, play for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, now for former US men’s national team coach Steve Sampson.

The matchup pitted collegiate teammates against each other. Ventura County’s Torre, Abu Danladi and Jordan Vale rode north to the match from UCLA with PSA Elite’s Chase Gasper and Nathan Smith.

“That just goes to show you the higher level it is,” Ventura County midfielder Matt LaGrassa said. “I think both teams did a good job limiting chances. We turn off for one second and they find the game winner on us.”

The Fusion enjoyed most of the possession, but PSA Elite carved out the better chances during a balanced first half. Will Lopez split the Fusion defense, but left his cleaver chip wide of the Fusion goal in the 12th minute. Seven minutes later, Michael Salazar nearly caught Ventura County’s Justin Vom Steeg off his line, but the future UC Santa Barbara goalkeeper made an excellent diving save.

Ventura County’s best save of the first half followed in the 29th minute. Set up by a pretty feed from UC Santa Barbara star Ismalia Jome, striker Javier Castro spun a 18-yard bid just wide.

Jinho Kim, Ventura County’s impressive South Korean import, then pulled a highlight-reel save out of PSA Elite goalkeeper Wade Hamilton from 30 yards.

The breakthrough came in the 39th minute, when PSA Elite midfielder Mats Bjurman converted from the penalty spot after Ventura County defender Michael Mercado handled in the penalty area.

Chasing the game at the break, the Fusion turned to Danladi, whose second half stoppage time goal had upset LA Galaxy II in the second round.

The 2014 Gatorade National Player of the Year nearly equalized inside four minutes, but his rebound chance from yet another Hamilton save came from too tight an angle and it fluttered agonizingly wide.

The Fusion finally drew level three minutes after Adam was introduced as a substitute in the 69th minute.

Kim’s free kick found the head of defender Sola Abolaji. After Hamilton dove to swat Abolaji’s header away from the goal line, Adam raced forward to slam the rebound into the net.

PSA Elite responded eight minutes later, off a seemingly harmless free kick on its own side of the field.

Dhillon came on the field and immediately converted the winner after Salazar took down a long ball forward that eluded the sleepy Fusion defense.

“I think we were trying to push for a win ourselves,” Torre said. “We left ourselves a little exposed.”

The Fusion had one real chance for another equalizer, but LaGrassa’s header crashed against the crossbar after Kim sliced open the PSA Elite defense with a through ball to Julian Zamora.

“Just one of those days,” LaGrassa said. “I hit the crossbar. We miss an open net. We had a penalty appeal (turned down) in the second half.

It’s frustrating, but they’re a good side.

“Credit to (PSA Elite). I think they’ll do well in the next round.”

2015 US Open Cup Round 2: Ventura County Fusion upsets LA Galaxy 2 with stoppage time winner (video)

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Ventura County FusionPerhaps the most interesting thing about the early stages of the US Open Cup is that you often find teams with completely different organizational structures and purposes playing one another, which often results in some fantastic storylines.

This was the case on Wednesday night when the Ventura County Fusion upset the LA Galaxy II 2-1 with a stoppage time game-winner. It was a game that pitted two parts of the American soccer pyramid against one another that are essentially aimed at the same thing— player development.

On the one side, you have the Ventura County Fusion, a talented Premier Development League team comprised mainly of stand-out college soccer stars like UCLA forward and Gatorade player of the year, Abu Danladi. PDL offers college players an exceptional opportunity to get playing minutes outside of the restrictive college soccer schedule and arguably at a higher level of play. It’s often been said that player development is stunted in this country by college soccer and, in many ways, PDL is one attempt to fix this problem and more smoothly develop players.

On the other side of the field, the goals are similar but the methods are different. Take Ryo Fujii who lined up at right mid for the Galaxy. After graduating from the Galaxy Academy, Fujii attended a year at UCSB before the Galaxy offered him a novel contract. They offered him a contract with Galaxy II with a built-in program and funding for him to attend college at nearby Cal State Dominguez Hills. Here again we see an attempt to subvert the effects of college soccer on player development, only in a more “in house” way. This is exactly what a team like the Galaxy II exists to do. It’s a USL team not so much concerned with drawing crowds or winning trophies or even games, but rather providing a transitional stage in the in-house pipeline between the Academy and the first team.

Each system has its pros and cons, and we saw that on Wednesday. Given the nature of the Galaxy 2 team, it is a lineup that is constantly in flux as several of the players are being shuffled between the first and second team. But thanks to the rules of the US Open Cup, once a player plays for a team, they are ‘cup tied’ to that team and can not play for another cup team. Since the Galaxy are also in this competition and Bruce Arena will likely want to use youth players to give his starters a rest in those games, many of the Galaxy II’s best players were not on the field. The biggest omissions were Bradford Jamieson IV who is becoming more and more of a mainstay on the Galaxy first team and is, in many ways, proof that the Galaxy II set up can work for youth development, as it successfully transitioned him from academy to second team to first. Also missing was Raul Mendiola, who is currently on the cusp of first team minutes.

But that’s not to say that Ventura County had an advantage in this game because of this. In fact, they struggled with something different entirely– a lack of familiarity. PDL teams don’t assemble till early May. In fact, this was the first game that the Fusion had actually assembled most of its core players for a game.

But coach Rudy Ybarra had a plan to deal with this.

“I told the guys before the game started, they are going to come out faster than us. They are a team that is more into their season and we are going to have to make them play to our speed and I thought when we were able to do that we became a better team.”

The Fusion came out in a sophisticated 3-4-3 with a hinged back line system with rightback Matt Sheldon venturing into the midfielder as a right mid at multiple times in the game. This is a tactic we’re seeing growing in prominence around the world, but it has yet to make its way into the USL, meaning it was the first time the Galaxy II players had encountered such a system.

“We’ve always been an attacking minded team,” said Ybarra. “I’ve always said we play four in the back but we often end up playing with three”

By implementing this tactic, the Fusion were able to do several things. Their front three were able to pick and choose when to put high pressure on the back line, disrupting the Galaxy’s rhythm. They were also able to disrupt passing lanes in the middle of the field by having a right back step into the midfield and a left forward step back creating a 5 v 4. The name of the game was disruption, or as the Ybarra put it: “in key moments of the game, we were able to slow the game down to the way we wanted to play, not the way the Galaxy wanted to play.”

Despite their tactical abilities, the Galaxy managed most of the possession in the game and ended up outshooting the Fusion 21 to 12. Ariel Lassiter, son of the former MLS legend, Roy Lassiter, absolutely abused the Fusion’s left hand side with his pace but was unable to deliver the final ball to his forwards to convert this danger into opportunities on goal.

On the other side of the field, Ventura looked to spring Abu Danladi behind the back line on multiple occasions, but the Galaxy backline did a good job of keeping the phenom in check for most of the game.

Although the Galaxy controlled most of the first half, the Fusion were successful at keeping the ball in front of them and when they had opportunities they capitalized. In the 30th minute, after a string of good passes around the box for the Fusion which pullied the Galaxy defense out of shape, Jinho Kim passed the ball to Matthew LaGrassa , a midfielder from Cal Poly, who deftly chipped Galaxy II keeper Nicholas Shackelford who was caught off his line.

The Galaxy II responded fifteen minutes later when Lassiter played a ball over the top to Galaxy academy alumni Adonis Amaya who was taken down in the box by Fusion keeper Justin Vom Steeg who rather strangely received a yellow card for the incident despite being the last man and thus constituting a clear denial of a goal scoring opportunity. Lassiter stepped to the spot and drove the ball hard and down the center as Vom Steeg dove to his guessed corner. The game was level at 1-1.

In the second half, Abu Danladi sort of disappeared from the game but the Galaxy II were unable to convert their chances setting up a dramatic finish. With the score tied at 1-1 and deep into stoppage time, the prior invisible Abu Danladi rose to the occasion and showed why he has so many scouts drooling over his talent. Receiving the ball with tons of space on the left side of the 18, he took a touch inside, then another, each step looking for a shot but each step being rebuffed by Galaxy defenders closing down the space. But just as it seemed he had held on to it for too long, space opened up and the young forward struck the ball low and hard and past the keeper, delivering a final blow that did the professional side in.

Oddly enough, Danlandi had just gotten back to training the day before after a long stint of not playing since the college season. But the phenom showed no signs of rust in the moment and created a memory he will not soon forget. What a classic US Open Cup moment.

There were a number of MLS scouts, and even Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena, in attendance. Did that give the youngster something extra to play for?

“To be honest, that’s not something I thought about,” Danlandi said. Abu was more focused on giving his best to a high quality opponent and that’s exactly what he did.

In terms of the big picture, does this game say anything about the merits of player development through PDL vs. the in-house grooming seen in teams like LA II? Probably not as a player like Abu Danladi, had he came through the Galaxy system, probably like Mendiola and Jamieson IV wouldn’t have made the field and would be fighting for first team minutes, but it was certainly interesting to see the two approaches go head to head on the night in a way that only the US Open Cup can provide and it was certainly fun to watch an ambitious coach in Ybarra who is experimenting with attacking styles that we simply aren’t seeing at the higher levels of US Soccer yet. Going forward, the Fusion are a team to watch as they are tactically dynamic and have one or two guaranteed future pro league stars on their roster.

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