Complete U.S. Open Cup Coverage

Ventura County Fusion

PDL players with US Open Cup experience advance careers with 2012 MLS SuperDraft

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A handful of players with US Open Cup playing experience as members of Premier Development League teams were selected in the two-round, 38-player Major League Soccer Draft Thursday afternoon at the NSCAA Convention in Kansas City, MO.

Andrew Wenger (top) and Chris Estridge have scored in the US Open Cup

The Chicago Fire PDL team reached the Third Round in the 2011 US Open Cup and Second Round in 2009, making it no surprise that among the 11 players selected from their development program were four players that saw action during the club’s run this past summer.

Among them was Chris Estridge (21st, Vancouver Whitecaps), who tallied a goal and assist. The defender scored the 1-0 game-winner in the opening round with three minutes remaining, edging the Iowa Menace (USASA entrant of PDL Des Moines Menace). He went on to add an assist on the second goal in another shutout performance in the Second Round as they blanked the NPSL’s Madison 56ers, 2-0.

The team’s run came to an end in the Third Round, falling on the road to Sporting Kansas City, 3-0. Estridge played in all three matches along with Tyler Polak (22, New England Revolution) and Brendan King (27, Portland Timbers). Teammate Calum Mallace (20, Montreal Impact) appeared in the Third Round match.

Reading United AC, a PDL affiliate of the Philadelphia Union, also saw Open Cup players move on to the next flight with hopes of landing on an MLS roster. First overall pick Andrew Wenger (Montreal Impact), a member of the Carolina Dynamo in 2011, nearly led Reading to an upset win over then USL Second Division side Real Maryland with the opening goal of the 2010 First Round only to see the professional side rally for a 2-1 victory. Reading faced fellow Union affiliate USL Pro Harrisburg City Islanders in 2011, falling 2-1 with Matt Hedges (11, FC Dallas) in the lineup.

Jacob Hustedt (25, San Jose Earthquakes) helped lead the Ventura County Fusion in 2011, providing the assist on the game-winner in a 3-1 victory against USASA’s Doxa Italia in the First Round. He was also in the lineup for the club’s valiant effort in a narrow 1-0 loss to USL Pro side Los Angeles Blues in the Second Round.

Ironically, three of the seven players featured above were taken by Canadian clubs, meaning they would be mostly likely to participate in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship this year.

Report: PDL selects 16 entries for 2012 US Open Cup; No qualification matches

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Update: USL confirmed the following report with its official announcement.

TheCup.us has learned from multiple sources that the Premier Development League, the amateur division of United Soccer Leagues, will receive 16 berths for the 2012 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. The expanded number of berths will be dispersed, with one exception, to the top two clubs from the 2011 standings in each division.

The news, coming from the USL Annual General Meeting being held currently in Clearwater, FL, is further confirmation of TheCup.us’ earlier report about upcoming changes for the tournament which will see an expansion of teams from 40 to 64 and an accelerated schedule that shifts the calendar too close to the start of the PDL season for the league to continue utilizing its four-match qualification format used since 1997. The report also noted that the expansion revolved around the inclusion of all Major League Soccer teams.

The one alteration to the PDL’s two-berth format, a total of four per conference, is in the Eastern Conference, which consists of three divisions. Based on the number of teams per division, the Mid Atlantic (9 teams last year) will receive two berths while the Northeast (5 teams) and South Atlantic (6 teams) will each receive one spot in the tournament.

With the USL AGM in the midst of planning the 2012 season, the final composition of clubs set to play next season has not been announced. Reading United AC and reigning PDL champion Kitsap Pumas are headed to a fourth consecutive appearance in the tournament, matching a record for consecutive entries from an amateur flight league set by Mexico SC (Fresno, CA) of the USASA.  The Michigan Bucks are adding a league-record ninth appearance to their ledger. The Portland Timbers U23s and the MPS Portland Phoenix (Maine) are the only two teams who will make their debut in the 2012 tournament.

The 16 PDL clubs are expected to enter the 2012 competition in the opening round, along with 16 other amateur clubs, according to an earlier report. The distribution of the remaining amateur teams, between the USASA, NPSL and possibly US Club Soccer, has yet to be unveiled.

2012 PDL Entries – Based on 2011 Standings (official 2012 alignment unknown)

Central Conference
Michigan Bucks – 1st place in Great Lakes Division – record 9th appearance (9-7-1 all-time), last appearance: 2008
Chicago Fire PDL – 2nd place in Great Lakes Division – 5th appearance (6-4-0), 3rd straight appearance
Des Moines Menace – 2nd place in Heartland Division* – 6th appearance (6-5-1, 1-0 in PKs) – Last appearance: 2010
Real Colorado Foxes – 3rd place in Heartland Division * – 2nd appearance (1-1-0), 2nd straight appearance
*Canadian club Thunder Bay finished 1st

Eastern Conference
Long Island Rough Riders – 1st place in Mid Atlantic Division – 5th appearance, 3rd as a PDL team (3-5-0 all-time, 1-2-0 as a PDL team) …  Last appearance: 2010
Reading United AC – 2nd place in Mid Atlantic Division … 6th appearance, 4th as a PDL team (0-5-0 all-time, 0-3-0 as a PDL team) … 4th straight appearance (tied for the amateur record)
MPS Portland Phoenix – 1st place in Northeast Division … 1st appearance
Carolina Dynamo – 1st place in South Atlantic Division … 8th appearance, 3rd as a PDL team (10-8-0 all-time, 5-3-0 as a PDL team) … 2nd straight appearance

Southern Conference
Laredo Heat – 1st place in Mid South Division … 2nd appearance (0-0-1, 0-1 in PKs … lost to Dallas Roma FC in 2006, who went on to make their magical run) … last appearance: 2006
El Paso Patriots – 2nd place in Mid South Division … 10th appearance, 5th as a PDL team (8-7-3, 1-2 in PKs all-time, 2-3-2, 1-1 in PKs as a PDL team) … 2nd straight appearance
Mississippi Brilla – 1st place in Southeast Division … 2nd appearance (0-1-0) … last appearance: 2009
Orlando City U23s (previously Central Florida Kraze) – 2nd place Southeast Division … 5th appearance (0-4-0) … 3rd straight appearance

Western Conference
Kitsap Pumas – 1st place in Northwest Division…. 4th appearance (2-3-1, 1-0 in PKs), 4th straight appearance (Amateur record) … have qualified in every year of their existence
Portland Timbers U23s – 4th place in Northwest Division* … 1st appearance
Fresno Fuego – 1st Southwest Division … 2nd appearance (3-1-0) … last appearance: 2003 (advanced to the Fourth Round and lost to the Los Angeles Galaxy. 1 of only 3 PDL teams to ever advance beyond the Third Round)
Ventura County Fusion – 2nd Southwest Division … 3rd appearance (1-1-1, 0-1 in PKs), 3rd straight appearance
*Canadian clubs Victoria Highlanders and Vancouver Whitecaps U23s were 2nd & 3rd

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Extreme Makeover – Open Cup Edition: What it all mean [+]

MLS & USSF establishing long-term calendar? [+]

2011 US Open Cup Second Round: LA Blues outmuscle Ventura County Fusion 1-0

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In a match-up of experience versus youth, experience won out. The Los Angeles Blues, boasting multiple players with MLS experience, defeated the Ventura County Fusion on the strength of a late first half Israel Sesay goal, sending the club forward to a Third Round US Open Cup contest with the Los Angeles Galaxy of MLS.

Photo: LA Blues

The Blues were missing two starters from last week’s U.S. Open Cup first round victory due to red cards with Josh Tudela and Leonard Griffin out for this week’s game. Defender Nelson Akwari stepped up and took the leadership role throughout the game by maintaining a strong back line that helped goalkeeper Oscar Dautt preserve the shutout.

“Those guys are talented, but Nelson has been around. We knew he was going to step up and it wasn’t a surprise,” said Sesay.

The Blues controlled the game from the outset of the match, but the Fusion fought back. They had one of their best chances in the 32nd minute when Jake Hustedt headed a cross just wide.

Their misfortune turned into the Blues’ gain in the 45th minute. Blues forward Chukwudi Chijindu had a breakaway stuffed point blank by Fusion goalkeeper Sam Hayden only to have the deflection fall to Israel Sesay. Sesay then faked a shot to lose the defender and scored the lone goal of the game.

“I got an opening and saw the defense coming back. I took a touch and then I took a shot,” Sesay said.

The Fusion had their best opportunity at the beginning of the second half. David Walker beat Blues defender Michael Randolph down the right flank and had a one on one situation with the goalie. His shot beat Dautt in the middle of the box and rolled just wide of the post as the Fusion failed to equalize.

It was an omen of things to come as the Fusion applied pressure throughout the second half and kept the ball on the Blues’ side of the field. Unfortunately the Blues backline held their own throughout the match and did not allow for too many more chances after Hustedt’s shot.

Things did get a tense towards the end as a member of the Fusion’s coaching staff was ejected in the 85th minute and the Fusion’s Gyasi Zardes and the Blues’ Dane Saintus, Chijindu also received cautions to go with Sesay’s card at the beginning of the game.

After the game though, the focus shifted to next week where some Blues’ players will get an opportunity to face off against their former squad. Akwari, Tudela, Griffin, Randolph, Sesay and Chijindu (who is on loan from Chivas USA) all have MLS experience and will get an opportunity to show that the talent gap is not that big between the first and third divisions of the American soccer pyramid.

“We feel (that the talent gap) isn’t that much. We’re going to show everyone what we are capable of doing,” said Sesay.

TheCup.us Match MVP: Israel Sesay

You can follow Nick Gaspar on Twitter @TheNtotheG.

Scoring:
LA: Sesay – 45th min.

Cautions:
17′: Sesay (LA)
62′: Chijindu (LA)
90+1′: Saintus (LA)
90+2′: Zardes (VC)

Ejections:
85′: coach (VC) (straight)

Stats:
Shots Saves Fouls Corners
Blues: 9 Blues: 3 Blues: 17 Blues: 3
Fusion: 8 Fusion: 3 Fusion: 17 Fusion: 4

2011 US Open Cup Los Angeles Galaxy bracket preview: Los Angeles Blues at Ventura County Fusion

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SECOND ROUND

Los Angeles Blues at Ventura County Fusion
Ventura College – Ventura, Calif. – 10:05 p.m.
Broadcast: USLLive.com

THIRD ROUND

Los Angeles Blues / Ventura County Fusion at Los Angeles Galaxy
June 28, 10:30 p.m. ET  Titan Stadium (CSUF); Fullerton, Calif.

Los Angeles Blues

Founded in 2010 by the ownership of the successful Pali Blues W-League team, the side is in its debut season in USL Pro.

Path to Open Cup: Automatic entrant from USL Pro.

First Round: LA Blues (USL Pro) 3:1 Hollywood United (NPSL)
Despite playing a man down since Leo Griffin was sent off in the 19th minute, LA’s Mehrshad Momeni scored once in each half to give the Blues a two-goal lead in the First Round. Hollywood would answer but after both sides saw a red card late each Gerardo Bravo sealed it for the Blues. Recap [+]

League form: LA had the week off from USL Pro league play since last Tuesday and are 5-2-2 in the USL Pro National Division.

Open Cup History: First appearance in the tournament.

Local History: Since teams from Los Angeles began participating in the Open Cup in 1954, LA-area clubs have reached 24 Open Cup Finals, winning 10 of those games.

Ventura County Fusion

Founded in 2007, the club has been a dominant force the past two seasons in the PDL, winning the league championship in 2009 and finishing first in the division last year. The club has been similarly successful off the field as one of the league leaders in attendance.

Path to Open Cup: The Fusion burst the bubble of Fresno, who also finished with a perfect record a week earlier than Ventura County, who surpassed them on goal differential for the Open Cup berth with the extremely rare absolutely perfect finish with maxed out goal differential and goals scored tallies. The dominance started with a 6-1 win against the LA Legends with Daniel Barrera setting up the first three before notching one of his own. The second match was a 4-0 shutout at home against the Blues 23s in which David Walker had a goal and two assists. In the second home match they topped Orange County 7-2 with Mark Magee scoring twice. They rounded it out with another 4-0 win, blanking host Southern California with another double from Magee that put the Fusion past Fresno in the tiebreaker.

First Round: Ventura County Fusion (PDL) 3:1 Doxa Italia (USASA)
On a foggy night the Fusion got off to a slow start, allowing a goal on a fluke play just five minutes in. They reversed the course however with goals from Andy Rose (penalty) and Mark Magee before halftime and ensured the win with a third from Reed Williams in the second half. Recap [+]

League form: The Fusion returned to PDL action quickly with a 1-0 win Thursday versus visiting Ogden on second half Daniel Barrera goal. The team is 6-0-4 in the PDL Southwest Division.

Open Cup History: The club is returning for its second appearance after a surprise First Round elimination a year ago via penalties after playing to a 1-1 draw against the USASA’s Arizona Sahuaros.
PRO ERA RECORD: 0-0-1 (0-1 in PKs) overall | 0-0-1 (0-1 in PKs) vs. 3rd Division

Los Angeles Galaxy

How They Qualified: Automatic entrant from top six MLS finish in 2010.

This Month in MLS: The Galaxy played their third match of the month in Colorado Saturday, posting a 3-1 victory with Juninho doubling the advantage after an own goal and Chad Barrett securing the victory late. They now travel to San Jose June 25 before playing in the Third Round. They opened the month with the first of two draws, finishing in a scoreless stalemate against DC United June 3 with Josh Saunders in goal. On June 11 they hosted Toronto in a 2-2 draw with two go-ahead goals from Chris Birchall and Juan Pablo Angel.
Last Five: W-D-D-W-W | Season Record: 9-2-7 (4-0-4 Home), First in Western Conference, First Overall.

Open Cup History: The Galaxy have had a considerable amount of success in the Open Cup, winning two championships in 2001 and 2005, as well as finishing as runners-up in 2002 and 2006. Since falling short to the Chicago Fire in the 2006 Final, the Galaxy were upset by the Richmond Kickers (3rd Division) and then failed to qualify the next two years. In 2010, they returned to the tournament where they beat AC St. Louis of the NASL (2nd Division) before losing to eventual champion Seattle Sounders FC in the quarterfinals.
PRO ERA RECORD: 21-8-1 (1-0 in PKs) overall | 11-2-0 vs. Non-MLS teams

First Round

Hollywood United (NPSL) 1:3 Los Angeles Blues (USL PRO)
Riverside Community College – Riverside, Calif. – 8 p.m.
Recap [+]

Doxa Italia (USASA-So. CA) 1:3 Ventura County Fusion (PDL)
Ventura College – Ventura, Calif. – 10:05 p.m.
Recap [+]

ELIMINATED TEAMS

Hollywood United

The NPSL side is the feature team of the Hollywood United Football Club that is famous for numerous celebrities and former internationals playing on its teams over the years as well as participating in the club’s many charity events. They had merged with Doxa Italia in 2008 (retaining the name Hollywood United) and after falling just short of the Open Cup that year they entered again in 2009, but the owners of United left to focus on the launching of Hollywood United as a PDL franchise (The remaining players continued under the name Doxa Italia). Hollywood played two years in the PDL Southwest Division, where it reached the playoffs in both campaigns before leaving the league shortly before the start of the 2011 season to join the NPSL.

Path to Open Cup: With the division utilizing each team’s first seven games to determine the Open Cup berth, Hollywood finished with a perfect record, but it was not smooth going. After opening with a 1-0 win at Santa Ana, the club fell 3-1 to the San Diego Flash in its next outing. The team went on to win its next five games to finish with a 6-1 record on May 8 before it was revealed May 11 the league was penalizing the Flash for use of an illegal player in two matches, including the victory over Hollywood. The penalty would be forfeitures of both games, which would be appealed and finally upheld May 19, giving Hollywood a perfect record and the Open Cup berth.

June News Updates: Won 4-1 at home June 11 against Sonoma County after being idle since a 2-1 win against Real San Jose May 28.

Open Cup History: The club is making its return for the first time since making headlines in its 2008 debut via the USASA. They upset the second division Portland Timbers on the road 3-2 before being blanked 6-0 by the USL First Division’s Seattle Sounders the following round.
PRO ERA RECORD: 1-1-0 overall | 0-0-0 vs. 3rd Division

Local History: From the late 1950s and 1960s, teams from Hollywood were a fixture in the Southern California Open Cup qualifying rounds. Such clubs as the Hollywood Bears, Hollywood SC, and Lovers United (so named, as one newspaper reported,  because the all of the members of the team were “soccer lovers”) participated in the Open Cup at one time or another. In 1961, Hollywood SC reached the Los Angeles final, which at the time was two games away from the Open Cup Final, but lost 3-0 to the eventual Open Cup runner-up United Scots.

Doxa Italia

Founded in 1997, the club has been a powerhouse in the Pacific League (five championships) and Coast Soccer League (four championships) as well as performing well in the California South state cup tournament with four titles. When the club was struggling financially, they merged with Hollywood United in 2007 and competed under that name from 2007-2009. Prior to the beginning of the 2009 USASA Region IV tournament, Hollywood owners pulled the plug on the team to focus their efforts of starting a PDL expansion team. The players continued on in 2009 under the name Doxa Italia and have remained that way since then. Meet the USASA Feature [+]

Open Cup Path: The club opened the Region IV tournament with a 1-1 draw against Rosal FC on Day One. It became apparent that it was going to be a race for goal differential the next morning with Doxa Italia netting a 6-0 win against Metro SC while Rosal were 8-1 winners against CV Eagles. Doxa Italia showed no mercy against the Eagles in the finale, posting an amazing 18-0 scoreline in comparison to Rosal’s 7-1 victory, earning the Open Cup berth on the goal differential tiebreaker. The club had missed out on the Open Cup on the goal difference tiebreaker the last two years, so they didn’t want to take any chances. The side was finally stymied once more by the other group winner, DV8 Defenders, in the Region IV Final in a 1-1 draw, but claimed the title in penalties, 4-1.

June News Updates: Blanked Santa Ana Winds 4-0 June 11 with goal and assist each from Ryan Taylor and Bryan Byrne in season finale, finishing second in the league for the season… Shutout Morelos 8-0 June 5 in its next to last game with a Gabe Valencia hat-trick and Ilia Nazarov brace.

Open Cup History: First appearance in the tournament after narrowly falling short the last two years. They missed out in 2009 by 2 goals in a goal difference tiebreaker (Sonoma County Sol) and again in 2010, they lost out on another tiebreaker to advance to the Region IV semifinals.

2011 US Open Cup First Round: Ventura County Fusion rallies past Doxa Italia 3-1

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With a fog slowly creeping into the Ventura College stadium, the Ventura County Fusion may have been feeling uneasy in their second-ever US Open Cup match as they found themselves behind to a USASA entrant in the early going for the second consecutive time. And it was a former player dealing the blow to boot. But things would turn rosey nearly a half-hour later as the club rallied past Doxa Italia for a 3-1 victory and a trip to the second round.

Bryan Byrne, a former MLS New England Revolution midfielder that reportedly was the odd man out with the Los Angeles Galaxy when they signed David Beckham, stunned his former championship side just five minutes into the contest.

The Irishman, in his third season with Doxa Italia after spending two seasons with the Fusion, has to give all of the credit to the Fusion goalkeeper though. A long ball far past Byrne was intercepted by the keeper, but the attempted clearance ended up crashing directly into the striker and in the goal. The tally matched his entire output in 22 matches with Ventura County from 2008-09, though he was an important part of the team’s 2-1 victory over the Chicago Fire Premier in the 2009 PDL Championship.

Andy Rose would level the match from the penalty spot after Jacob Hustedt was taken down in the box. It was his fifth goal of the year, sending the keeper in the wrong direction.

Doxa Italia (USASA-So. CA)
1:3
Ventura County Fusion (PDL)
Ventura College – Ventura, Calif.
RECAP: Ventura County Star | ESPN LA
Scoring Summary
DI: Bryan Byrne – 5′
VC: Andy Rose pen. – 33′
VC: Mark Magee – 43′
VC: Reed Williams – 78′

A year ago, against the Arizona Sahuaros, the Fusion also found themselves trailing with the visitors opening the scoring in the 26th minute. A goal from Ousman Jagne would tie the match. The contest would remain deadlocked en route to penalties, where Arizona prevailed 4-2.

However, leading scorer Mark Magee (6 goals) would make sure there would be no deadlock. He took a cross from Hustedt and scored from close range, giving Ventura a 2-1 advantage two minutes before half.

Doxa Italia nearly found an equalizer in the 70th minute, only to see the shot clang off the post. Eight minutes later, Reed Williams gave the hosts a two-goal advantage on a breakaway created by Sam Hayden, hitting his fourth goal of the campaign for Fusion.

The victory sends the Fusion on to a second round meeting with the Los Angeles Blues, an expansion side in USL Pro.

Scoring Summary
5th minute: Bryan Byrne (Doxa)
32nd minute: Andy Rose (VCF)
43rd minute: Mark Magee (Jacob Hustedt) (VCF)
78th minute: Reed Williams (VCF)

Starting Lineups
Doxa: N/A

VCF: N/A

Shots Saves Fouls Corners
Doxa: 14 Doxa: 7 Doxa: 7 Doxa: 7
VCF: 11 VCF: 4 VCF: 11 VCF: 6

Cautions:
32’: Alex Bengard (Doxa)
79’: Daniel Barrera (VCF)

Ejections:
None.

Referee: Reed Christy

Assistant Referees: Luis Gutierrez, Manuel Torres
Fourth Official: Magic Berenji
Attendance: 340
Weather: foggy

Archived video of match

2011 US Open Cup qualifying (PDL West): Kitsap Pumas and Portland Timbers U23s finish dead even, successfully lobby for tiebreaking match

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PDL West logoUS Open Cup qualifying for the Premier Development League is already underway for 2011 as the season began on April 30. It is arguably the most exciting portion of the event for the league as the task of qualifying can be more daunting than the professional opponents awaiting them in the tournament proper.

In the 2011 edition of the tournament, the PDL will be represented by a record nine clubs after seven consecutive years with eight representatives. With nine berths available, the league will send one from each division based on four league contests that will double as qualification matches – a format long established by the parent United Soccer Leagues.

The Western Conference has a new set of dominant teams in recent years, as the Kitsap Pumas (back-to-back Northwest representatives) and Ventura County Fusion (2009 PDL champions, 2010 Southwest representative) look to make their mark by qualifying for the US Open Cup once again in 2011. 11 other teams have other ideas, and that includes the Portland Timbers U23s, who have to be scratching their heads at last year’s results. They finished 16-0 in the regular season, and won another four straight in the playoffs to finish as PDL champion with a perfect 20-0 record, the first in history. Yet they fell short to the Pumas on account of goal differential. They will surely be looking for another shot as they look to extend their streak.

Here is the how the Western Conference is currently shaping up:

Northwest Division
Final Results – Pending Fifth Match [+]

The much anticipated meeting between the Portland Timbers U23s and Kitsap Pumas, who both finished the qualifying slate 4-0-0 a year ago with Kitsap advancing via tiebreakers, finished in a surprising scoreless draw. But both teams held serve the rest of the way, defeating each of their other opponents. The final game pitted the Timbers against the Tacoma Tide, where a potential 2-0 Timbers victory would lead to a coin flip. They did exactly that. The Pumas and Timbers are tied on points, head-to-head, goal difference (+7), and goals scored (7). The first time a lottery was conducted was back in 2006, when the Des Moines Menace and Boulder Rapids Reserve finished dead even at second place in the Central Conference at 3-1 with a +5 GD and 7 goals scored. At the time, the top two in the conference qualified, and the Michigan Bucks won first place with a 4-0 record. The Menace won the lottery, and rode that all the way to the Third Round, which ended in a 2-1 loss to the Kansas City Wizards.

But Kitsap Pumas General Manager Ben Pecora had a great idea. The teams were to meet again at Portland’s Jeld-Wen Field on Friday anyway, why not make it a tiebreaker, to settle the score on the field? The Timbers, the USL, and US Soccer all agreed to it, and they will play on Friday, June 3 with the final US Open Cup spot on the line. If the game is tied after regulation, the match for regular season purposes will count as a draw, but the Open Cup spot will be decided by a penalty shootout.

NORTHWEST DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA GF GD
Kitsap Pumas 4 3 0 1 10 10 1 7 +7
Portland Timbers U23s 4 3 0 1 10 10 0 7 +7
North Sound SeaWolves 4 0 2 2 2 2 5 2 -3
Tacoma Tide 4 0 2 2 2 5 12 5 -5
Washington Crossfire 4 0 2 2 2 2 11 2 -6

Top team qualifies for the US Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes

USL Premier Development League tiebreakers

(1) Head-to-head record based on total points in Open Cup qualifiers

(2) Total wins in Open Cup qualifying games

(3) Goal difference (+/- 3 goals maximum for each USOC qualifier)

(4) Goals scored (+/- 3 goals maximum for each USOC qualifier)

(5) Lottery conducted by the USL

All times Eastern

May 7 Washington Crossfire 0:0 North Sound SeaWolves 10:00
May 13 North Sound SeaWolves 2:2 Tacoma Tide 10:00
May 14 Washington Crossfire 0:3 Kitsap Pumas 4:00
May 15 Portland Timbers U23s 6:0 Washington Crossfire 9:00
May 21 Portland Timbers U23s 0:0 Kitsap Pumas 10:00
May 23 Tacoma Tide 2:2 Washington Crossfire 10:00
May 25 North Sound SeaWolves 0:2 Portland Timbers U23s 2:00
May 27 Kitsap Pumas 6:1 Tacoma Tide 10:00
May 29 Kitsap Pumas 1:0 North Sound SeaWolves 6:00
May 29 Tacoma Tide 0:2 Portland Timbers U23s 8:00
FIFTH MATCH TIEBREAKER
June 3 Kitsap Pumas at Portland Timbers U23s 2:00

Southwest Division
Final Results

The Fresno Fuego finished qualifying with a perfect 4-0 record after defeating the Ogden Outlaws 4-1 on May 21. They then had to wait a week for fellow unbeaten Ventura County Fusion to play its final match as the Fusion were capable of finishing level, but better on tiebreakers. On Saturday night, the holiday weekend news was cause for celebration in Los Angeles while their rivals to the north experienced disappointment. Ventura County blanked the Southern California Seahorses , 4-0, with Mark Magee scoring two goals that propelled the Fusion past Fresno in the tiebreakers, clinching the US Open Cup berth from the division. Southern California was also 3-0 in the battle of unbeatens, but had been previously eliminated due to the tiebreaker scenario with Fresno.

SOUTHWEST DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA GF GD
Ventura County Fusion 4 4 0 0 12 21 3 12 +12
Fresno Fuego 4 4 0 0 12 13 3 11 +10
Southern California Seahorses 4 3 1 0 9 5 4 5 +1
Orange County Blue Star 4 2 2 0 6 11 9 8 +1
Ogden Outlaws 4 0 3 1 1 3 9 3 -6
BYU Cougars 4 1 2 1 4 1 5 1 -4
Los Angeles Misioneros 4 0 4 0 0 1 13 1 -9
Los Angeles Blues 23 4 1 3 0 3 2 11 2 -6

Top team qualifies for the US Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes

USL Premier Development League tiebreakers

(1) Head-to-head record based on total points in Open Cup qualifiers

(2) Total wins in Open Cup qualifying games

(3) Goal difference (+/- 3 goals maximum for each USOC qualifier)

(4) Goals scored (+/- 3 goals maximum for each USOC qualifier)

(5) Lottery conducted by the USL

All times Eastern

May 1 Orange County Blue Star 4:0 Los Angeles Misioneros 8:00
May 7 Los Angeles Blues 23 0:5 Orange County Blue Star 8:00
May 7 Ventura County Fusion 6:1 Los Angeles Misioneros 8:00
May 12 BYU Cougars 0:2 Fresno Fuego 10:00
May 13 Los Angeles Blues 23 0:4 Ventura County Fusion 10:00
May 14 Los Angeles Misioneros 0:1 So. California Seahorses 7:30
May 14 Ogden Outlaws 2:4 Fresno Fuego 10:00
May 20 Fresno Fuego 3:0 BYU Cougars 10:00
May 20 Orange County Blue Star 2:7 Ventura County Fusion 10:00
May 21 Fresno Fuego 4:1 Ogden Outlaws 8:00
May 21 So. California Seahorses 2:0 Los Angeles Blues 23 10:00
May 24 Ogden Outlaws 0:0 BYU Cougars 9:30
May 25 So. California Seahorses 2:0 Orange County Blue Star 8:00
May 28 BYU Cougars 1:0 Ogden Outlaws 8:00
May 28 Los Angeles Misioneros 0:2 Los Angeles Blues 23 10:00
May 28 Ventura County Fusion 4:0 So. California Seahorses 10:00

Breakdown for 2011 USL PDL US Open Cup Qualifying: Western Conference

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PDL logoThe 2011 US Open Cup qualifying process for the Premier Development League begins April 30 when the Central Florida Kraze play host to Fort Lauderdale Schulz. The match marks the beginning of what is arguably the most exciting portion of the event for the league as the task of qualifying can be more daunting than the professional opponents awaiting them in the tournament proper.

In the upcoming edition of the tournament, the PDL will be represented by a record nine clubs after seven consecutive years with eight representatives. With nine berths available, the league will send one from each division based on four league contests that will double as qualification matches – a format long established by the parent United Soccer Leagues.

Here is the Western Conference portion of the four-part series of breakdowns:

Western Conference Qualifying Breakdown

The conference will be the second to kick off qualifying play across the PDL with Orange County Blue Star taking on the Los Angeles Misioneros Sunday, May 1, the day after the opening match in Florida.

Northwest Division
Kitsap Pumas, North Sound SeaWolves, Portland Timbers U23s, Tacoma Tide, Washington Crossfire

With five teams in the group, it’s a nice balanced schedule as they will each play one another in the qualifying process. The big change to the division for the year is the geographic isolation to the Pacific side of the region with all five clubs, including the expansion North Sound SeaWolves, on the Western side of the Cascade mountain range for the first time.

Paul Ogunyemi (now with FC Dallas) and the Portland Timbers U23s finished with a perfect record last year en route to winning the PDL championship, but missed out on the US Open Cup due to a tiebreaker. Photo: Portland Timbers

In a strange quirk of the scheduling Washington Crossfire will be the opening match for three of its opponents with the exception being the Tacoma Tide, who will see the Crossfire in their second outing. Washington will hit the road for the group’s opening night May 7 against the expansion SeaWolves, who will also play on closing night of the qualifying campaign as hosts of Kitsap Pumas. The other match that night, May 29, features Tacoma at Portland Timbers U23s.

The powers of the group over the past two years have been the Portland (7-1-0) and Kitsap (7-0-1). The two will meet in Kitsap May 21. It will be the first meeting of the two third-year clubs in qualifying play while Portland holds the advantage in league play over the course of two years with a 3-1-1 record, sweeping the Pumas in three games en route to their perfect championship season last year. But while Portland has the better overall results, it is Kitsap that has advanced the past two years from the group, besting Portland on tiebreakers a year ago after each finished 4-0-0.

The Tide are no slouches either with a 7-5-4 record over the past four years in qualifying, never finishing with a losing record in a single campaign. Washington’s history has not been all that horrible as well with a 3-4-1 record in two rounds through the circuit.

NORTHWEST DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA GF GD
Kitsap Pumas 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
North Sound SeaWolves 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
Portland Timbers U23s 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
Tacoma Tide 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
Washington Crossfire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0

Top team qualifies for the US Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes

USL Premier Development League tiebreakers

(1) Head-to-head record based on total points in Open Cup qualifiers

(2) Total wins in Open Cup qualifying games

(3) Goal difference (+/- 3 goals maximum for each USOC qualifier)

(4) Goals scored (+/- 3 goals maximum for each USOC qualifier)

(5) Lottery conducted by the USL

All times Eastern

May 7 Washington Crossfire at North Sound SeaWolves 10:00
May 14 Washington Crossfire at Kitsap Pumas 10:00
May 15 Portland Timbers U23s at Washington Crossfire 6:00
May 21 Portland Timbers U23s at Kitsap Pumas 10:00
May 21 North Sound SeaWolves at Tacoma Tide 10:00
May 23 Tacoma Tide at Washington Crossfire 10:00
May 25 North Sound SeaWolves at Portland Timbers U23s 2:00
May 27 Kitsap Pumas at Tacoma Tide 10:00
May 29 Kitsap Pumas at North Sound SeaWolves 6:00
May 29 Tacoma Tide at Portland Timbers U23s 8:00

Southwest Division
BYU Cougars, Fresno Fuego, Los Angeles Blues 23, Los Angeles Misioneros, Ogden Outlaws, Orange County Blue Star, Southern California Seahorses, Ventura County Fusion

A large group with eight teams, the division has been split into two sub-groups for scheduling purposes based on geography. The five teams in the greater Los Angeles metropolis are in the southern group while the BYU Cougars, Ogden Outlaws and Fresno Fuego are in the other.

The smaller group of the two will see the three clubs playing home and away series against their opposition. There is not very much qualifying history between the trio as the two clubs from Utah joined the division just two years ago. The only match among them in two qualifying campaigns is a 4-0 home victory for Fresno over Ogden last year.

Bright Dike of the Portland Timbers battles for the ball with Dan Scott of the Kitsap Pumas in the second round of the 2010 US Open Cup. The Pumas have qualified the last years, but have been eliminated by the Timbers both times. Photo: Prost Amerika

BYU has had the most success of the three with a four-year qualifying record of 8-5-3 while Fresno is an even 6-6-4 and Ogden is 3-10-3. While all three have reached the tournament, none have done so since 2007 when BYU advanced for the second consecutive time. Ogden also qualified in 2006 and Fresno’s lone appearance came in 2003.

With the other sub-group consisting of five teams in arguably the smallest geographic region of any bunching within the entire PDL qualifying process, the clubs will all face one another. Among the five are two fresh faces as the Los Angeles Legends becoming the Misioneros and the LA Blues 23, affiliated with the LA Blues USL Pro club, replacing Hollywood United Hitmen. The Misioneros

The three teams within the group with tournament experience have consecutively represented the Southwest the past three years with Ventura County Fusion finishing first last year after Orange County Blue Star in 2009 and Los Angeles Legends in 2008. With at least two wins in each of the last four years, the Legends held the best record in that span with a run of 9-5-2 while Ventura County is 8-4-4 and Orange County is 6-5-5. Blue Star has been in the tournament more than any other club in all of the division with three appearances.

Veteran club Southern California Seahorses and newcomers LA Blues 23 are the lone teams in the division who have not reached the tournament. The Seahorses know this year’s opposition well having played three of their slated opponents in qualifiers last year as well.

The Southwest Division was the only group a year ago in which every team finished with at least one victory during the qualifying process. It is one of only five groups in the course of the last four years in which that has occurred.

The division wastes no time getting started with Misioneros playing host to Orange County on the First of May. The northern cluster of teams begins the qualification process May 12 with BYU visiting Fresno. May 28 marks the close of the qualifying quest with three games. The Utah duo meet in Ogden while Blues 23 hosts the Misioneros and the Fusion hit the road to face the Seahorses.

SOUTHWEST DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA GF GD
BYU Cougars 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
Fresno Fuego 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
Los Angeles Blues 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
Los Angeles Misioneros 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
Ogden Outlaws 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
Orange County Blue Star 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
Southern California Seahorses 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
Ventura County Fusion 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0

Top team qualifies for the US Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes

USL Premier Development League tiebreakers

(1) Head-to-head record based on total points in Open Cup qualifiers

(2) Total wins in Open Cup qualifying games

(3) Goal difference (+/- 3 goals maximum for each USOC qualifier)

(4) Goals scored (+/- 3 goals maximum for each USOC qualifier)

(5) Lottery conducted by the USL

All times Eastern

May 1 Orange County Blue Star at Los Angeles Misioneros 9:00
May 7 Los Angeles Blues 23 at Orange County Blue Star 8:00
May 7 Ventura County Fusion at Los Angeles Misioneros 9:00
May 12 BYU Cougars at Fresno Fuego 10:00
May 13 Los Angeles Blues 23 at Ventura County Fusion 10:00
May 14 Los Angeles Misioneros at Southern California Seahorses 7:30
May 14 Ogden Outlaws at Fresno Fuego 10:00
May 20 Fresno Fuego at BYU Cougars 9:30
May 20 Orange County Blue Star at Ventura County Fusion 10:00
May 21 Fresno Fuego at Ogden Outlaws 8:00
May 21 Southern California Seahorses at Los Angeles Blues 23 10:00
May 24 Ogden Outlaws at BYU Cougars 9:30
May 25 Southern California Seahorses at Orange County Blue Star 8:00
May 28 BYU Cougars at Ogden Outlaws 8:00
May 28 Los Angeles Misioneros at Los Angeles Blues 23 10:00
May 28 Ventura County Fusion at Southern California Seahorses 10:00

Central Conference (Inside Look +)

Great Lakes Division: Akron Summit Assault, Chicago Fire, Cincinnati Kings, Indiana Invaders, Michigan Bucks, River City Rovers
Heartland Division: Des Moines Menace, Kansas City Brass, Real Colorado Foxes, Springfield Demize, St Louis Lions

Eastern Conference (Inside Look +)

Mid Atlantic Division: Brooklyn Knights, Central Jersey Spartans, Jersey Express, Long Island Rough Riders, New Jersey Rangers, Ocean City Nor’easters, Reading United AC, Westchester Flames
Northeast Division: MPS Portland Phoenix, Seacoast United Phantoms, Vermont Voltage, Western Mass Pioneers
South Atlantic Division: Carolina Dynamo, Fredericksburg Hotspur, Northern Virginia Royals, Real Maryland Monarchs, Virginia Beach Piranhas, West Virginia Chaos

Southern Conference (Inside Look +)

Mid South Division: Baton Rouge Capitals, Chivas El Paso Patriots, Laredo Heat, New Orleans Jesters, RGV Grandes FC, West Texas United Sockers
Southeast Division: Central Florida Kraze, FC Jaxy Destroyers, Fort Lauderdale Schulz Academy, IMG Bradenton Academics, Mississippi Brilla, Nashville Metros

2010 PDL qualifying recap: 8 teams qualify after tiebreakers, failed perfection, final day drama

by

PDL qualification for this season is complete, with eight teams punching their ticket to the 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The qualifiers – and their competitors – had to deal with multiple tiebreakers and plenty of final day nail biting action. Even then, for two teams, a perfect 4-0-0 record wasn’t enough to send them through.

CENTRAL CONFERENCE

GREAT LAKES DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA GF GD
Dayton Dutch Lions 4 3 0 1 10 8 1 7 +7
Michigan Bucks 4 3 1 0 9 8 3 8 +5
Chicago Fire 4 2 1 1 7 5 3 5 +2
Indiana Invaders 4 2 1 1 7 4 3 4 +1
Cleveland Internationals 4 1 2 1 4 4 9 4 -5
Cincinnati Kings 4 1 3 0 3 6 8 6 -2
Kalamazoo Outrage 4 0 4 0 0 3 11 3 -8

Top team qualifies for the U.S. Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes

HEARTLAND DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA GF GD
Des Moines Menace 4 3 1 0 9 7 4 7 +3
Rochester Thunder 4 2 1 1 7 5 2 5 +3
Real Colorado Foxes 4 2 1 1 7 7 4 6 +2
St. Louis Lions 4 2 2 0 6 7 5 6 +1
Kansas City Brass 4 1 2 1 4 2 6 2 -3
Springfield Demize 4 0 3 1 1 2 9 2 -6

Top team qualifies for the U.S. Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes
EASTERN CONFERENCE

MID-ATLANTIC DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA GF GD
Reading United AC 4 4 0 0 12 13 1 10 +9
Ironbound Express 4 4 0 0 12 9 0 9 +9
New Jersey Rangers 4 3 1 0 9 7 3 7 +4
Carolina Dynamo 4 2 1 1 7 11 7 7 +3
Central Jersey Spartans 4 1 2 1 4 3 6 3 -3
West Virginia Chaos 4 1 3 0 3 2 7 2 -5
Ocean City Nor’easters 4 0 2 2 2 4 8 4 -4
Northern Virginia Royals 4 0 3 1 1 5 13 5 -6
Hampton Roads Piranhas 4 0 3 1 1 3 12 3 -7

Top team qualifies for the U.S. Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes

NORTHEAST DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA GF GD
Long Island Rough Riders 4 3 0 1 10 9 2 6 +5
Albany BWP Highlanders 4 3 0 1 10 10 6 9 +4
Western Mass Pioneers 4 2 1 1 7 7 3 6 +3
MPS Portland Phoenix 4 1 0 3 6 6 3 6 +3
New Hampshire Phantoms 4 1 1 2 5 3 2 3 +1
Vermont Voltage 4 1 3 0 3 4 14 4 -7
Westchester Flames 4 0 2 2 2 2 6 2 -4
Brooklyn Knights 4 0 4 0 0 5 10 5 -5

Top team qualifies for the U.S. Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes
SOUTHERN CONFERENCE

MID-SOUTH DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA GF GD
DFW Tornados 4 3 1 0 9 6 2 6 +4
Rio Grande Valley Bravos 4 2 1 1 7 5 4 5 +1
Laredo Heat 4 2 2 0 6 11 5 8 +3
El Paso Patriots 4 2 2 0 6 4 8 4 -1
West Texas United Sockers 4 2 2 0 6 4 6 4 -2
Houston Leones 4 0 3 1 1 2 7 2 -5

Top team qualifies for the U.S. Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes

SOUTHEAST DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA GF GD
Central Florida Kraze 4 3 0 1 10 12 2 10 +8
Mississippi Brilla 4 3 0 1 10 11 2 9 +7
Baton Rouge Capitals 4 2 0 2 8 5 2 5 +3
New Orleans Jesters 4 2 2 0 6 11 7 7 +2
Atlanta Blackhawks 4 1 1 2 5 6 6 4 +0
Bradenton Academics 4 1 2 1 4 2 7 2 -3
Nashville Metros 4 1 2 1 4 1 5 1 -4
Fort Lauderdale Schulz Academy 4 0 4 0 0 0 10 0 -8

Top team qualifies for the U.S. Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes
WESTERN CONFERENCE

NORTHWEST DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA GF GD
Kitsap Pumas 4 4 0 0 12 12 0 11 +11
Portland Timbers U23s 4 4 0 0 12 9 1 9 +8
Tacoma Tide 4 2 2 0 6 8 6 6 +2
Yakima Reds 4 1 3 0 3 2 10 2 -7
Washington Crossfire 4 1 3 0 3 8 8 4 -2
Spokane Spiders 4 0 4 0 0 3 17 3 -12

Top team qualifies for the U.S. Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes

SOUTHWEST DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA GF GD
Ventura County Fusion 4 3 1 0 9 10 3 8 +5
Orange County Blue Star 4 2 0 2 8 14 6 9 +6
Los Angeles Legends 4 2 1 1 7 8 4 8 +4
Fresno Fuego 4 1 1 2 5 11 12 10 +0
Lancaster Rattlers 4 1 1 2 5 4 8 4 -2
BYU Cougars 4 1 2 1 4 4 5 4 -1
Hollywood United Hitmen 4 1 2 1 4 6 8 6 -2
Ogden Outlaws 4 1 2 1 4 4 10 4 -5
Southern California Seahorses 4 1 3 0 3 2 7 2 -5

Top team qualifies for the U.S. Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes

CENTRAL CONFERENCE

Great Lakes Division

With a week to go, Dayton and Chicago both led the division at 2-0. The Fire would stumble for the next two games, losing to Cincinnati and tying in Cleveland, allowing the Michigan Bucks to pass them, which they did so by defeating  Kalamazoo on the road and Cincinnati in a late game-winner. Dayton tied Indiana, which meant that they had to win in Kalamazoo in order to pass the Bucks and qualify for their first Open Cup. They took care of business by winning 4-1 to finish with a 3-0-1 record, one point ahead of Michigan.

Heartland Division

After last week, this division came down to one game, as Des Moines sat at 3-1, with Rochester on their heels at 2-1. Rochester needed to defeat the Kansas City Brass in order to qualify. The score was no matter as they held the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Menace. However, they couldn’t complete their task, tying Kansas City 0-0. This allowed Des Moines to qualify for their fifth trip to the US Open Cup. They share a record (with the Carolina Dynamo) for the furthest advancement by a PDL team, making it to the Fourth Round in 2005. Can they go further? It all starts with game #1 on June 15.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Mid-Atlantic Division

Two teams went all out in making sure they had their chance to make the US Open Cup: the Ironbound Express of Newark and Reading United AC (formerly the Reading Rage). Ironbound made their case by shutting out all the teams on their schedule, defeating the West Virginia Chaos, Central Jersey Spartans, New Jersey Rangers, and Ocean City FC. They finished with 9 goals scored. At the time, Reading was 2-0, having beaten Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia, and had a +5 goal differential with 6 goals scored. They would need to win both their games (both on the road) by a total of 4 goals, as well as having to  in order to make the tournament. Any slip up, and Ironbound were Open Cup-bound. They proceeded to beat West Virginia 1-0 and Carolina 4-0, finishing at 4-0 with a +9 goal differential (tying Ironbound) and 10 goals scored (edging the Express by 1 goal). With that, Reading United qualify for the US Open Cup for the second straight year, and their fourth trip overall. Ironbound received the unfortunate distinction of being the third team since the current PDL qualifying format began in 1997 to win all four of their games and still miss the tournament (the other two being the Colorado Comets in 1999 and the Southern California Seahorses in 2005). However, out of those three teams, they are the first to miss out after earning shutout victories in all four of their qualifying games.

Northeast Division

The Albany BWP Highlanders and Long Island Rough Riders were the two teams left in the running with a week to go. Albany had finished their campaign at 3-0-1, with Long Island sitting at 3-0 with a game in Westchester to play. A draw was all they needed to qualify, and a draw is what they got. They tied the Flames 0-0 to qualify for the US Open Cup for the fifth time, and their second as a PDL team.

SOUTHERN CONFERENCE

Mid-South Division

Three teams were in the running with a week remaining: DFW and El Paso, who sat in the drivers’ seats at 2-0, and Rio Grande Valley, who were at 0-1-1, but had games against both of those clubs remaining. The Bravos started their comeback with a 1-0 win over the Tornados, pulling themselves within two points. Meanwhile, the Patriots dropped a humiliating 6-0 result to the Laredo Heat. RGV then took care of business and finished off El Paso with a 2-0 win, to put themselves at 7 points. DFW then needed a win over Houston to qualify, as RGV held the head-to-head tiebreaker between the clubs. The Tornados did their job to fend off the comeback kids, beating the Leones 1-0 to qualify for their fourth US Open Cup, and their first since 2004.

Southeast Division

The loss of the Panama City Pirates made a serious mess in how division qualification worked here in the Southeast, and New Orleans and Central Florida had to adjust their schedules accordingly. The Jesters had a match against Bradenton count double for them, while the Kraze had an extra game against Fort Lauderdale only count for themselves and not for Schulz Academy. Both took advantage of their “extra” qualifying games, winning 5-0 and 3-1, respectively. Then the race to the finish got crazy, as three of the five teams still in the running did all they could to make it to the tournament. First, the Kraze defeated Atlanta to go to 2-o-1, tying Mississippi at the top, while knocking the longshot Blackhawks out. Then, in a matchup to decide who still got a chance, Baton Rouge defeated the Jesters 2-1 to move into the lead at 2-0-2, knocking New Orleans out. They would then have to wait for results from the Brilla and Kraze. Mississippi would bump the Capitals with a 3-0 win over Nashville to finish at 3-0-1, but their trip wasn’t quite booked yet. Central Florida had to win by 3 to make it, and win by 3 they did. A 3-0 victory over Schulz Academy gave the Kraze their first trip to the US Open Cup since 2007.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Northwest Division

The Kitsap Pumas and Portland Timbers U23s both lined up with the same schedule, and all at the same site (Tacoma/Washington at home, Spokane/Yakima on the road). They both proceeded to take care of business and win all four of their games. The final day consisted of the Timbers playing in Yakima and Kitsap hosting the Crossfire. Portland needed to better the result of the Pumas in order to qualify. They did their job, defeating the Reds 2-0, but then would have to wait and see how Kitsap would respond. The Pumas did so by defeating Washington 2-0 themselves, making the US Open Cup for the second straight year, in only their second year of existence. In the same token, Portland becomes the fourth team in PDL qualifying history – and the second of the DAY – to finish 4-0 and not qualify for the Open Cup.

Southwest Division

The Ventura County Fusion, the defending champions of the Premier Development League, are well on their way to a repeat, currently with a 4-1 record. Their first task, qualifying for the 2010 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup (their first), had already been achieved with a game to spare. They stand at 3-0, defeating Lancaster, Ogden, and Southern California. No other team can finish with more than eight points.

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