Dulles Sportsplex Aegean Hawks manager Jonathan Knight brings his club, new sponsor and all, into the 2009 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup with a better view of their situation than in 2007. “You can’t measure the power of that experience.” Knight says of their 2007 trip to Harrisburg, which ended in a 4-0 loss for Hawks.
“I think in 2007 there was an unstated belief, a naiveté that we would get to this level every year.” The Hawks missed out on the 2008 Cup with a 3-2 loss to New York Pancyprian Freedoms in the USASA Region I semifinals, but now that they are back and more prepared for their 2009 trip to nearby Rockville, Maryland to face Real Maryland FC.