• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • US Open Cup Central
  • US Open Cup Qualifying
  • US Open Cup History
  • Amateur Cup

Complete U.S. Open Cup Coverage

  • 2025 USOC Schedule
  • 2025 USOC Stat Leaders
  • 2025 USOC Qualifying Results
  • TheCup.us Awards
  • Join TheCup.us Patreon!
  • Contact Us

West Texas United Sockers

2011 US Open Cup qualifying (PDL South): El Paso Patriots qualify, Central Florida Kraze repeats as entrant

May 21, 2011 by Tavio Palazzolo

PDL South 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 off 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 Southern Conference has undergone a massive overhaul from last year, including many new additions, as well as a few losses. One of those losses was the DFW Tornados, last year’s Mid-South representative and the last remaining USL franchise from its humble indoor beginnings back in 1986. Teams to watch for are the El Paso Patriots (who have qualified every odd-numbered year since 2001) and the Central Florida Kraze (last year’s Southeast representative). They have qualified three times each from the PDL. Ten other teams will be looking to earn their own opportunity to fight for the US Open Cup as one of two representatives from the South.

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

Mid-South Division
Final Results

The Chivas El Paso Patriots (as they are known this year) have qualified for their ninth US Open Cup (fourth as a member of the PDL) after defeating the Baton Rouge Capitals 1-0. With that, they finished with a perfect 4-0 record, and have continued their streak in qualifying for the US Open Cup every other year since 2001.

MID-SOUTH DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA GF GD
Chivas El Paso Patriots 4 4 0 0 12 7 2 7 +5
Laredo Heat 4 3 1 0 9 6 3 6 +3
New Orleans Jesters 4 2 2 0 6 5 6 5 -1
West Texas United Sockers 4 2 2 0 6 5 6 5 -1
Baton Rouge Capitals 4 1 3 0 3 2 4 2 -2
Rio Grande Valley Grandes 4 0 4 0 0 2 6 2 -4

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

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 13 Chivas El Paso Patriots 2:1 Rio Grande Valley Grandes 9:00
May 13 West Texas United Sockers 1:2 Laredo Heat 9:15
May 14 West Texas United Sockers 2:1 Rio Grande Valley Grandes 9:00
May 14 Chivas El Paso Patriots 1:0 Laredo Heat 9:15
May 19 Baton Rouge Capitals 1:2 West Texas United Sockers 8:30
May 19 New Orleans Jesters 1:3 Chivas El Paso Patriots 10:00
May 21 New Orleans Jesters 2:0 West Texas United Sockers 8:30
May 21 Baton Rouge Capitals 0:1 Chivas El Paso Patriots 10:00
May 27 Rio Grande Valley Grandes 0:1 Baton Rouge Capitals 8:00
May 27 Laredo Heat 3:1 New Orleans Jesters 8:00
May 28 Rio Grande Valley Grandes 0:1 New Orleans Jesters 8:00
May 29 Laredo Heat 1:0 Baton Rouge Capitals 8:00

Southeast Division
Final Results

The Central Florida Kraze didn’t have the easy road to the US Open Cup that they thought they did. The Mississippi Brilla are matching and beating the Kraze’s efforts, with three wins of their own. And what wins they are. Their last two results have been 5-0 wins against FC Jax Destroyers and the Nashville Metros – both on the road. Each had one home game left on the holiday weekend that would determine their fate. The Kraze fired the opening salvo Saturday evening with three second half goals from three different players to maximize their potential in the table from the match with a 3-0 victory against central Florida rival IMG Bradenton Academics. Central Florida, perfect at 4-0, took the advantage in tiebreakers, moving ahead of Brilla by one in goal differential and goals scored, but had to wait for Mississippi’s Monday finale at home versus Nashville to see if it holds up. With Brilla leading 2-1 late in the match it looked as though Mississippi was heading to the tournament – then disaster. A 90th minute Nashville strike leveled terms at 2-2 and when the final whistle blew moments later, Central Florida got the news that the Kraze had qualified for the second consecutive year.

SOUTHEAST DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA GF GD
Central Florida Kraze 4 4 0 0 12 10 1 10 +9
Mississippi Brilla 4 3 0 1 10 15 3 11 +8
Ft. Lauderdale Schulz Acad. 4 1 2 1 4 5 7 5 -2
FC Jax Destroyers 4 1 2 1 4 5 10 5 -3
Nashville Metros 4 0 2 2 2 4 11 4 -5
IMG Bradenton Academics 4 0 3 1 1 3 10 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

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

April 30 Ft. Lauderdale Schulz Acad. 0:1 Central Florida Kraze 4:00
May 6 Central Florida Kraze 3:1 Ft. Lauderdale Schulz Acad. 7:00
May 8 Ft. Lauderdale Schulz Acad. 1:0 Bradenton Academics 5:30
May 12 Central Florida Kraze 3:0 Bradenton Academics 5:30
May 13 FC Jax Destroyers 1:3 Mississippi Brilla 8:00
May 15 Bradenton Academics 3:3 Ft. Lauderdale Schulz Acad. 6:00
May 15 FC Jax Destroyers 2:0 Nashville Metros 8:00
May 19 Mississippi Brilla 5:0 FC Jax Destroyers 7:00
May 23 Nashville Metros 2:2 FC Jax Destroyers 7:00
May 26 Mississippi Brilla 5:0 Nashville Metros 8:00
May 28 Bradenton Academics 0:3 Central Florida Kraze 7:00
May 30 Nashville Metros 2:2 Mississippi Brilla 6:00

Filed Under: US Open Cup Tagged With: 2011 PDL Qualifying, 2011 US Open Cup qualifying, 2011 USOC Qualifying, Baton Rouge Capitals, Bradenton Academics, Central Florida Kraze, El Paso Patriots, FC Jax Destroyers, Fort Lauderdale Schulz Academy, Laredo Heat, Mississippi Brilla, Nashville Metros, New Orleans Jesters, PDL, Rio Grande Valley Grandes, West Texas United Sockers

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

April 13, 2011 by Gerald Barnhart

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 intense opening to any league season, making it the most pressure-packed portion of the PDL schedule league-wide. 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 Southern Conference portion of the four-part series of breakdowns:

Southern Conference Qualifying Breakdown

Mid South Division
Baton Rouge Capitals, Chivas El Paso Patriots, Laredo Heat, New Orleans Jesters, RGV Grandes FC, West Texas United Sockers

Previously an all-Texas group, the addition of the Baton Rouge Capitals and New Orleans Jesters marks the return of Lone Star State outsiders to the qualification process after a two-year absence.

Last year, Central Florida qualified for the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup

The bigger news for this division is how compact the nature of the qualification process will be as four of the six clubs will play all four of their designated matches within, at most, an 11-day span. The Capitals will play all four games in that period while their Louisiana counterparts will do the same in one fewer. The Chivas El Paso Patriots and West Texas United Sockers both will determine their fate during a stretch of nine days.

The only two clubs that will have the opportunity to relax and take their time in qualifying are the Laredo Heat and expansion side RGV Grandes. Both open the group’s fixture list May 13 at home as RGV plays host to El Paso and Laredo takes on West Texas. They also close out the campaign with RGV traveling to New Orleans May 28 and Laredo visiting Baton Rouge the following day.

But while the Louisiana duo are making a return to the group, the pair will not see one another during the qualifying process as each club will face their four Texas rivals, leaving the local derby for the rest of the season.

US Open Cup tournament history is extremely limited outside of El Paso, where the Patriots have appeared in the official bracket eight times through its storied past, which includes the 1995 US Open Cup Final. The only other appearance in the tournament proper among the six-team field was Laredo’s 2006 appearance.

El Paso and Laredo, historically, have been among the leaders in the qualifying process from the group with the Patriots boasting a 9-4-3 record over the past four years while the Heat were 7-5-4. The other three clubs, though, have respectable records for the past four years with New Orleans at 6-4-6, Baton Rouge at 5-7-4 and West Texas at an even 3-3-2 in its two-year history.

MID-SOUTH DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA GF GD
Baton Rouge Capitals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
El Paso Patriots 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
Laredo Heat 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
New Orleans Jesters 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
Rio Grande Valley Grandes 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
West Texas United Sockers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0

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

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 13 El Paso Patriots at Rio Grande Valley Grandes 9:00
May 13 West Texas United Sockers at Laredo Heat 9:15
May 14 West Texas United Sockers at Rio Grande Valley Grandes 9:00
May 14 El Paso Patriots at Laredo Heat 9:15
May 19 Baton Rouge Capitals at West Texas United Sockers 8:30
May 19 New Orleans Jesters at El Paso Patriots 10:00
May 21 New Orleans Jesters at West Texas United Sockers 8:30
May 21 Baton Rouge Capitals at El Paso Patriots 10:00
May 27 Rio Grande Valley Grandes at Baton Rouge Capitals 8:00
May 27 Laredo Heat at New Orleans Jesters 8:00
May 28 Rio Grande Valley Grandes at New Orleans Jesters 8:00
May 29 Laredo Heat at Baton Rouge Capitals 8:00


Southeast Division
Central Florida Kraze, FC Jax Destroyers, Fort Lauderdale Schulz Academy, IMG Bradenton Academics, Mississippi Brilla, Nashville Metros

While it is one of four six-team groups across the PDL, the Southeast faction is completely unique in that the fixture schedule features two sub-groups of three playing home and away schedules as their qualifying matches. As the northern-most Floridian side, the expansion Jax Destroyers of Jacksonville have been paired up with the Nashville Metros and Mississippi Brilla in one half while the trio of the Bradenton Academics, Central Florida Kraze and second-year Fort Lauderdale Schulz are in the other.

Mississippi Brilla 2010
Can the Mississippi Brilla return to the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup after falling just short in last season? Photo: Mississippi Brilla

The threesomes are fairly comparable as both feature a pair of veteran clubs along with a third that is only in its first or second season in the league.

Mississippi, a qualifier in 2009, is the standout of the northern trio as the club boasts an 8-4-4 record in qualifying over the last four years. Although Nashville has not been in the tournament since 2003, the club has not exactly been a doormat over the last four years with a record of 5-7-4. A year ago, Brilla won the lone qualifier between the two by a 3-0 scoreline as they swept the four game season series en route to finishing the season unbeaten at 11-0-3.

The all-Florida trio is a little more balanced as Central Florida is 9-5-2 over the past four years in its qualification efforts and Bradenton is 8-4-4. The Kraze took the top spot a year ago for their third appearance in the tournament while Bradenton’s lone appearance came in 2008. Fort Lauderdale had a rough outing a year ago with four losses, including a 3-1 defeat to the Kraze and 1-0 to the Academics. Bradenton and Central Florida did not face one another head-to-head a year ago, but split the regular season series with a pair of 1-0 decisions.

SOUTHEAST DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA GF GD
Bradenton Academics 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
Central Florida Kraze 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
FC Jax Destroyers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
Fort Lauderdale Schulz Academy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
Mississippi Brilla 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0
Nashville Metros 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0

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

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

April 30 Fort Lauderdale Schulz Academy at Central Florida Kraze 4:00
May 6 Central Florida Kraze at Fort Lauderdale Schulz Academy 7:00
May 8 Fort Lauderdale Schulz Academy at Bradenton Academics 5:30
May 12 Central Florida Kraze at Bradenton Academics 5:30
May 13 FC Jax Destroyers at Mississippi Brilla 8:00
May 15 FC Jax Destroyers at Nashville Metros 4:00
May 15 Bradenton Academics at Fort Lauderdale Schulz Academy 6:00
May 19 Mississippi Brilla at FC Jax Destroyers 7:00
May 23 Nashville Metros at FC Jax Destroyers 7:00
May 26 Mississippi Brilla at Nashville Metros 8:00
May 28 Bradenton Academics at Central Florida Kraze 4:00
May 30 Nashville Metros at Mississippi Brilla 6:00


Here is a quick look at all of the eligible clubs with links to previews by conference (as available):

Central Conference (Coming Soon)

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 (Coming Soon)

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, New Hampshire 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


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 Jax Destroyers, Fort Lauderdale Schulz Academy, IMG Bradenton Academics, Mississippi Brilla, Nashville Metros

Western Conference
(Coming Soon)

Northwest Division
: Kitsap Pumas, North Sound SeaWolves, Portland Timbers U23, Tacoma Tide, Washington Crossfire
Southwest Division: BYU Cougars, Fresno Fuego, LA Blues 23, Los Angeles Legends, Ogden Outlaws, Orange County Blue Star, Southern California Seahorses, Ventura County Fusion

Filed Under: US Open Cup Tagged With: 2011 PDL Qualifying, 2011 US Open Cup qualifying, 2011 USOC Qualifying, Baton Rouge Capitals, Bradenton Academics, Central Florida Kraze, El Paso Patriots, FC Jax Destroyers, Fort Lauderdale Schulz Academy, Laredo Heat, Mississippi Brilla, Nashville Metros, New Orleans Jesters, PDL, PDL Southern Conference, RGV Grandes FC, West Texas United Sockers

Primary Sidebar

Follow Us on Social Media

  • Bluesky
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

U.S. Open Cup History

Jim Gregory, president of Charleston Battery supporters group The Regiment (right), presents the Coffee Pot Cup to Sachin Shah after D.C. United's 2-0 win in the 2004 Carolina Challenge Cup. Photo: Mike Buytas

How a US Open Cup classic, locker room vandalism inspired fans to create Coffee Pot Cup

It remains one of the greatest games of the US Open Cup’s Modern Era but what happened after the game gets more attention than the instant classic that took place on the field.

  • Highs and lows of Los Angeles’ 25 all-time US Open Cup Final appearances
  • Before Lionel Messi’s 2023 US Open Cup impact, Pele changed the 1975 Final in a different way
  • A history of violence against referees in US Open Cup
  • How St. Petersburg Kickers became Florida’s first US Open Cup champion
  • San Francisco Bay Seals, the ‘amateur’ pro team that reached 1997 US Open Cup Semifinals

Analytics powered by

Copyright © 2025 • Built by Jacob Martella Web Development