In the second of our four previews of PDL qualifying, we take a look at the Eastern Conference which features three different divisions all fighting to send their best team to the tournament.
Western Mass Pioneers
2009 Second Round recap: Thriller in Carolina, Barons are last amateur survivor
The Ocean City Barons and the Wilmington Hammerheads pulled off the lone upset of the US Open Cup Second Round. The Barons get a penalty kick in the 108th minute and JT Noone breaks a scoreless tie and Ocean City earns a date with DC United at the Maryland Soccerplex in Round 3. The Barons, based on the rest of the results, won the $10,000 prize money as the amateur team that has advanced the farthest in the tournament.
2009 Second Round: City Islanders advance after dramatic PK shootout with Western Mass Pioneers
The Harrisburg City Islanders earned a rematch with the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer by defeating the Western Mass Pioneers on penalty kicks after as 0-0 draw.
Both teams played to a 0-0 draw after 90 minutes of normal time and 30 minutes of extra time. Western Mass held on for the scoreless draw despite being out shot 15-6 over the 120 minutes.
2009 First Round recap: Favorites survive first day, Barons pull off upset, Hawks just upset on day 2
If seeing the underdogs prevail is your thing, then you went to sleep disappointed last night.
Of the fourteen matches first round U.S. Open Cup matches last night, only one was won by a team from the lower division, and even that wasn’t much of an upset.
2009 First Round: Western Mass Pioneers win in-state battle with Emigrantes Das Ilhas, 3-2
The Western Mass Pioneers yet again survived an extra time scare from a USASA club, this time a 3-2 win over Emigrantes Das Ilhas.
The Brockton, Mass. USASA club took a 1-0 lead when Zico Viego booted a 20-yard shot past Pioneers goalkeeper Matt Jones. The USL2- team knotted the score just before halftime, when Jay Willis scored in first half stoppage time.
2008 Second Round: Nyazamba’s late goal lifts Kickers over Pioneers in physical battle
The Richmond Kickers traveled to Ludlow, Mass. and came away with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over the Western Mass Pioneers. Stanley Nyazamba’s 83rd minute goal proved to be the game-winner as the Kickers move on to the Third Round.
2008 First Round recap: Hollywood United historic upset headlines the opening round
In the lone upset in this year’s opening round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, Hollywood United became only the second USASA club to defeat a USL First Division team in the tournament, knocking off the Portland Timbers with a dramatic, stoppage-time goal from Earl Alexander.
2008 First Round: Pioneers survive Greek charge, top Olympiakos 2-0
In an ugly game hampered by the oppressive heat, the Western Mass Pioneers edged their USASA opponents from the eastern part of the state, Boston Olympiakos, by a 2-0 scoreline.
The Pioneers played the match with a heavy heart, as head coach Lesznek Wrona returned to his native Poland to attend his mother’s funeral.
2007 Second Round: Rhinos need OT to win physical battle with Western Mass
Despite out shooting the Pioneers 40-3, the Rochester Raging Rhinos needed a late goal and extra time to defeat the Western Mass Pioneers, 2-1 at PAETEC Park in Rochester.
2007 US Open Cup Round 1: Western Mass Pioneers avoid upset with late goals vs. Danbury United
In the opening match of the day, the Western Mass Pioneers needed extra time and a pair of penalty kicks to overcome the upset bid of the USASA’s Danbury United.
After playing a scoreless first half, former Pioneer Tony Fernandes was called for a foul on Everson Maciel, who appeared to exaggerate the contact to draw a penalty kick. Maciel converted the kick to give the USL-2 side a 1-0 lead. Danbury dramatically drew the game level in the 86th minute, when Mauro Costa headed in a free kick from Mauro Santos.