With a 3-1 victory over Chivas USA of Major League Soccer in the Third Round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, the Charleston Battery became the first USL team to advance to the Quarterfinals three years in a row. The main reason they were able to do that was Randi Patterson, who scored two goals in the match, and for his efforts, he has been voted as TheCup.us Player of the Round.
Wilmington Hammerheads
2009 Third Round recap: Portland, Seattle renew rivalry, Houston face Battery (again)
The underdogs of the USL ruled on day one of the Third Round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, but the Seattle Sounders and the Houston Dynamo each earned wins on Wednesday to level the tournament with four MLS teams and four USL teams in the Quarterfinals. For the second year in a row, the USL will have at least one team in the Semifinals.
The Houston Dynamo defeated the Austin Aztex 2-0 on Wednesday to set up a date with the Charleston Battery next Tuesday at Blackbaud Stadium. This will be the third year in a row that the Battery and the Dynamo square off in the Open Cup with Charleston eliminating Houston in both years.
2009 Third Round: Wilmington Hammerheads become first USL-2 team to upset Chicago Fire
The Wilmington Hammerheads beat an MLS team for the first time since 2003 (Dallas Burn) to advance to the Quarterfinals for the first time since that same year. They defeated the Chicago Fire by a scoreline of 1-0 at Legion Stadium in Wilmington, North Carolina. The loss marked the first time in franchise history that the Fire, a four-time US Open Cup champion, have been eliminated from the tournament by a USL Second Division team.
2009 Second Round: Q&A with Player of the Round Kenny Bundy of Wilmington Hammerheads
Wilmington Hammerheads midfielder Kenny Bundy has been named the TheCup.us Player of the Round for the Second Round of the 2009 tournament. Bundy came on as a 68th minute substitute for Wilmington in their match against the Carolina RailHawks of the USL First Division, and scored a goal in the final minute of extra time to tie the match at 3-3. Bundy also converted one of the Hammerheads’ penalty kicks in the tiebreaker.
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: Wilmington hold off RailHawks in PKs after goal-filled extra time session
Caleb Patterson made several great saves during regulation as the Carolina RailHawks battled the Wilmington Hammerheads in a wild Second Round US Open Cup match.
However, it was Daryl Sattler came up with the big saves in the shootout, stopping two penalty kicks to send the USL Second Division side into the Third Round thanks to a 4-3 advantage on PKs following a pulsating 3-3 draw at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.
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: Hammerheads pick up where they left off, eliminating Charlotte 2-0
After being away for two years, perhaps the Wilmington Hammerheads just wanted to be a little dramatic.
After 81 minutes of scoreless soccer, Jamie Watson finally broke the deadlock when he took a pass from Jamie Franks and beat Charlotte goalkeeper Kevin Trapp.