The First Round of the 2018 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup is in the books and it featured plenty of drama as teams advance to Round 2. Of the 22 teams that advanced to the Second Round, 22 of them will face professional teams from the United Soccer League.
US Open Cup Central
2018 US Open Cup Round 1: Cup veterans Reading United edge 2017 darling Christos FC in PKs
After going down a goal early against Christos FC in their Lamar Hunt US Open Cup First Round match, Reading United AC buckled down and went to work. Thanks to a second half goal and five successful penalty kick strikes, Reading ousted last season’s Cinderella 5-4 in PKs.
2018 US Open Cup Round 1: Ocean City Nor’easters earn 11th shutout in US Open Cup win at AFC Ann Arbor
The Nor’easters had to make the long trip to Southeast Michigan for their opening round game and they received goals from Williams N’Dah, Simone Raioli and last year’s leading scorer Fredinho Mompremier.
2018 Meet the Underdogs: Red Force FC return to US Open Cup hoping to shed underdog title
Last year, we talked about how Red Force was a family affair. After their success in local tournaments and qualifying for the 2018 edition of the US Open Cup for the fourth time in six years, they are looking to shed the title of “underdog”.
2018 Meet the Underdogs: Miami-based FC Kendall expanding beyond their Uruguayan roots
FC Kendall were founded as Uruguay Kendall FC in 2008 “to represent the Uruguayan roots of its founders and majority of its players in the local league of Kendall.”
2018 US Open Cup statistical leaders
All statistics updated through May 8, 2018
2018 Meet the Underdogs: Arizona Sahuaros are reborn as Sporting AZ FC
Sporting AZ traces its roots back to 1989, when they were founded as the Phoenix Hearts and after a known as the Arizona Sahuaros, a team that made six US Open Cup appearances (1998, 1999, 2006, 2008-10).
2018 US Open Cup: Pros from Miami FC 2 are too much for FC Miami City
While uniforms are largely the same, the name of the team is slightly different, and it is technically a new franchise but Miami FC 2 of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) continued its senior team’s form in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.
2018 US Open Cup: Hansen’s brace helps Brooklyn Italians stun NY Cosmos
Despite only training together for a couple days before the match, the Italians were the ones with the winning strategy in the match and rode two second-half goals from Rasmus Hansen to end the Cosmos’ cup aspirations with a 3-2 win.
2018 US Open Cup: Armada edge The Villages SC, face short turnaround for next round
As a late addition into the 2018 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, the Jacksonville Armada FC came ready to play as they kicked off against The Villages SC Sunday night at Southern Oak Stadium on the campus of Jacksonville University.