Meet the Underdogs

2016 Meet the Underdogs: UPSL’s LA Wolves rose from ashes, set to make US Open Cup debut

May 11, 2016 by Zach Smith

LA Wolves FC was 24 hours away from turning the lights off on their franchise.

With finances of running a fourth-tier franchise becoming increasingly difficult, the Wolves got a pair of major corporate sponsors to keep them afloat. Just over a year later, they’re preparing to face off with PDL stalwarts Ventura County Fusion in the first round of the US Open Cup Wednesday at 7 p.m. PT at the Ventura College Sportsplex.

“We’ve not only been able to expand the first team to another level, but we have two reserve teams and we have a youth program,” LA Wolves President and CEO Yan Skwara said. “In two years, we’ve gone from zero to 100 to almost out of business. Now we’re rising again.”

LA, which won the UPSL Western Conference for the second straight season, qualified for the US Open Cup thanks to a pair of 2-1 wins, first beating Del Rey City FC and then against well-known giant killers Cal FC on Nov. 21.

The original LA Wolves were one of the founding members of the United Soccer Association in 1966 before the league merged with the National Professional Soccer League to form the NASL in 1967. Chick Hern, the legendary voice of the Los Angeles Lakers was also the voice of the Wolves. They played in the Los Angeles Coliseum and won the USA championship before folding in 1968.

Skwara started the club two years ago, seeing there was a gap in competitive play after the youth level. LA dominated its first-ever game with a 6-0 win against Orange County Crew in October 2014.

“Our goal from the get-go was to launch the Wolves into the market as a pro-development football club,” Skwara said. “We like working with players that are at a high level and want to get to the next level. There’s a huge amount of talent, especially in Los Angeles.”

LA Wolves FC Del Rey City — LA Wolves and Del Rey City battle for the ball in a 2016 US Open Cup qualifying match. Photo: LA Wolves FC

In UPSL winter action, the Wolves finished 11-1-4 and won the Western Conference and were led by Paolo Cardozo with 16 goals and Miguel Sanchez with 11. The defense, led by goalkeeper Kifi Kalani, had seven shutouts. In the last two years, LA has won 30 of its 36 UPSL games.

There aren’t many players from the current iteration of the club that have gone on to play at the next level. Cameron Marlow played with the team last year before going to Scotland to play for Queen’s Park Football Club in the Scottish second division.

While the Wolves are making their first-ever Open Cup appearance this year, Ventura County has qualified for the tournament in each of the last seven seasons and set a new Modern Era amatuer record with at least one win in the last five tournaments.

“They’ve been here before so this is old hat for them,” Skwara said. “They have a core base of players who have been playing in the Open Cup for five years, so this is no walk in the park. Our guys are ready to take it on and we can come through the other side.”

The winner of the Wolves-Ventura County game will host the OC Blues of the USL in the second round on May 18.

Despite the familiar opponent and underdog role the team has adopted, Skwara knows there’s no room for mistakes. All in all, he said the Open Cup has been a wonderful experience for the young club thus far.

“The Open Cup, without a question, is great because you can feel the electricity in the air,” he said. “The players are at a different level mentally. Regardless of who you’re playing, it’s going to be very intense and it’s all business.”

2016 Meet the Underdogs: US Open Cup debutant Outbreak SC proves that practice is overrated

May 11, 2016 by Brandon Gee

As of late last week, according to Outbreak SC’s player/manager, Trent Bryson, the team had only had three practices in the past 10 years. In spite of that, this group of friends from around Orange County, Calif. have won their division five times in the last six years, and are now gearing up for a first round Lamar Hunt US Open Cup match Wednesday against the Seattle Sounders U23s.

Yet this is not a team lacking pedigree. Nearly all of them played collegiate soccer, mostly for schools around southern California like Cal State Fullerton, UC-Irvine and UCLA. They even have Jason Boyce, a former professional player on the roster, who played for the USL Premier Development League (PDL) with Orange County Zodiac, in MLS with the Colorado Rapids and Miami Fusion after a college career at the University of Washington. He also played professionally in Seattle for the Sounders in their USL A-League days. This isn’t Boyce’s first chance at an Open Cup upset. He was on the amateur Hollywood United squad that knocked out the Portland Timbers, who were USL First Division team at the time) back in the first round of the 2008 tournament. Bryson said the team has never recruited solely for skill, instead opting for recommendations from current players on new guys who fit the personality of the club first.

The fact is that they don’t practice because of everyone managing careers, families and other responsibilities. Four players work with Bryson at a financial firm. Most guys keep their fitness up by playing in weekly recreational leagues, indoor soccer or futsal at one of the facilities near Long Beach where Outbreak got its name. They barely have time for drills before their Sunday matches in the SoCal Premier League’s Major Division.

Outbreak SC San Pedro Monsters — Players from Outbreak FC (blue) and the San Pedro Monsters battle for the ball in a 2016 US Open Cup qualifying match. Photo: Joe Walsh

Although they won that division last year, Outbreak SC earned their way to this moment by entering the US Soccer Federation’s Open Division qualifying tournament. In their first-ever Open Cup match, they easily dispatched Buena Park FC 5-1 on Oct. 25, then weeks later in their second round match, they fought off the San Pedro Monsters, who tied the game with two goals in last 15 minutes of regulation, to pull out a dramatic 4-3 win in extra time.

They’ll face a Sounders U-23 team that finished third in the PDL’s Northwest division, but ended up qualifying for the playoffs and reaching the PDL Semifinals. They’re returning a good number of players from last year’s squad including leading scorer Michael Bazja. When asked if Outbreak heading into the game at the end of their 16-game season (where they wrapped up the title on May 1) gave them an edge over Seattle, with a roster of college-age athletes playing together in their first match of the year tonight, Bryson deflected, saying, “I’m more worried about us nursing injuries than us being in game shape. I guess that’s when age gets to you.”

The youngest player on Outbreak is 26, but most are between 35 and 40.

“We just play well together,” said Bryson. “There are no superstars on the team.”

They rely on the fact that this crew of players have played together for so long that they just know where their teammates are going to be. Despite the age difference, Bryson said the part of their success is the confidence they have “when we show up, we expect to win games.”

Outbreak SC

A member of the SoCal Premier League’s Major Division, a step below the Premier Division (which was just won by past Open Cup darlings PSA Elite), Outbreak doesn’t plan on stepping up a level.

“This is truly about playing for the love of the game,” said Bryson. “None of us have any vision of going pro. We do more off the field than on the field.”

He added that the team “is more about the camaraderie amongst the guys.” As for the team’s goals for the Open Cup, they’re taking it game-by-game and, despite their confidence, admit some surprise that they’ve gotten this far.

Traveling mid-week can be tricky for amateur teams and Outbreak is no different. They’ll be missing a few starters, one, Tomer Konowiecki, to a family vacation, the others due to being unable to get out of work. Even though Outbreak does field a reserve team in the SCPL that they could’ve added people from and had the option to pull in a couple ringers for the Open Cup games, Bryson said the players made a decision to stick with the collection of guys that got them into the tournament.

“We all have friends that are great players who we could’ve brought in, but we said “we got here together, we’re going to finish this off together.”

2016 Meet the Underdogs: Lansdowne Bhoys conquer New York City, have sights set on US Open Cup

May 10, 2016 by Craig Tower

Lansdowne Bhoys pose for a team photo before their US Open Cup qualifying match against Worcester FC. Photo: Lansdowne Bhoys FC

Lansdowne Bhoys are making their first appearance in the US Open Cup, but they are not a new club. The Bhoys played their first game in the 1997 in the third division of New York’s Cosmopolitan Soccer League, slowly rising in the ranks before capturing the title for the past two years running.

The Lansdowne Bhoys qualified for the US Open Cup through two qualifying rounds. On October 17 of last year, they downed Newtown Pride of Connecticut by a score of 3-0, followed by a 5-0 victory over Worcester FC of Massachusetts on November 15.

But they have bigger ambitions than winning CSL or qualifying for the US Open Cup – the Bhoys are gunning for a spot in the USL.

“It hasn’t been easy,” says the Bhoys manager and head coach Austin Friel. “Starting a club takes a lot of hard work and dedication – especially an amateur club. Six years ago, we were a mid-table club, fighting relegation in the CSL.”

Irish Roots

Lansdowne was founded by Irish immigrants in New York who frequented a bar by the same name. “Lansdowne” refers to the Lansdowne Road field that was the national stadium for Irish rugby and football until 2007. The immigrants also decided to pay homage to Celtic FC of Glasgow, Scotland, by borrowing the nickname “Bhoys.”

“The Irish community is massive,” says Friel. “Six or seven of my starters all came from Ireland. They had no friends here. They mix with all the other Irish guys. And Lansdowne gave them a base to make new friends and play their soccer at the weekend.”

“Now that Lansdowne’s getting bigger and bigger, there’s actually guys that are playing pro in Ireland that are actually approaching me now to play here.”

A Club Reborn

The current gaffer arrived on the scene as a Bhoys player 10 years ago when visiting his brother in the New York area. He played a few games when he was in town, but didn’t take a full role until he moved here from the Emerald Isle five years later.

“I started playing for Lansdowne and they were gradually getting just a little bit better then. We got a new president, William McGrory, about six years ago, and we put together a new board that helped organize the club, run it better, bring in better players and better coaches. I took over as manager three years ago. It’s just gone from strength to strength since then.”

While the club started as an adult club, the management is now turning its attention to youth soccer through an affiliation with Yonkers United and their 24 teams. “I’m the director of coaching for both Lansdowne Bhoys and Yonkers United. It’s like 60-70 percent Irish-American kids.”

Friel is bullish on building the club from the roots – both locally and internationally. “The Celtic affiliation just started this year. We actually have a summer camp here from the 5th to the 9th of July in Yonkers. Celtic will send their top youth coaches out here for the week, which is massive I think. And it also means a few of our teams go over to Glasgow each year and use their facilities and play in tournaments and play in friendlies. So it’s only making our club bigger and stronger.”

And this helps to explain his hopes for the club in the future. “As I see it, Lansdowne are a sleeping giant,” says Friel.

An Athletic Style

Lansdowne Bhoys win the 2013 Eastern NY Open Cup title. Photo: Lansdowne Bhoys Facebook page

Friel promises that fans can expect to see energetic soccer from his side as they face off against the Rough Riders.

“We play a high tempo, high press game, we like to dominate possession. When we don’t have possession, we try to get the ball back. We like to dominate games. We play a nice passing style. We have a lot of good skillful players on our team.”

The goals could come from anywhere on the field, according to Friel: “To be honest, our scoring is pretty divided out. My midfielders would score as many goals as my forwards would, and we actually get a lot of goals from fullback, believe it or not. But we don’t have a goal-getter, the goals are spread around.”

Friel cites several players to watch, including ex-Arsenal U-18 captain and Irish U-19 national team player Sean Kelly and Daryl Kavanagh, who won the league of Ireland title with St. Patrick’s Athletic in 2013. “Sean Kelly is an excellent defender. He’s an intelligent footballer, and as I said he scored two 25-yard free kicks the last two games. He’s a great leader also.”

Of forward Kavanagh, Friel says “He actually just scored a hat trick for us in our last league game. He’s a very good link-up player between our midfielders and our forwards, but he has an eye for goal also.”

“Then I have Craig Purcell who is another guy from Ireland, he’s a center midfielder. He’s very vital in our style of play because he forces teams into mistakes with his high work rate.”

If you think the entire team is made up of Irishmen, you’re wrong. In addition to a smattering of Gambians and a Pole, Friel cites two Jamaicans who are key to the team’s success.

“One plays up top and one plays winger. The one up top is Sikele Sylvester. I think he’s one of most talented guy I’ve ever seen playing local football. Then obviously we have the lightning pace of Jamaican Ovan Oakley. He’s a winger, and he’s been on the scoresheet recently.”

Prospects Against the Rough Riders

Manager Friel measures his words carefully in talking about the Rough Riders. “I totally respect the rough Riders. They’ve been about for years, they’ve produced some good players, some players who went on to play a good level professionally. But, as I said, I don’t fear anyone.”

But the Bhoys have two main advantages over the Long Island outfit.

“We’ve been playing since September. They’re still getting organized, and I know it’s a lot of work for them, and they’re getting their paperwork sorted, getting their college kids back, some of them are in their finals. So maybe they don’t have their full squad available.”

The game would be a difficult task, then, for any PDL team as they prepare to face an in-form local side with international talent.

But Friel may have something else up his sleeve.

“Believe it or not, we have five Rough Rider guys playing for us not them. Five starters from last year on their team are going to be starting for us.”

Whatever the outcome on May 11, it’s likely that US soccer fans will be hearing more from Austin Frield and the Lansdowne Bhoys.

2016 Meet the Underdogs: Three-time champ Pancyprian Freedoms seek to add to club’s rich US Open Cup history

May 10, 2016 by Jack Cumming

New York Pancyprian Freedoms 2015 Team Photo

With a rich history in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the New York Pancyprian-Freedoms go into the 103rd edition of the tournament hoping to add to it, starting out tomorrow by hosting the USL PDL’s New York Red Bulls U23s (7:30 p.m., Belson Stadium, Jamaica, NY).

Representing the Cosmopolitan Soccer League in this year’s competition, the Astoria-based neighborhood club has won the crown three times, in 1979, 1980, and 1982. They have also had recent success winning the USASA equivalent of the competition in 2008, 2010, and 2011. Given their experience in the tournament, look out for this Helenic underdog as a potential upset.

Though the Red Bulls bring a big name to the tournament, the Freedoms will look for their strong following and supporters to keep provide a difficult environment for their opponents.

In addition to packing their home ground at Belson Stadium on the campus of St. John’s University, the Pancyprian-Freedoms will look to strong team play in order to advance to the next round.

“We rely on team play rather than on individuals,” said Freedoms’ team manager George Halkadis. “We have vast experienced players, the majority of which have played NCAA Division I soccer, many of which have gone on to play overseas, in the MLS, and the NASL.”

USASA teams have had recent success in the U.S. Open Cup. Chula Vista FC advanced to the third round before being bested by USL’s Sacramento City FC, and PSA Elite advanced to the fourth round of the tournament before losing to the LA Galaxy.

The Pancyprian-Freedoms will look to their favorable draw with the hopes of being the amateur team to advance furthest in the tournament. They play the winner of NPSL’s Clarkstown SC Eagles and PDL’s Jersey Express, dodging a USL opponent in the second round.

“I see the bracket draw as favorable,” Halkadis said. “We have a very good chance of getting to the third round. Being the last amateur club in the competition is . We’ll be more than satisfied if we get to that point.”

2016 Meet the Underdogs: Aromas Cafe FC embrace their “5000-to-1” odds in US Open Cup debut

May 10, 2016 by Sean Maslin

A debutant in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, Aromas Café FC is breaking ground not just in the Charlottesville area but also in the D.C. Metro area. The club’s victory against the Aegean Hawks was a watershed moment for the D.C.-Metro area as the Hawks have represented the state association at the region qualifying tournament nine of the last 10 years. That Aromas had also defeated a Tartan Devils side who have gone undefeated in the Greater Pittsburgh soccer league for three seasons should speak to the level of play of the Charlottesville team.

“Those were two great opponents who have a lot of great soccer and playing against them have definitely helped us prepare for this tournament,” said Aromas Café FC player-coach David Deaton.

Café FC is by no means a new team. Prior to securing a sponsorship deal with Aromas Café, a local French bistro from the Charlottesville area, the team played under various names in the region for close to a decade. It is a team made up of former Division 1 soccer players, and players from countries as diverse as Croatia, Morocco, and Mexico.

One name that might be familiar to soccer supporters from the D.C. –Metro area would be Jake Van Yahres. Van Yahres, who scored two of the club’s three goals against the Hawks, played for both American University and Virginia Commonwealth University. He was also named second team All-District in 2005 and Second Team All Region in 2004 for Charlottesville High School.

Despite their different backgrounds and experience levels Deaton believes what makes this team special is their bond.

“We may have 5000-1 odds of winning but in the history of this tournament smaller sides have succeeded when they are highly organized, they have good management, and play with purpose,” said Deaton.

Deaton believes his club’s background and experience will also come into play against their next opponents, the Richmond Strikers (who were known as Chesterfield United until a club merger shortly before the tournament).

“We feel very good ,” said Deaton. “They have a lot of players who are currently playing Division 1 soccer. But many of our players have also played Division 1 and we have tested ourselves in recent friendlies. We have also had players who have had the opportunity to go pro. There is no doubt that they are a talented squad; but we believe with our bond and our passion that we have a chance to win.”

Watch a local news story on Aromas Cafe FC below

2016 Meet the Underdogs: CD Motagua brings New Orleans flavor back to US Open Cup

May 10, 2016 by Harrison Huntley

Over the last few years, CD Motagua of New Orleans has established themselves as one of the top soccer clubs in the state of Louisiana. Yet, an amateur team from Louisiana has never qualified for Lamar Hunt US Open Cup in the Modern Era (1995-present).

Team representative Jonathan Rednour said that the team has had qualifying for the US Open Cup as their goal for the last few years.

“For the last five years, one of the main goals for our manager, and the boys, is to be more than just a local team. They want to push themselves,” said Rednour.

And push themselves they did. CD Motagua has won the International Soccer League Association of New Orleans (ISLANO) the last three years and the Louisiana Premier League the last two years. Unfortunately for the team, they’ve had a tough time trying to qualify for the Cup.

CD Motagua reached the USASA Region III tournament three times, which was one of the few paths open division teams had to qualify for the Open Cup prior to this year. Motagua fell short of the final twice, and in 2015, when they finally did win the regional tournament, the format had changed and last lost in the USASA national tournament. Finally, when the US Soccer Federation introduced its new open division qualifying tournament this year, they signed up and punched their ticket to the 103-year-old tournament.

“It’s been a journey for us, but one of our main goals is to get our guys out there and play on a national scale and put New Orleans and Louisiana on the map,” said Rednour. “We want to let people know that we got some great players down here.”

The club is the first amateur team from Louisiana to qualify in the Modern Era, but the New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers of the A-League (Division 2) made a brief two-game appearance in 1997. That team was led by a young Trinidad & Tobago striker named Stern John.

For those unfamiliar with New Orleans, the area is home to a large Honduran population. Since its founding in 1984, the squad has featured several Hondurans from the area. The Honduran players continue to fill much of the roster, and with the Honduran influence, CD Motagua has hosted friendlies with several professional teams from the country.

At CD Motagua’s founding, it was owned by a group of brothers: the Serrano brothers, the Martinez brothers and the Diaz brothers. Today, the Martinez brothers mostly run the show, but Dr. John Hamide purchased part of the team in 2010. Since then, Rednour says the team has been able to do much more.

“When Dr. John Hamide came aboard, he was able to help fund the team, and push us to the next level where we could start traveling and be a part of .”

CD Motagua has seen several of its players go on to play for professional and international teams. Anthony Peters is the most recent one, who is now with Tulsa Roughnecks. Carlos Palacios is just one of a handful of the club’s former players that have gone on to play for the Honduran National team.

The club’s current roster is largely composed of former college or former professional players. Rednour said that when the Baton Rouge Capitals folded, many of the players began playing with Motagua. Add in some former players from New Orleans’ NPSL team, the Jesters, and the roster becomes quite competitive.

Speaking of the Baton Rouge Capitals, one of their old counterparts in the PDL will face CD Motagua in their opening match. Mississippi Brilla will be Motagua’s first opponent with the winner advancing to face OKC Energy FC.

2016 Meet the Underdogs: West Chester United finally ready for US Open Cup debut

May 10, 2016 by Michael Berton

West Chester United prepares to face Junior Lone Star in 2016 US Open Cup qualifying.

A berth in the US Open Cup has been a long time coming for West Chester United.

A combination of losses and rule changes kept the amateur side from the Philadelphia area out of the Open Cup for four straight years—but all of that changed in 2016. For the first time in club history, West Chester United will play a Lamar Hunt US Open Cup match when the club takes the field against Fredericksburg FC on Wednesday.

Initially founded in 2008 as an over-30 team, West Chester quickly rose to prominence in the United Soccer League of Pennsylvania–a league that features Open Cup winning teams like United German Hungarians and Ukrainian Nationals, among other storied teams such as Vereinigung Erzgebirge and Phoenix SC. A majors team was soon created, and now West Chester has an expansive youth program and an under-23 side that is aiming to play in the NPSL next season.

West Chester founder Vince D’Ambrosio had big plans for his club. “The idea was always to enter cups and win as many trophies as possible. That give us a lot of soccer to play, and the trophies attract many high-quality players.”

In such a historic and soccer-rich region of the country, a more cautious person may have had lesser expectations. Instead, coach Blaise Santangelo and his team defied caution and began to win trophies, specifically in USASA Open Cup competition.

United won its first Eastern Pennsylvania Open Cup championship in 2011. The club followed this up with another victory in 2012. A historic three-peat was achieved in 2013, and a fourth title was earned in 2014.

West Chester United and Salone FC battle for the ball in 2016 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup qualifying. Photo: Kari Haffelfinger

The organization earned its trophies, but it struggled to take the next step forward–qualifying for the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. To do so, West Chester would have to win its region.

Fresh off its first Eastern PA Open Cup championship, United experienced USASA Region I play for the first time. That experience would prove short-lived, as United fell 3-1 to the Maryland Bays in the first round. In its second attempt a year later, West Chester hosted but lost to New Jersey side Icon FC.

After failing to qualify for the 2012 and 2013 editions of the Open Cup, a rule change for 2014 kept United out of the competition due to USASA changing its qualifying format. Another loss in its next qualifying attempt, again to the Maryland Bays, kept West Chester out of the 2015 tournament.

Things finally changed for West Chester in its next go-around. After winning its fourth-straight Eastern PA title, United got past FC Motown and Newtown Pride to win its first Region I championship. The club even went on to win the USASA National Championship. This time it was US Soccer’s turn to deny West Chester, as another rule change yet again modified the qualifying format.

“We lost four straight years, and then in the fifth year we finally won a regional game. We had our sights set on the Open Cup. We found out we weren’t getting an automatic bid prior to the USASA Open Cup finals. The guys were bummed,” Santangelo said.

The team pressed on, however. Under the new qualifying format, West Chester would have to win three games to get in. After beating two Philadelphia teams, United was prepared to play Southie FC out of Massachusetts. Another update came down from US Soccer, but this time it was to say that United had qualified for the 2016 US Open Cup.

West Chester United's Jason Ayoama celebrates a goal. Photo: Kari Haffelfinger — West Chester United’s Jason Ayoama celebrates a goal. Photo: Kari Haffelfinger

“The guys were really stoked,” said Santangelo. “They were ready to go and confident to play Southie FC. But we were happy to hear the news. Our guys felt vindicated–we felt that we should have been in the tournament anyway.”

West Chester features players that are full-time college coaches. Some run youth programs. Others have jobs in marketing, sales and accounting. Some are even in medical school. Regardless of their situations, every United player is ready for this new opportunity. Whether it means taking off work or missing class, all of United’s players will be on the bus to Virginia on Wednesday.

“It’s a really big honor to be a part of this tournament,” Santangelo said. “All of our players made commitments to step away from their everyday lives.”

The opponent is Fredericksburg FC, a team in the National Premier Soccer League. Unlike West Chester, Fredericksburg’s roster features mostly college players. Santangelo knows that the team they will face will be young and good, but he is hoping that his squad’s experience together will be a factor that leads to victory.

In addition to just wanting to win the game in front of them, a massive opportunity looms if West Chester can advance to the second round. If they win, United will get to host the pro side from the USL, and Open Cup giant killers, Harrisburg City Islanders.

Santangelo said, “That would be the highest honor we could achieve as an amateur club. To host and to have Harrisburg come to our venue would be monumental. It is all very exciting, but we have to take care of business first.”

It may have taken five years and multiple heartbreaks before finally making the US Open Cup, but winning a game and hosting a pro team would more than make up for it.

2016 Meet the Underdogs: Supporter-owned San Francisco City stepping up with reinforcements in US Open Cup

May 9, 2016 by Evan Ream

San Francisco City supporters cheer on their club during an exhibition game against San Francisco State. Photo: Caiti Franscell

After nearly a decade of absences, San Francisco will provide a team in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup for the second consecutive year with supporter-owned San Francisco City Football Club.

The city, which has provided three different champions to the tournament, had seen a dearth of squads qualify for the Open Cup since the demise of the California Victory in 2007.

Last year’s qualification for SF City brought the tournament back to the bay, where it lost 2-1 in controversial fashion at Kezar Stadium in the preliminary round in front of a record 1,419 fans.

This year, City are back, but amid much different circumstances.

After qualifying in 2015 as the lone representative of US Club Soccer by winning the NorCal Adult Premier League, SF City moved to the Premier Development League, considered as the strongest of the unsanctioned fourth divisions in the US.

“It’s definitely gonna be a step up in quality and we’ll be traveling a lot,” said president and CEO Jacques Pelham. “It’s gonna be a whole different experience than what we had this year for sure.”

Part of that extra travel— the club’s longest trip in the NorCal APL was roughly 70 miles northeast to Davis – included a weekend trip to Las Vegas where City was expected to open its season before bad weather resulted in a postponement.

Wednesday’s Open Cup game against CD Aguiluchos USA at the Beach Chalet Soccer Complex will mark the first time San Francisco fans will see their squad in action.

Previously, the club featured mostly former college players working full time in the city.

Now City will have the fitness of current college players, mostly drawn from around the area.

“There’s a core group of guys that are staying on from last year’s team, 10-to-12 of them, and then the remainder will be guys that we’ve recruited, a lot of guys from local colleges: University of San Francisco, San Francisco State, Stanford, Cal,” Pelham said. “We’ll be taking, basically the core group that played last year, and then complimenting them with some top level college guys from around the Bay Area, but also around the whole nation.”

In addition to the college players and club favorites like Johannes Dimarzi, whose winning goal against Davis punched City’s ticket to the Open Cup in a 4-3 thriller, the City roster was fortified this offseason by the signing of a player familiar to Northern California and Open Cup fans in Adnan Gabeljic.

The former Sacramento Republic FC striker, who scored a hat trick in a 7-3 Third Round Republic win in 2015, elected to not return to professional soccer after a trial with Atlas of Mexico early this year.

Though the Republic wanted him to return, the towering Bosnian elected to pursue a career in engineering in San Francisco.

Ironically, the winner of the City-Aguiluchos game will advance to take on the Republic at Bonney Field in Sacramento, giving Gabeljic a possible chance to knock out his former employer.

Also gone from the club are the Gardner brothers, Andrew and Jordan, who previously served as the head coach and general manager, respectively, of San Fran City.

While Andrew left soccer, Jordan took the reigns as the president of PDL rival Burlingame Dragons, who play just 15 miles south.

San Francisco City celebrate their 4-3 extra time win over Davis Legacy in the 2016 US Open Cup qualifying tournament. Photo: Instagram @SFCityFC

Replacing Andrew is USSF B License holder Paddy Coyne, a native of Ireland.

The club lists no official general manager on its website.

Off the field though, City are in somewhat of a transitional phase as the NASL recently announced the addition of a San Francisco-based club, the Deltas, which signed an agreement to play at the same home venue as SF City in Kezar Stadium.

Instead of looking at the NASL club as competition, Pelham sees the Deltas as a good thing for Bay Area soccer, aspiring to turn his club professional as well.

“From our perspective, first, we are playing to be at the professional level in one to two years time,” Pelham said. “We think that’s still on track. In terms of the Deltas, when they start in 2017, it will be good for soccer in general across San Francisco and the Bay Area. If all things go to plan, we’ll be playing professionally in 2017, 2018 as well. It will be exciting for everybody.”

Though he was mum on what league that would be, MLS seems out of reach and the NASL is already occupied, leaving the USL as the most likely candidate.

For now though, the club which is owned 51 percent by fans who buy memberships instead of tickets, Pelham and City are happy to ride the wave that is the Open Cup.

“I think our story is pretty cool,” he said. “Even where we were at last year and now PDL and potentially being professional within a year or two after making the jump to PDL, it will be an exciting time for us this year, it will be an exciting time for soccer in general in the Bay Area with everything going on with the Copa America and everything.”

2016 Meet the Underdogs: APSL champ Boca Raton FC begin US Open Cup debut with rematch

May 6, 2016 by Marissa Blackman

Boca Raton FC is a relatively recent addition to the APSL (American Premier Soccer League). The APSL is a small league comprised of amateur clubs in Florida. Boca Raton FC is a completely amateur team boasting plenty of local high school and college talents in its roster.

The club first began competing in May of 2015. Within its first year of existence, the club earned two titles from two APSL competitions and broke APSL attendance records.

In the APSL’s most recent fall season, Boca ended on top of the table four points ahead of its closest contenders. The club achieved an undefeated record, consisting of five wins and two draws, and maintained a 2.57 goals per game average with 18 goals in seven games.

Although Boca Raton FC is in an amateur league, the club has plenty of professional connections. During preseason, the club scrimmaged against Ukrainian giants Shaktar Donetsk FC and local NASL club Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

Colby Burdette and Gustavo Bergmann are two players that opposing teams should certainly keep an eye on. Burdette, a local soccer star, has been a dynamic force for teams around the city since high school. The 22-year-old has scored a career total of 12 goals for Boca Raton in league play. Bergmann has made contributions to the club with a total of eight assists.

This team has continued its record of trendsetting in open cup qualification. The club claimed the single APSL spot in the US Open Cup. In fact, Boca is the only amateur club in the state of Florida to advance past the qualifying rounds.

To qualify for round one, Boca Raton FC defeated fellow APSL competitors Real Miami Club of Football and Uruguay Kendall FC back in the fall of 2015. Boca defeated Miami 2-1 to kick off the competition, but drew 1-1 with Uruguay Kendall FC in the second round. This led to a thrilling 5-4 penalty kick shootout that would ultimately clinch a spot in the Open Cup for Boca for the first time.

The Open Cup journey continues for the club in a round one game against NPSL club Miami Fusion FC on May 11 at the North Miami Athletic Stadium. If Boca Raton FC advances, they will make a trip to the Carolinas to compete in the next round against USL side Wilmington Hammerheads FC. In between the two matches, the Floridian club will face its first match of the summer APSL season.

The biggest factor that will impeded progression for Boca Raton FC within the Open Cup is a lack of familiarity with its opponents. Most of the competition Boca Raton has faced has been amateur APSL clubs that compete against each other multiple times per year. Fortunately, at least for the first few rounds, many clubs will be facing unfamiliar opposition.

As explained by Boca Raton managing partner Douglas Heizer, the club has a round one advantage in this regard.

“We played in the fall tournament,” said Heizer. “We won all the times we played them.”

Although Miami Fusion is a NPSL club, the team also fielded a team in the APSL last season. In a semifinal match, Boca beat Miami 4-0. At the end of the season, Boca Raton finished seven points ahead of Miami. Heizer feels thise bodes well for his team’s Open Cup debut.

Miami Fusion FC boasts a better record within the NPSL. The club finished the 2015 NPSL season at the top of the Sunshine Conference with a 2.50 goal per game average and and 8-1-1 record. In only 10 regular season Sunshine Conference matches, the club scored 25 goals. The club went on to be knocked out of the NPSL playoffs during the southern semifinals. With two teams that score so often, the round one matchup could become a last goal wins situation.

HIGHLIGHTS: Boca Raton FC played an exhibition game vs. New York Cosmos

If Boca Raton advances to round two and faces the Wilmington Hammerheads, it will be defense rather than goal-scoring ability that will be put to the test. The USL club seems to be very skilled at keeping opposition out of the net in the early part of the league season this season with five goals allowed in the first six games.

Despite being rich with talent around the state, amateur teams from Florida have not performed well in the US Open Cup historically. Just one amateur team from the Sunshine State in the Modern Era (1995-present) has won multiple games in a single tournament. Orlando City U23s — now Kraze United — are the only team to advance beyond the Second Round when they reached Round 4 in 2014.

Will Boca Raton FC be the next small club to make it far, challenging professional teams, in this edition of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup? The bottom line is that in its short history Boca Raton has proven more than capable of scoring goals, and, needless to say, the team with the most goals wins. The beauty of the Open Cup is that anything can happen. Only time will tell.

2016 Meet the Underdogs: Harpo’s FC coach confident ahead of US Open Cup run, “we could win the USL”

May 5, 2016 by Robert Wilson

Harpo's FC celebrates a league game against FC Denver at Avery Brewing Co. in Boulder, Colo. Photo: Harpo's FC — Harpo’s FC celebrates a league game against FC Denver at Avery Brewing Co. in Boulder, Colo. Photo: Harpo’s FC

Started in 1997 as a way for University of Colorado players and their friends to get more games, Harpo’s Tavern sponsored a soccer team and started the local legend.

Johnny Freeston was part of the old crew and is now the owner and the man behind Harpo’s FC and their focus on winning at higher and higher levels.

“Last year we weren’t ready for the US Open Cup,” Freeston said. “This year it is our number one priority.”

Last season, Harpo’s had an attention-grabbing run, defeating amateur side KC Athletics at home and the PDL’s BYU Cougars away before ultimately falling away at the USL’s Colorado Springs Switchbacks.

The Colorado Rapids have been accommodating hosts for Harpo’s FC and other regional amateur rivals during their Open Cup run and qualifying matches, offering the practice fields at Dicks Sporting Goods Park as a consistent home base.

Grateful but ambitious, Harpo’s FC have set a goal for this year’s Cup run: to play on the Dick’s Sporting Goods Field pitch, inside the stadium – where the Rapids play their MLS home matches – against the highest competition the region has to offer, the Rapids themselves.

This run would require the fearless group to win two games on the road: at Albuquerque Sol (PDL) and at Colorado Springs Switchbacks (USL) in the month of May before being matched up with a NASL side or another side that has advanced this far. A win in this third round game would make a matchup of an amateur team vs. a top-division MLS team. Only five amateur clubs have knocked off an MLS team; Cal FC (2012), Michigan Bucks (2012, 2000), Dallas Roma (2006) and Chicago Shockers (2000) but Harpo’s owner Freeston repeatedly states that forcing this matchup is this year’s goal.

Harpo's FC celebrates their 2015 US Open Cup First Round win over KC Athletics. Photo: Richard Laeming Wheeler — Harpo’s FC celebrates their 2015 US Open Cup First Round win over KC Athletics. Photo: Richard Laeming Wheeler

There is no lack of confidence in this group. Head coach Steve Lepper, who grew up in Switzerland and came to the United States where he played soccer at Hope College (Division 3 school in Michigan) and played in the PDL for the now-defunct West Michigan Edge. He has coached at various clubs here in the States, and was the executive director at St. Vrain FC youth club in Longmont, Colo. for eight years and the Colorado Rapids U-23s. With his experience, Lapper is highly confident in the skills of the Harpo’s side.

“We think we could win the USL right now with the players we have,” says coach Lepper.

And Harpo’s does have an experienced and cohesive squad.

“We might be a pub team, we can’t train every day because of work and family, but on any given day we can hang with anyone,” said Freeston. “I desperately want to move up, I think all of our guys want to move up, our fans want us to move up and challenge ourselves at the highest level.”

The system that Lepper and Freeston have put together is a mixture of youth and experience, continuity mixed with constant competition. Lepper and Freeston have the ability to call upon 50-60 players at any given time, since they are not a professional team everyone has a job and a home life, but from that group the best 18 will suit up on match day.

This year’s squad returns almost all of their 2015 Open Cup starters including center forward Shane Wheeler, speedy frontman Dan Whittle, acrobatic goalkeeper Zac Gibbens, the team’s leading scorer/former Finnish pro Kyle Luetkehans, and offensive-minded wingback Sawyer Frank. Notable additions who will feature in this year’s Open Cup opener include Michael Ogletree, a veteran of MLS’ now-defunct Chivas USA, captain Dan Campbell, a D1 college player who has turned into one of the core players for both the outdoor side as well as the outstanding indoor side, as well as former USL Charlotte Eagles super-sub Chris Salvaggione.

Harpos' FC players battle for the ball in a league game against FC Denver. — Harpos’ FC players battle for the ball in a league game against FC Denver United. Photo: Richard Laeming Wheeler

2016 has begun in similar fashion to the previous year with Harpo’s FC dominating indoor Premier Arena Soccer League (PASL) play up until the final. Once again Harpo’s FC fell just short in the PASL final thriller to a Texas based club, this year it was RGV Devils in penalty kicks. The outdoor Colorado Amateur Soccer League (USSSA) Spring Season has recently kicked off and Harpo’s FC is in fine form, currently 3-0 with 12 goals scored and zero allowed in games vs. Union Jerez, Real Colorado and FC Denver United.

Last year, Harpo’s had to dethrone two-time defending USSSA champion Colorado Rovers to qualify for the Open Cup. This year, those two teams met again in the 2016 qualifying tournament. This year, Harpo’s did it again, by knocking off the Rovers 4-1 in the opening round. Harpo’s forward Daniel Whittle scored the opener before former MLS player Ritchie Kotschau equalized in the second half. The two Colorado Amateur Soccer League (CASL) rivals went into to overtime tied at one a piece. After 100 minutes of physical, back and forth soccer the rowdy Harpo’s support pushed the Boulder-based pub team past the exhausted Rovers with three knockout goals from captain Dan Campbell and well-traveled forward Chris Salvaggione to win 4-1.

In the next round, a 3-1 win over the Colorado Rush at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park Field No. 8 would prove to be the game that clinched a spot in the tournament. Last year’s TheCup.us Player of the Round from the Preliminary Round, Kyle Luetkehans, scored the opener, followed by Dan Campbell before halftime and Sawyer Frank adding the insurance goal in the 81st minute.

Wednesday, May 11, when Harpo’s FC takes the field in Albuquerque, they will not be the unknown quantity they were last season, but with their depth and continued form, the coaches and players expect this to be their best year yet. Their dreams are big, but they have the plan to take it one step at a time, and one of the most important steps is: might as well have fun while you are doing it, because you never know when another upstart #bullshitpubteam (the hashtag they started) might come out of nowhere and take it all away.

Watch a promotional video of Harpo’s FC below