2015 US Open Cup

2015 US Open Cup Round 1: GBFC Thunder advance for first time, edging Western Mass Pioneers in PKs

May 18, 2015 by Brian O'Connell

Daniel Kraynak’s successful penalty sent Greater Binghamton Thunder FC (NPSL) on to the Second Round of the 2015 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup after beating Western Mass Pioneers (PDL) 4-3 in a shootout after a 1-1 draw on Wednesday at Lusitano Stadium.

After Thunder keeper Jason Stenta made his second penalty stop, Kraynak sent his shot left, where it deflected off the fingertips of Pioneers keeper Nick Zucco and fell into the back of the net to seal the first round result for the guests. For the Thunder it was the first time they will advance to the next round in their second straight attempt. Last year, they lost 5-2 at Reading United.

The match went to penalties after Thunder midfielder Zebulun Cross’ 53rd minute strike canceled out Ryan Taylor’s 24th minute goal.

Western Mass finished with 10 after Kyle Tomas received his second caution in the 57th minute.
With the win, the Thunder will face fellow Empire State squad the Rochester Rhinos on May 20 at Sahlen’s Stadium.

Although the guests prevailed in the end, it was the hosts who opened the scoring midway through the first half. With the Pioneers pushing forward, Zach Grady sent a cross to Taylor, who put it through in the 24th minute.

But not long after Taylor’s goal, an experienced Thunder selection started to make some headway of their own. Using the right flank to great effect, the guests nearly pulled one back right before halftime when Jacob Sutherland sent a low drive toward Zucco, who scooped it up and smothered it in the 44th minute.

Persistence eventually paid off for Greater Binghamton not long after the break. Sutherland sent a pass into the box for Cross, who poked it through to level the match in the 53rd minute.

Not long after Cross’ equalizer, the Pioneers dug themselves into a hole after Tomas was sent off after receiving his second caution. With only ten men for the duration, the hosts went with a 4-4-1, looking to find the go-ahead on a well-timed counter.

While that was taking place, the Thunder busied themselves by building out of the back and putting the Pioneers under siege. Slavisa Ubiparpovic curled a dangerous cross for Patrick Thompson in the 64th minute, but Zucco stood firm.

Cross made a bid for the game-winner in the 78th minute on a long-distance blast that briefly gave Zucco some trouble. But the Pioneers’ keeper quickly recovered the rebound, and the match went to extra time not long after.

Western Mass made its intentions known early on in the first period of extra time by stationing nine players in the final third. Down a man, and tired legs abound, the Pioneers were clearly looking ahead to penalties.

Greater Binghamton, to its credit, tried to permeate the defensive shell. Substitute Lucas Heffron found no fewer than three opportunities to grab the game-winner in extra time with 97th minute shot that required a reaction save from Zucco, and a pair of long-distance blasts veered just off target in the 115th and 120th minutes.

With the match knotted at 1-1 at the end of 120 minutes, the spotlight fell on Zucco and Stenta with penalties on tap. Stenta stopped Tyler Carlos and Marcelo Cunha on the Pioneers’ second and fifth tries, while Zucco denied Sutherland. Moments after Cunha’s effort was stopped, Kraynak converted to send the reigning Keystone Conference champions to Rochester for the second round.

2015 US Open Cup Round 1: Shorthanded Seacoast United Phantoms edge GPS Massachuetts for first win since 2006

May 18, 2015 by Bryan Lincks

The First Round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup was held at Buckingham Browne and Nichols Field in Cambridge, Mass. The match was between the USASA’s Global Premier Soccer (GPS) Massachusetts and the visiting side, Seacoast United Phantoms of the PDL. The Phantoms, making their first appearance in the tournament since 2006 when they were a USL-2 club (Div. 3), got a late winner from Sofiane Tergou to hand GPS its third straight loss in the competition, 2-1.

The Phantoms advance to Round 2 where they will travel to Oklahoma to take on the USL’s Tulsa Roughnecks.

The match began on a clear, crisp, New England evening, not far from the banks of the Charles River. The match began highly contested with both teams playing evenly. The home team struck first in the 15th minute as Harris Smirko delivered a corner kick that was nodded in by GPS defender Roy Sandeman. The rest of the first half continued to be back and forth. GPS got an impressive performance by their goalkeeper, Colin O’Donnell, who finished with three saves.

The second half started off very heated. Both teams were loudly going back and forth at one another. The game was very physical and both teams accumulated several yellow cards. There were 10 yellow cards handed out over the course of the game, but the biggest came in the 67th minute when Terence Carter of the Phantoms received his second yellow card and was sent off. Carter, who scored both goals in the Phantoms’ 2-0 season-opening win over the Boston Rams over the weekend, would leave United shorthanded up top.

A few minutes later, Seacoast was very fortunate to earn a penalty for a hard tackle in the box. The spot kick was expertly taken by Seacoast substitute and former Michigan Bucks forward Anthony Grant. Tempers continued to flare throughout the half.

In the 88th minute, Sofiane Tergou would net the eventual game winner for Seacoast after some impressive ball movement. GPS fought valiantly for the equalizer in the final minutes but their chances took a hit when Samuel Brill was sent off for his second yellow card in stoppage time. In the end, the referee blew the whistle and the Seacoast Phantoms were the winner.

The Phantoms hit the road to play the Tulsa Roughnecks on Wednesday, May 20 in Round 2. The Roughnecks enter the matchup 2-4-2 in the USL standings.

2015 US Open Cup Round 1: Michigan Bucks dominate Detroit City FC to kick off Motor City rivalry (video)

May 18, 2015 by Eric Wasser

In one of the most anticipated First Round games in Lamar Hunt US Open Cup modern era history, the Michigan Bucks cruised to a 3-0 win over Detroit City FC. It was the first meeting between the two Metro Detroit-based clubs and a match-up between the Bucks, the most successful amateur club in the recent tournament history, and City, an NPSL team that, modestly successful on the field, has built its national reputation on its passionate fanbase.

The chants of the Northern Guard Supporters, which started long before kickoff, were amplified even further by the fact that the game was played indoors at the Ultimate Soccer Arenas in Pontiac, Mich. However, despite being outnumbered and outsung, the home fans had plenty to cheer about as the Bucks got three first half goals from David Goldsmith, Peri Marosevic, and Brad Ruhaak. Le Rouge, as Detroit City is known, created few scoring chances and was held scoreless by goalkeeper Stephen Paterson.

The win snaps the Bucks’ three-game losing streak in the tournament and sends them to Round 2 where they will host the USL’s Portland Timbers 2 on May 20.

It was just the seventh indoor game ever played in US Open Cup history (the last six of them hosted by the Bucks at the USA), and it started out promising for Detroit City as the young team took advantage of their speedy University of Michigan forwards, James Murphy and William Mellors-Blair to create two good chances. Any high spirits for Le Rouge were crushed soon after as Calvin Rezende swung a long cross into a crowded box, which David Goldsmith volleyed in for the opening goal in the 7th minute.

Just two minutes later, Nick Wysong created a turnover just outside the box. The ball deflected off a Detroit City defender and onto the path of former MLS player Marosevic who beat the keeper to give the home team a 2-0 lead. For Marosevic, who spent time with FC Dallas, Toronto FC and most recently the New York Cosmos, it was his first Open Cup goal since he scored a hat trick for the Austin Aztex (Div. 2) against the Arizona Sahuaros (USASA) in 2010.

Then, in the 30th minute, Rezende dribbled to the corner and got past a defender and cut across the penalty area where the defense closed on him. After losing the ball for a moment, he was able to tap it out to Brad Ruhaak who rifled it in to the upper corner of the net from 25 yards out.

The Bucks took that 3-0 lead into the halftime break and after play resumed, the game settled into a rhythm as the Bucks developed methodically out of the back, stringing together short passes. Detroit City played a less patient game, generally playing long balls, creating fewer offensive threats.

Highlights: Detroit City FC at Michigan Bucks

Michigan Bucks head coach Demir Muftari

Detroit City head coach Ben Pirmann

2015 US Open Cup Round 1: Harpo’s FC pitches another shutout, reaches Round 2 with PK win over BYU (video)

May 16, 2015 by Robert Wilson

BYU's South Stadium in Provo, Utah — BYU’s South Stadium in Provo, Utah

Harpo’s FC (USSSA) defeated the BYU Cougars (PDL) 4-2 from the penalty spot after 120 minutes of scoreless soccer on the BYU campus. The result continues Harpo’s dream run into the second round when they return to the Centennial state to face Switchbacks FC (USL) at Sand Creek Stadium in Colorado Springs on May 20.

Both teams enjoyed large periods of possession and accurate passing on South Field, but with few quality attempts on net. From the beginning of the match, the older, more experienced Harpo’s squad successfully maintained an organized defense. As the game continued, the college-aged BYU attackers got closer and closer to breaking down the visitors with exceptional attacks from Pedro Vasconcelos, Jacob Ence, and Dallin Cutler.

“The hardest part was the guys were exhausted,” said Harpo’s manager Johnny Freeston. “We made our subs early so we could finish off the game in regulation, but that didn’t work. It was a big gamble, but my players dug deep to give everything they had.”

Harpo’s defenders Jose Matibag, Kevin Haber, Sawyer Frank, and goalkeeper Zac Gibbens stayed organized to keep BYU off the scoreboard during relentless attacks.

According to BYU head coach Chris Watkins, “It’s disappointing to lose a game like this. We gave them a little too much early in the game because we came out unsure of ourselves. Hat’s off to them. They were playing for overtime for the last hour or so. They parked the bus.”

Watkins redirected his young players during the break.

“We came out at halftime wanting to push the ball more,” Watkins said. “As they got more tired, we pushed more. The plan was working, but we just couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net.”

In the closing seconds of regulation, a long clearance found Vasconcelos in the BYU attack with one defender to beat before firing a potential game-winner. As he cocked his leg to shoot, Matibag cut him down with a clutch, yet controversial tackle outside of the penalty area.

During the extra 30 minutes, BYU attacked in waves with occasional counterattacks from Harpo’s. Both keepers — Gibbens for Harpo’s and Jake Peterson for BYU — had their moments preserving the shutouts and forcing the game to spot kicks.

Cutler shot first for BYU, placing the ball past Gibbens to give the Cougars the lead. Justin Geibel leveled the score for Harpo’s with a clean shot to Peterson’s right. Vasconcelos took BYU’s second shot, but Gibbens made the save and gave the visitors momentum.

Ben Iiames scored the second Harpo’s shot. Matt Rider followed for BYU and sent his attempt wide left. Corey Cullen stretched the score to 3-1 for Harpo’s, yet Ethan Meyer scored to keep the Cougars in the hunt at 3-2. But Sawyer Frank tucked away his shot to seal the game and send Harpo’s to their second-round match in Colorado Springs.

For Freeston, reaching the second round was an ambitious goal that the team clarified before the tournament. Freeston’s squad is familiar with the Switchbacks roster, most notably Switchbacks veteran captain Luke Vercollone, who trained with Freeston’s Avery Brewing FC over the winter. Most of all, Harpo’s players like Gibbons, Matibag, and striker Shane Wheeler are eager to continue their Cup run and hope to gain notoriety by proving their abilities above the amateur level. The determined Harpo’s squad believes they can play at a professional level, and USL exposure is what they were hoping for in this tournament.

After the game, the easy-going group from Boulder shared cans of Avery India Pale Ale and Ellie’s Brown Ale that they hauled for the road trip. Looking ahead?

“We envision beers, ice baths, rest, and unfortunately some of us have to go to work,” Freeston said. “People will rest up and take care of themselves. We’ll train accordingly. We’ll prep like we did for this, and we’ll be ready for Wednesday and give it our best.”

Patrick Shea of the website Current of Colorado also contributed to this report, along with producing the video below.

Highlights: Harpo’s FC at BYU
Harpo’s-BYU-USOC-Highlights-5-13-15 from Patrick Shea on Vimeo.

2015 US Open Cup Round 1: Lansing United need PKs to end RWB Adria’s Michigan reign

May 16, 2015 by Brooks Laimbeer

RWB Adria from Chicago have enjoyed playing soccer in the state of Michigan lately. Last year, they kicked off the 2014 US Open Cup by eliminating Detroit City FC in penalty kicks and followed that up a week later by upsetting the Michigan Bucks in overtime.

This year, they opened the 2015 tournament in East Lansing, Mich. to take on first-time entry Lansing United from the National Premier Soccer League. However, after 120 minutes of scoreless soccer, Lansing would deny RWB a third straight win in Michigan with a 4-2 victory in a penalty kick shootout.

It was Lansing United’s first-ever match in the Cup and it was the city of East Lansing’s first-ever time hosting a match.

“We talked about goal up, goal down, killing a game, chasing a game,” said Lansing United head coach Eric Rudland. “So tactically the guys were all prepared for this type of match and it really became that type of match where we sat in defensively and they sat in a bit the game never really opened up.”

In the next round, Lansing will return to play Louisville City FC from the USL on May 20 at Archer Stadium in East Lansing.

Marcelo Petit, Liam Madden, Matt Brown and Yves Nzwanga each made kicks from the spot while Quinn McAnaney saved one and a miss by RWB Adria led to Lansing’s victory.

RWB went first in as Antonio Aguilar was stopped by a diving McAnaney.

“That’s what you live for as a goalkeeper, you want to be in those positions and you just got to read what they’re doing and react,” McAnaney said. “All the pressure is on the shot taker in my opinion and I go in with that mentality and nothing to lose and came up with a big save.”

Petit, buried his shot into the lower right corner to give Lansing a 1-0 lead. The teams traded kicks in the second round and in the third round, Vlad Baciu a second half sub who was voted the Player of the Round in last year’s tournament, hit his penalty kick over the crossbar. It would turn out to hurt RWB as Brown converted his kick to make it 3-1.

Semir Mesanovic, converted his opportunity and put the pressure on Lansing to close out the game.

With the crowd on its feet, Nzwanga hit a shot towards the lower right corner, which skimmed off the goalkeepers’ fingertips to went in and give Lansing the win.

“Just getting a result tonight is massive whether it’s extra time PKs or in 90 minutes,” Rudland said. “For us as a club to be in the tournament is monumental and then to get the result tonight is just a great thing for us moving forward.”

In the first ten minutes of the match, RWB possessed the ball and put a lot of pressure on the United defense, which caused the United backline to make errors early in the match.

Lansing caught the Adria defense off guard in the fourth minute as Brown slipped behind the defense and hit a shot inside the 18-yard-box that went wide of the right post.

In the 26th minute, RWB responded as midfielder Derek Huffman hit a shot inside United’s 18-yard-box that rung off the crossbar near the upper right-hand corner of the goal.

Both teams would have a few more scoring opportunities, but none better than the ones in the first 30 minutes of the match.

Coming out of halftime, RWB replaced Huffman with Baciu, a strong and tall forward, who kept the United defense on their toes the entire second half.

“Jim (Fiscus) and Ben (Lamb) were so big there at the center back position because they had a couple center forwards that one big guy who I think subbed on in the second half was kind of a nuisance in the air but they did a great job holding them up,” McAnaney said.

In the 50th minute, Fiscus had a good look at goal off a corner kick from James DeCosemo, but Fiscus’ header was cleared away the RWB defender.

A few minutes later, Adria responded as midfielder and former Major League Soccer player Daniel Paladini ripped a shot 20 yards from goal that just missed the upper-left corner of the goal.

The game went back and forth the remaining 41 minutes of regulation as both teams got very few good looks at goal.

The game headed to extra time and in the 94th minute, RWB hit a dangerous cross into the United six-yard-box, which bounceed around the goal line and eventually was cleared by a United defender.

In the 97th minute, United forward Stephen Owusu got behind the Adria defense and headed a ball off the crossbar, but the ball was played a little too late as the linesman flagged Owusu for being offside.

RWB had another scoring opportunity as Baciu found himself open in the middle of the 18-yard-box in the 115th minute as he flicked a header towards the far post, but McAnaney easily made the save with two hands.

Penalty kick shootout: Lansing United vs. RWB Adria

Lansing United GM/Head Coach Eric Rudland

Lansing United GK Quin McAnaney

Lansing United’s Austin Dunn

Lansing United’s Yves Nzwanga

2015 US Open Cup Round 1: Des Moines Menace join 10-win club, 2-1 over Madison Fire SC

May 16, 2015 by Matthew De Witt

Players shaking hands in the parking lot did not take away from the Des Moines Menace coming together on Wednesday night.

Fielding a squad of local talent and college players just off for the summer, Des Moines moved onto the next round of the US Open Cup with a 2-1 win over Madison Fire SC in front of a home crowd at Valley Stadium. A more complete squad will be ready for Saint Louis FC on next Wednesday, May 20, in St. Louis, Mo.

“We’ve got guys showing up last night; we’ve got guys showing up today,” Matkovich said. “We need some time to organize together, time to train.”

Forward Vincent Cicciarelli made an immediate impact on the game, despite having been with the team for less than 24 hours. His goal in the 35th minute opened the scoring for the Menace. Charlie Bales sliced through the defense, dribbling through the Madison backline before finding the new forward open on the back post. Cicciarelli’s tap into the back of the net gave Des Moines a 1-0 lead at the half.

Bales, playing in his fifth season with the Menace, showed his experience for a second time in the match. Collecting the ball on the wing after a darting run from the back, his cross found the neon shoes of substitute Ramone Howell in front of the net. The fresh legs reached out for the ball and redirected the cross into the back of the net in the 62nd minute.

Madison made the game interesting late, with a penalty kick from Trevor Banks. The foul was called on Des Moines’ Alec Bartlett for muscling Ryan Hanna to the ground in the penalty area. Banks, despite the delay from goalkeeper Paul Blanchette arguing with the referee, spotted his shot in the shooter’s low-left corner in the 76th minute.

“We made it a little harder on ourselves than it needed to be,” Matkovich said. “I knew it would difficult; any Cup game is difficult. We’ve got to be better down the stretch. Those are lessons we’ll learn.”

While player-coach David Kommavang had some, Madison Fire came into the game without any Open Cup experience. The Fire, who compete in the Wisconsin Soccer League, earned their first trip to the tournament by winning a single qualifying game in the United States Adult Soccer Association. They defeated fellow Region II team FC Indiana 1-0 on Oct. 4. Kommavang’s time in the tournament happened in 2011, when he came on as a substitute for the Madison 56ers in their 4-0 win over the AAC Eagles (USASA).

The Menace’s sixth-consecutive appearance in the Open Cup – 10th overall – travels through St. Louis. In 2010, the Menace lost to AC St. Louis, 1-0, at home, continuing a streak of misfortune at Valley Stadium. From 2010-2012, all of the Menace’s tournament-ending games came in front of a home crowd.

“St. Louis will be exciting,” Bales said. “It’s going to be a good test, playing a USL squad, and seeing what level we’re really at.”

Having the weekend off will allow USL side Saint Louis FC more time to prepare for the second-round clash, while Des Moines opens the Premier Development League season with a game in Springfield, Mo. Wednesday’s Open Cup game is scheduled for 7 p.m.

MORE: Meet the Underdogs: Madison Fire make US Open Cup debut representing Wisconsin

2015 US Open Cup Round 1: Chattanooga FC goalkeeper uses hands, right foot to overcome Ocala Stampede in PKs (video)

May 16, 2015 by Jon Sicotte

Chattanooga FC used a late goal to propel them to extra time against the Ocala Stampede and goalkeeper Gregory Hartley scored from the mark to secure a victory in the First Round of the 2015 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

Luke Winter scored in the 87th minute and Hartley scored the final penalty kick goal for Chattanooga as they won the shootout, 4-2.

A spectacular late goal put the game into extra time as Chrispin Ochieng received a cross into the box and headed it to Winter who put his back heel on the ball, beating Ocala’s Lex Craggs for the tying mark.

A record opening-night crowd of 2,483 at Chattanooga’s Finley Stadium watched the Stampede of the PDL score in the 61st minute to take the initial lead.

Freddy Ruiz ran and give-and-go to the right side of Hartley, then fed a pass out to the top of the box, finding Lewis Hilton for the strike. His shot traveled low and to the right of Hartley to beat him and give the Stampede the lead.

A spirited first half saw neither team score, but both had their chances, especially in the final 15 minutes of the stanza.

Ocala cracked the crossbar in the 39th minute while two minutes later, Chattanooga went on the attack, but Craggs turned away the shot.

Both teams had chance to take the lead late in extra time, but could not capitalize.

In the 112th, Ocala got a feed into the box, but the shot went off the top of the striker’s foot and went high. Three minutes later, Chattanooga had its best chance as a feed in from the right side found its way onto a left-footed shot. The kick trickled by Craggs but a Ocala defender was able to knock the ball out. On the ensuing corner, Chattanooga also threatened, but a kick sailed wide.

In the 119th, Chattanooga got into Craggs’ box, but miscommunication between the two offensive players for CFC ended with no strike.

CFC advances to the US Open Cup Second Round and will head to North Carolina for a matchup with the USL’s Wilmington Hammerheads on May 20.

Chattanooga FC will look to build on a historic performance from last year. Then, they beat the Hammerheads to become the first NPSL side to upset a professional team in the tournament after 21 losses.

For Ocala, it was its third straight US Open Cup appearance. The match was its first match of the season. CFC opened play with a 6-0 win against the Georgia Revolution on May 9.

Highlights: Ocala Stampede at Chattanooga FC

Full match replay: Ocala Stampede at Chattanooga FC

2015 US Open Cup Round 1: Reading United wins 4th straight tournament opener, 1-0 over Maryland Bays

May 16, 2015 by Phil Naegely

Brett Campbell of Reading United scored what would prove to be the game-winning goal in the 19th minute against the Maryland Bays. Photo: Reading United

After being told just a few days before the match that they would be hosting their First Round Lamar Hunt US Open Cup match, Reading United faced Maryland Bays on Wednesday night. It didn’t take long for the USL PDL side to find the net in front of their home crowd at Exeter High School’s Don Thomas Stadium. United, who were making its seventh straight tournament appearance out of the Premier Development League, used that goal to hang on for a 1-0 win over the reigning USASA Region I Open Cup champions

In the 19th minute, after a few early scoring opportunities, Reading struck first. Brett Campbell poked home the eventual game-winner after receiving a pass from Neco Brett.

Playing with only one substitute, the Bays struggled to find many threating chances on net as Reading’s goalkeeper Kyle Morton showed zero rust in the PDL side’s first competitive game of 2015.

With the 1-0 victory, Reading United will host USL side and fellow Philadelphia Union affiliate Harrisburg City Islanders on May 20 at 7 p.m. This will be the third time the Union affiliates have faced off in US Open Cup play. In 2011 Harrisburg defeated Reading 2-1, while United upset the City Islanders 1-0 in 2013.

Reading defender Paul Marie challenges former Reading player Jon Ports of the Maryland Bays. Photo: Reading United AC

After the game Reading United head coach David Castellanos was proud of his side.

“A great goal by Brett Campbell and good build up all around. We’re going to take the positives away from the match, but we know we have a ton of work to do to get ready for Harrisburg,” said Castellanos. “There were pieces of good movement. Keegan Rosenberry did well and William Picoux came on in the second half and really moved that ball. Our backline played great. Kyle Morton in goal, he saved us.”

For United, a franchise that began its Open Cup history losing its first give games, have made history in recent years. This is the seventh year in a row that the club has qualified for the tournament, which a record for amateur teams in the Modern Era (1995-present). This game also marks the fourth year in a row that the club has won their opening match, which ties the Ventura County Fusion’s modern era record (2011-2014). The Fusion currently hold the record for longest unbeaten streak in consecutive tournament openers with five (2011-2015). The Chicago Fire PDL side won five straight opening round games, but not in consecutive seasons (2004-05, 2009, 2010, 2012).

The organization of the match was a challenge as the Maryland Bays had originally been awarded hosting rights. The opening game was scheduled to be played at Calvert Hall in Towson, Md. but the stadium was made unavailable due to safety concerns following the recent Baltimore riots. Scrambling to find a new venue, the Bays were able to find one at the University of Maryland – Baltimore County (UMBC). After renting the field, they were informed on Thursday that the person who rented it to them had done so in error, because the venue was not available because the stadium was under construction.

With less than a week until the match, the Bays were in desperation mode but somehow managed to find a field at Troy Park in Elkridge, Md. The condition of the field was good, but the venue didn’t have locker rooms, which is one of the US Soccer Federation’s minimum standards. Less than 48 hours before the game, the federation decided that Reading United would host the game.

2015 US Open Cup Round 1: Joe Holland carries Long Island Rough Riders to 3-1 win over Brooklyn Italians

May 13, 2015 by Michael Anderer

In what used to be a regular occurance in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, a battle between two teams from New York City has become more rare in the Modern Era (1995-present). For just the fifth time since 1995, two teams from the Big Apple squared off as the Long Island Rough Riders defeated the Brooklyn Italians 3-1. Long Island’s Joe Holland was involved in all three goals as he led the team with a pair of goals and an assist as the Rough Riders won their first US Open Cup game since 2012.

Rough Riders head coach Paul Roderick highlighted Holland as a player to watch in tonight’s US Open Cup match.

“Joe can sometimes be a hot and cold player, but when he’s on, it’s special”, Roderick shared as the teams warmed up. Another notable player for Long Island was Jimmy Nealis. Nealis was drafted in 2013 by the Houston Dynamo but injured in the preseason of that year. After rehabbing, he was signed by the New York Cosmos and played for two seasons.

Tonight was definitely one of the better performances for the emerging star. Holland and the Rough Riders wasted no time taking the game to visiting Brooklyn side scoring in the first minute. This was Joe Holland’s first US Open Cup goal. Long Island controlled the game for most of the first half with quick, smart play, but also helped by a Brooklyn attack that was constantly caught offsides and a slew of unforced turnovers by the back line.

In the 38th minute, Brooklyn’s Yannick Laroche drove into the box with a quick change of pace catching defender Danny Kreamer off balance forcing a Brooklyn penalty kick. Yvener Guerrier stepped up and cooly placed the shot past Joe Martin leveling the game at 1-1, a score that would stand for the rest of the first half.

Both squads remained unchanged to start the second half, but almost immediately Long Island would need to make a change. In the 46th minute, midfielder Dan Reid rolled his ankle. The injury would prove to be too much for him to return and Dom Iovino would enter in his place.

The second half was much improved on the first with both teams settling in. The play was organized and each chance was harder to earn, but equally more dangerous as they tried to break the deadlock. The Rough Riders, sensing they were close switched up the midfield again, subbing out Adriana Gabrielle for the fresh legs of Ben Withcomb in the 60th minute.

Four minute later, the constant pressure by Long Island forced another Brooklyn error as Alejandro Penzini was called for a handball in the box. Holland took the kick, but a fantastic diving effort by 19-year-old Michael Bernardi kept the score tied. While some might think the save by the Brooklyn keeper would have put momentum on their side, that was not the case tonight. In the 66th minute, Ben Wignall found himself with a clear look on the left side about twenty yards out. His laser beat a fully extended Bernandi and Long Island would take the lead 2-1.

The more fit and organized Long Island team continued to control the pace of the game and in the 74th minute, the star of the night, Holland scored his second putting the Rough Riders ahead 3-1.

The Italians would not let the game go without a fight. The late substitutions of Armen Katchaturian (Diego Zuniga), Kevin Lue (Yannick Laroche) and Vincent Benzecourt (Martin Williams) gave the attack a little more pace, but many of their chances were the result of individual effort and not team play. Long Island used their last sub in the bringing in Junior Rosero for goal scorer Wignall to keep the pressure and possession in the Brooklyn third.

At the final whistle it would remain a 3-1 win for the home side. Nealis after game while happy with the result knows the team can play better.

“It’s still the start of our season,” said Nealis. “It’s tough, we are still getting comfortable together, but the more we practice and the fitter we get, the better we will be.”

Entering the game, the Rough Riders had just one league game under their belt, a 3-1 home win in league play the previous Saturday. For Coach Roderick, with so little time together as a team, he’ll take the victory.

“In a cup, it’s nice to get any type of win,” said Roderick. “We made it harder than it needed to be. After the early goal we eased up a bit and credit to Brooklyn they fought back.”

Holland was proud of the way the team performed as well.

“Fantastic win,” said Holland. “In the first half we were a little haphazard and all over the place. Despite giving up the goal, we came out for the second half much more organized and compact and in the end it was comfortable.”

After the game the team immediately moved their attention to next week’s match as they will host the Real Monarchs, the United Soccer Leagues reserve team of Major League Soccer’s Real Salt Lake.

Holland knows that the match up against the USL side will be a tough challenge.

“I can’t wait,” said Holland. “It’s a good team, and obviously they have some professional links there so you’re going to see some good players. They move the ball around well as we do when we play right, so it should make for a very good game.”

Roderick gave a brief scouting report looking ahead to next year.

“Well, they will come in more fit and more organized,” said Roderick. “They are a team that trains everyday. But these are the games that our players want to be in, to play against the better clubs so it should be a great match.”

Former Long Island Rough Rider, Tyler Arnone currently plays with the Real Monarchs and will be making his return to Cy Donnelly stadium next week when the teams meet up Wednesday, May 20 at 8 p.m.