Second Round Preview

One gripe, on a long list of many, about the US Open Cup is that the second round was announced weeks ago, and the third round is already announced. Honestly, is US Soccer so busy with the MNT in Barbados (yeah, right), the USWNT in the Peace Cup (what?), and the WNT U-20's also in World Cup Qualifying (sheesh), that they couldn't stage a lottery or drawing immediately after last week's action?

Knowing one's opponents weeks in advance takes all the drama, allure, and mystery from Cup competitions. Would the FA Cup this past year have been less impressive if Barnsley knew they had to play Chelsea after Liverpool? Yes, because being paired with the Blues immediately after dispatching the Reds was a cruel fate. But the Tykes overcame it in historic fashion.

And what made their run even more special, and dramatic considering they lost, was that they were then paired with fellow CCC side Cardiff City in the semifinal. Yet the Third Round of this competition pits every Second Round victor against an MLS team, which isn't surprising because the MLS always needs to prove its superiority and relevancy. How boring and disheartening is it for a USL-2 side that knows an upset over a USL-1 team is only going to be followed with a trip to say, DC United? Or that we all know its going to be an all MLS Quarter-, Semi- and Final?

Nonetheless, here's how the second round pairings pan out:

Harrisburg City Islanders vs. Crystal Palace Baltimore
Skyline Sports Complex, Harrisburg, PA - 7:05 PM

Western Mass Pioneers vs. Richmond Kickers
Lusitano Stadium, Ludlow, MA - 7:30 PM

Charleston Battery vs. Charlotte Eagles
Blackbaud Stadium, Charleston, SC - 7:30 PM

Carolina RailHawks vs. Real Maryland Monarchs
WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary, NC - 7:30 PM

Rochester Rhinos vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds
PAETEC Park, Rochester, NY - 7:30 PM

Miami FC vs. Atlanta Silverbacks
Tropical Park, Miami, FL - 8:00 PM

Minnesota Thunder vs. Cleveland City Stars
National Sports Center, Blaine, MN - 8:05 PM

Seattle Sounders vs. Hollywood United
Starfire Sports Complex, Tukwila, WA - 11:00 PM

Keep an eye out for the Seattle/Hollywood match, as a Seattle victory would add fuel to the (sadly) ending rivalry between Portland and Seattle. Also, five of the eight pairings are between USL-1 and USL-2 teams, so perhaps there will be some upsets this round. And I really want to complain that Crystal Palace USA isn't going to have a home game this entire Cup -- looks like I may have to go to Harrisburg to cover them. Yuck.

US Open Cup First Round

The first round surely wasn’t for the Cinderellas, as all but one lower tier club went out – and that includes all PDL clubs too. Additionally, eight of the fifteen matches were won by two goals or more.

There was a diamond in the rough though, as Hollywood United’s upset USL-1 side Portland Timbers 2-1 in Portland. And although not an upset, the PDL’s Austin Aztex U23 took USL-1 Atlanta Silverbacks all the way to penalties in a barnburner.

There is some video, and the Cup’s website had some great liveblogging, but wikipedia is still the best source. Nonetheless here are the highlights of the two aforementioned matches:

Portland’s PGE Park saw drama only cup competitions could provide. The scoring in the constantly swerving match began in the 32nd minute, when Timber Chris Brown slotted in a goal from a breakthrough. When Tim Karalexis committed a foul in the box, former Timber Matt Taylor nailed it just before halftime, equalizing the affair at one-all.

Just seven minutes into the second half, Arsene Oka received a cross from Neil Dombrowski and put the Timbers up 2-1. United Defender LJ Reinhaldt committed a foul in the box just moments later, yet Takayuki Suzuki’s effort was saved by United keeper Javier Bbarragan. Adding insult to injury, Oka’s follow up rebound was hit wide right. Ouch.

What little momentum remained in the Timbers camp evaporated when Matt Taylor was, again, called upon to score from the penalty spot. Which he did, again.

Then, at the death of the already remarkable match, former Derby County youth player Earl Alexander scored for Hollywood United. 3-2 to the boys from SoCal, and onto the second round they go.

Meanwhile, at Dragon Park in Round Rock, TX (where Dell is located) Atlanta and Austin Aztex U23 played that match that saw four goals scored, eight bookings, one red card, and a perfect 5-for-5 penalty shootout.

The scoring didn’t begin until stoppage time of the first half when Real Salt Lake draft bust Jamie Watson scored for Austin. Being given a PK, Atlanta’s David Hayes missed his opportunity. Yet fortunately, Mac Kandji equalized in the 81st minute thereby sending the game to extra time.

And from there it got crazy. In the 99th, Atlanta’s Chris Mahaffery was issued a straight red for “stepping on the keeper.” In the 101st Austin’s Willy Guadarrama scored to put the Aztex' up 2-1. In the 105th Austin’s Jorge Vega was booked. In the 113th David Hayes then sliced through Austin’s defense to be one-on-one with the goalie. Yet Hayes was taken down by keeper Miguel Gallardo (who was subsequently booked) and given another penalty – which he scored. Finishing the booking fiesta was Carlos Vicens, who was given a yellow in the 116th.

Atlanta then went five for five the penalty shootout. Beto Papendrea was the goat for the Aztex’, as his miss was the difference in the match.

Below are the results of the first round. The Real Maryland/New York game was postponed to Friday evening because it was thunder-storming like crazy here.

Carolina RailHawks (USL-1) 1-0 Brooklyn Knights (PDL)
Richmond Kickers (USL-2) 3-0 Fredericksburg Gunners (PDL)
Western Mass Pioneers (USL-2) 2-0 Boston Olympiakos (USASA)
AAC Eagles (USASA) 0-4 Pittsburgh Riverhounds (USL-2)
Michigan Bucks (PDL) 1-2 Cleveland City Stars (USL-1)
Minnesota Thunder (USL-1) 4-1 St. Louis Lions (USL-1)
Rochester Rhinos (USL-1) 2-1 RWB Adria (USASA)
Austin Aztex U23 (PDL) 2-2 (4-5) Atlanta Silverbacks (USL-1)
Charleston Battery (USL-1) 3-0 ASC New Stars (USASA)
Charlotte Eagles (USL-2) 5-2 Clearwater Galactics (USASA)
Miami FC (USL-1) 4-2 Brandenton Academics (PDL)
Arizona Sahuaros (USASA) 0-1 Seattle Sounders (USL-1)
Harrisburg City Islanders (USL-2) 5-1 Yakima Reds (PDL)
Los Angeles Legends (PDL) 1-2 Crystal Palace USA (USL-2)
Portland Timbers (USL-1) 1-2 Hollywood United (USASA)

Oh yeah, there was also an MLS game too. Chicago Fire beat the Crew 3-2. So congrats to the Fire.

Better Know a Soccer Club

Stephen Colbert has his "Better Know a District" gimmick. Well, I'm starting my "Better Know a Soccer Club" in the run-up to the First Round of the Open Cup. Unfortunately I don't have a contract like he does nor the ability to use the segments as filler. Instead the cup is a timely event that begins tomorrow. So here's a quick glance at the USASA and NPSL, i.e. the lowest tiers, clubs participating.


RWB Adria
Hometown: Chicago, IL
A Region II club of the USASA, Red White and Blue Adria has strong Croatian affiliations as they regularly plays in the Croatian-North American Soccer Tournament. They've also arguably won the most trophies in the state of Illinois.


New York Pancyprian Freedoms
Hometown: Queens, New York City
The Region I Freedoms have, or attempted to, qualify for every US Open Cup since its inception. They're also the last repeat victors, accomplishing the feat in 1982 and '83.


Clearwater International F.C. Galactics
Hometown: Clearwater, FL
Region III and Florida Suncoast Soccer League (FSSL) champions, Clearwater is a non-profit club with loads of teams. Yet their real interesting facets lie in their website. Seriously: underlines, highlights, and bold markings? Yikes.


ASC New Stars

Hometown: Houston, TX
Aria Soccer Club was founded in 1974 by Iranians Reza and Taher Khalili. The New Stars is their top team, comprised of players under the age of twenty-five. They're the Houston and Texas State Champions, and with the exception of a 4-4 draw with Greenwood Wanderers in qualification, they won their group handily.

AAC Eagles
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Another ChiTown club affiliated with an Eastern European nation, the Eagles have roots in Poland. Although they have an impressive track record, its hard to get any information or history from their website.


Boston Olympiakos
Hometown: Boston, MA
Founded as Boston United in 1990, the club changed the name to its current state in 1996. Although they've done quite well in the Open Division of the Massachusetts State Soccer League (winning 5 titles) and the Amateur Cup Finals (winning it last year), this is the first time they've ever been in the Open Cup.


Arizona Sahuaros
Hometown: Phoenix, AZ
The nomadic Sahuaros have a history of changing names and leagues, but find themselves participating in the NPSL's Southwest Conference for 2008. Additionally, the qualification for the US Open Cup occurred in the club's first four matches of the season. Yet the team has nine players from their last appearance in 2006, so its no surprise they're in it again. They're also the only NPSL club in the tournament.


Hollywood United
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Although I hate LA, Hollywood, and everything to do with SoCal, this club has a great history. Back in the 80s British ex-pats like Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols and Vivian Campbell of Def Leppard, among others, used to frequent this one pub and decided to form a team. The club has transformed from an actual pub team into an amalgamation of competitive players, and b-list movie stars and musicians -- Anthony LaPaglia is the club's chairman -- but hey, what else did you expect?