ENTER THE USL PROS: #USOC2018 2ND ROUND PREVIEW

THE 22 TEAMS OF THE UNITED SOCCER LEAGUE (USL) ENTER THE 2018 LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP ON WEDNESDAY MAY 16 AND THEY’LL HAVE TO WATCH THEIR STEP IF THEY WANT TO AVOID BEING COUNTED AMONG THIS YEAR’S CUPSETS.

Cupsets are on the cards ahead of the Second Round of the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Count on it. It’s the first stage when professional teams join the fray – in this case it’s the 22 members of the Division II United Soccer League (USL). The Second Round is traditionally a breeding ground for shock results and embarrassing stumbles. Twenty-four games are scheduled for Wednesday, May 16 when the Davids and Goliaths plunge into action across the country in America’s oldest soccer tournament, currently in its 105th year.

Reading & the Bhoys Hunt Cupsets up North
Keep a close eye on Cary, North Carolina, where Yonkers-based national amateur cup and national amateur open cup champions Lansdowne Bhoys take on North Carolina FC. In their second Open Cup since reaching the Third Round in 2016, the Bhoys, who are led by captain and former Arsenal youth player Sean Kelly, made light work of two-time Open Cup champs the Brooklyn Italians in the First Round and are among the small crowd of amateur teams likely to cause an upset or two. “This a chance for us to step up to the next level and show that we can get it done up there too,” said Kelly, who also had stints with League of Ireland sides Cork City and Pike Rovers before heading to New York to work construction and turn out in the famed Cosmopolitan League. 

(The Lansdowne Bhoys, out of Yonkers, are among the best amateur teams in the country)

Reading United are back for their 10th straight Open Cup (12th overall), a remarkable achievement for a team out of the Premier Development League (PDL). Even more noteworthy is the fact that they haven’t lost a First Round games since 2012. USL pros Richmond Kickers won’t want to take the PA-based youngsters lightly, especially if they’re keen to avoid early elimination at amateur hands for a second straight year (they lost to Christos FC in this same Second Round stage in 2017). “We have a way of doing things here,” said former Reading player and new coach Alan McCann, who helped orchestrate the elimination of last year’s Cinderellas Christos FC in the First Round last week. “It’s about bringing intensity to everything, relying on our returning players and being the best we can be.” 

FC Motown were impressive in their opening-day win over the New York Red Bulls U23s. Coach Sacir Hot, just 26-years-old, showed surprising panache with some in-game tactical switches that allowed his ace in the pack Dilly Duka (a veteran pro with stints at a raft of MLS teams) to have his way with the young opposition. Another MLS veteran, Hunter Freeman, and Chris Katona (also of Cedar Stars and top-scorer in NYC’s Cosmopolitan League) were dynamite on the day too – and USL Pros Penn FC, currently mid-table in league play, should be careful they don’t get caught cold. 

Detroit City FC of NPSL rode the passion of their core supporters to a First Round victory (on penalties) vs. the Michigan Bucks. This time, however, they won’t have the home comforts of their Keyworth Stadium to rely on. And up against FC Cincinnati, the Hamtramck-based amateurs are taking on USL’s leaders – a team that knows about going a good, long way in the Cup. The Ohioans roared to the Semifinal of last year’s tournament and were minutes away from reaching the Final only to be undone by the New York Red Bulls of MLS and their ace striker Bradley Wright-Phillips. 

 
(Detroit City will have to get it done on the road against last year's heroes FC Cincinnati)

Elsewhere in the Northeast, The Erie Commodores of NPSL host Pittsburgh’s Riverhounds, a team with solid Open Cup pedigree. Louisville City, who went out last year to USL rivals FC Cincinnati, open their doors to the resurgent Long Island Rough Riders of the PDL – who roared back in the First Round to beat Kingston Stockade 6-3. Seacoast United Phantoms, of Northern Massachusetts, were fortunate to get past 10-man debutantes Kendall Wanderers in their first game and they’re fortunate again to have a second straight home tie against amateur opposition – this time its last year’s NPSL champions Elm City Express out of the New Haven, Conn. The eighth and final contest sees famed Cup specialists Ocean City Nor’easters of the PDL (second only to the Michigan Bucks in the number and quality of pro scalps taken) travel to meet USL’s Charlotte Independence with a Cupset on their mind.

Florida Derbies, Denver Dreams in the Southeast & Central 
USL’s Charleston Battery, founded in 1993, were the last non-MLS team to the reach the Final of the U.S. Open Cup (in 2008) and they begin every successive campaign with the aim of getting back there. This year, they play host to surprise First Round winners South Georgia Tormenta in their first contest. 

You’ll not want to miss out on a pair of tasty all-Florida affairs coming out of the Sunshine State. Miami FC 2 of the NPSL reached last year’s quarterfinal as members of the North American Soccer League (NASL). They’re set for their second game of the campaign at home against Miami United FC (also of NPSL), who hammered FC Kendall 5-2 last week. The other all-Florida contest pits Jacksonville Armada, also NASL orphans now playing in NPSL, at home against fellow-former NASLers Tampa Bay Rowdies (now of the USL), who will want to set right their early exit last year.

(Miami FC reached the quarterfinals last year as part of the NASL - now they're with NPSL & aiming high again)

The other two Southeast Region games pit hosts Mississippi Brilla – a club that doubles as a Christian Ministry – in their second game against an always-strong Indy Eleven who are currently fifth in the USL standings. And finally, in a Nashville, Tennessee derby, NSPL men Inter Nashville FC will hope to keep the party going against the Music City’s USL team, Nashville SC. “I have a kind of personal score to settle,” Inter striker Chuka Aruh, fresh off a scintillating first-half hat-trick against PDL powers Charlotte Eagles in the First Round, told ussoccer.com. He was cut by the USL side after scraping together the hundred-plus dollars the club charged to local hopefuls for the pleasure of trying out. “Now I want to show them what they missed out on.” 

In the Central Region, Duluth FC of the NPSL are hoping to keep their miraculous run alive. A club founded only three years ago as “a joke” by a Romanian-born soccer-playing priest, they rode out a 4-4 goal-fest to a shootout win over Dakota Fusion in their First Round game and now face USL professionals in the form of Saint Louis FC. “It’s like a dream,” said their founder, first coach, former player and current Greek Orthodox priest Tim Sas.

FC Denver, in their first Open Cup, have a date away to the USL’s Colorado Springs Switchbacks, while FC Wichita (the lone entrant from the great state of Kansas) travel to Oklahoma to take on the Tulsa Roughnecks of USL. The amateur NTX Rayados won their First Round game last week and will now host OKC Energy of the USL in the Second Round. The Central region concludes with the Midland-Odessa Sockers of Texas and NPSL opening their doors to San Antonio FC, who are currently mid-table in the USL standings. 

California Leads the Charge Out West
The West Region of the 2018 Open Cup Second Round is, as ever, heavy on the California. Six of twelve teams in action hail from the Golden State. First up, Sacramento Republic – among the most ambitious of the USL stable – play host to San Francisco City FC, an amateur team who won their opener by a comfortable 4-0 scoreline. 

(Sacramento Republic of USL have loads of fans and big ambitions) 

Orange County FC, out of NPSL and coached by former U.S. Men’s National Team legend Paul Caligiuri, looked sensational in their 3-0 opening-day win over debutantes Santa Ana Winds. One of Daniel ten Bosch’s two goals on the day, a screamer from long range, was among the best of the First Round. Next up for the OC men is a road-trip to take on Fresno FC of the USL. The third and final all-California affair pits Orange County SC of USL at home against FC Golden State Force, who had a surprisingly easy night against L.A. Wolves in the First Round.

Elsewhere, and off the coast, USL’s Las Vegas Lights play host to FC Tucson of the PDL. There’s no confirming that former Public Enemy hype-man and reality TV fave Flava Flav (rumored to be a Lights super-fan) will be in the house for the game, but there will be a Llama in the building. USL’s Reno 1868 FC also host Portland Timbers U23 (PDL).

Finally, Sporting Arizona FC – a group of amateurs with a former MLS Cup winner in goal (Andrew Weber) and a former English Premier League goalkeeper on the touchline (Aidan Davison) are hoping to pull a shock when they meet Phoenix Rising. There’s no indication yet whether Didier Drogba (part owner and player for the Rising) will line up for his first-ever Open Cup game, but here’s hoping.