USASA National Cups conclude in Kentucky

UPDATE: On Friday, the NY Pancyprian Freedoms dominated in a 6-0 victory over Chicago's AAC Eagles to advance to the championship while the LA's Doxa Italia needed extra time to edge Houston's ASC New Stars, 3-2. Doxa went the distance in the championship as well, taking the defending champions to overtime in a match that finished 2-2 Sunday. The Freedoms would raise the trophy a second straight year with a 5-4 decision in the tiebreaker. In the Amateur Cup, the club RWB Adria, regulars in the US Open Cup, saw its entrant win 3-1 Friday against Mass Premier Soccer before claiming the championship 3-2 Sunday. The Carolina RailHawks captured the U23 title with a pair of four-goal victories. The Women's Cup tournament saw St Louis JB Marine capture the championship in another contest that went to overtime, downing Utah's Sparta United WSC, 2-1. Other Events +

It is down to the Final Four in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. This weekend, six sets of Final Four determine champions in the USASA National Cups in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Four men’s tournaments will determine champions in the Open, Amateur, Over-30 and U23 brackets while the Women’s Cup and Women’s U23 tournaments also crown champions.

The USASA Men’s Open event is the conclusion of the tournament that determined the eight USASA entrants for the US Open Cup that began in June. The four Regional Champions will gather at the Lovers Lane Soccer Complex for the Semifinals Friday, July 15.

The defending champion New York Pancyprian Freedoms are looking to repeat, and were the only side of the eight USASA entrants to advance to the Second Round of the US Open Cup. The Freedoms defeated the NPSL Brooklyn Italians 2-1 in the First Round and were eliminated via penalties by the USL Pro FC New York after a scoreless draw, missing out on a Third Round meeting with the New York Red Bulls.

The other three vying for the title are the AAC Eagles of Chicago, ASC New Stars from Houston and Doxa Italia from LA. AAC Eagles were knocked out of the Open Cup by the NPSL Madison 56ers and ASC New Stars by USL Pro Orlando City by the same 4-0 scoreline. Doxa Italia were bounced 3-1 by the PDL Ventura County Fusion. The Daily Breeze recently featured Doxa Italia’s rebirth in a feature story [view]. You can also check out 2011 edition of TheCup.us annual Meet the USASA features in which the site profile’s the organization’s entries [view].

Names in the other tournaments may also be familiar to US Open Cup followers. Mass Premier Soccer, RWB Adria and Legends FC are among the field in the Amateur bracket. FC New York United and the Carolina RailHawks are in the U23 event.

Here is more information on the 2011 USASA National Cups, including links to the schedule/result pages for each of the six events being held this weekend [view].
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