Surprises highlight League Cup in England

This is what Cup Soccer is all about… Fourth tier Bradford City has reached the League Cup final in England, advancing past three Premier League sides in the past three rounds, including Aston Villa, 4-3 on aggregate, in the semifinals.

USL Premier Development League fans in the east may be familiar with one of the heroes as former (2010) Bermuda Hogges striker Nahki Wells scored the opening goal in the 3-1 first leg win and started both semifinal contests as well as the penalty kick victories against Wigan (Rd 4) and Arsenal (QF).

Bradford City will face Swansea in the final February 24 after their 2-0 aggregate upset of Chelsea that unfortunately is gaining other headlines for unfortunate reasons.

#USOpenCup

Quick reference Open Cup Semifinal Lineups

We will post the starting lineups for the Semifinals here as we get them...

@SportingKC: Nielsen (c), Sinovic, Besler, Collin, Myers, Nagamura, Espinoza, Zusi, Peterson, Bunbury, Kamara @SportingKC bench: Cesar, Sapong, Saad, Kronberg, Harrington, Thomas, P Joseph
@PhilaUnion: MacMath; G Farfan, Valdes, Okugo, Williams; M Farfan, Carroll, Lahoud; Pajoy, McInerney, Adu @PhilaUnion bench: Konopka, Daniel, Gomez, Hoppenot, Albright, Martinez, Gaddis

@LiveSounders Starting XI: GK Meredith, D Scott (Cpt), D Hurtado, D Ianni, D Gonzalez, M Cato, M Alonso, M Rose, M Caskey, F Montero, F Johnson. SEA Bench: Ford, Parke, Burch, Evans, Ochoa, Fernandez, Rosales.
@CDChivasUSA Starting XI: GK Kennedy, D Califf, D Riley, D McKenzie, D Villafana, M Minda, M Zemanski, M Gavin, F Moreno (Cpt), F Cardozo, F Angel. CHV Bench: Melia, Valencia, Vagenas, Smith, Romero, Townsend, Correa.

Quick Glance - Quarterfinal Lineups

Starting lineups for Quarterfinals will be posted here as we get them...

Philadelphia: MacMath; Gaddis, Okugo, Lopez, G Farfan; Carroll, Lahoud, M Farfan, Adu; McInerney, Pajoy Bench: Harrison, Albright, Daniel, Gomez, Torres, McLaughlin, Hoppenot
Harrisburg: Noble; Basso, Bixler, Marshall, Duckett; Pelletier, Noone, Welker, Langley; Ekra, Ombiji

Kansas City: Nielsen(c); Harrington, Olum, Besler, Sinovic; Joseph, Thomas, Zusi; Peterson, Sapong, Saad. subs: Kronberg, Myers, Warzycha, Espinoza, Bunbury, Kamara, Dwyer.
Dayton: Williams; Smith, Copier, Dias, Preciado; DeLass, Jones, McNamara; Garner, Bartels, Bardsley. subs: DeGroot, Holowaty, Kissinger, Knotek, Priestley, Robinson, Whisenhunt.

Sounders FC XI – Weber, Evans, Scott, Ianni, Gonzalez, Cato, Carrasco, Rose, Fernandez, Levesque, Ochoa. bench – Meredith, Burch, Hurtado, Caskey, Seamon, Johnson, Montero.
Earthquakes XI – Bingham, Beitashour, Bernardez, Opara, Morrow, Baca, Cronin, Moreno, Salinas, Stevenson, Gordon. bench – Busch, Alexandre, Chavez, Hernandez, Zayner, Wondolowski, Lenhart.

#ChivasUSA: Melia; Califf, McKenzie, Riley, Villafana; Vagenas, Gavin, Cardozo, Bolanos; Correa and Courtois bench - Kennedy, Jazic, Zemanski, Moreno, Angel, Romero, Agudelo
Charlotte: C Irwin, J Rife, L Williams, D Grousis, M Bloom, N Thornton, J Herrera, D Toby, J Guzman, D Roberts, & J Kabwe bench - Ferrer, Salles, Roberts, Meza, Salvaggione, Bateau, Reed

Fourth Round Starting Lineups

As usual, we will post the line-ups here as we get them...

NY RB: Starting XI: Meara, Barklage, Holgersson, Conde, Pearce, Solli, McCarty, Ballouchy, Lade, Arteaga, Cooper Subs: Vuolo, Maduro, Borrajo, Keel
Harrisburg:


Starting #ChivasUSA: Melia; Riley, McKenzie, Califf, Gordon; Gavin, Vagenas, Moreno, Courtois; Correa, Agudelo Bench: Kennedy; Valencia; Zemanski, Smith; Romero, Angel
RailHawks 11: GK Burse, D Elenio, D Agbossoumonde, D King, D Low (c), M Zimmerman, M Lowery, M Ortiz, M Da Luz, F Schilawski, F Shriver RailHawks Subs: GK Fitzgerald, D Finch, D Krause, M Millington, M Palacio, M Shipalane, F Ackley


Philadelphia 11: MacMath, Gaddis, Okugo, Valdes, G. Farfan, M. Farfan, Carroll, Lahoud, Adu; Martinez, Pajoy SUBS: Konopka, McLaughlin, Hoffman, Hoppenot, Hernandez, Pfeffer, Herdling
DC Starting XI: Hamid; Russell, McDonald, Dudar, Woolard; Najar, Kitchen, Boskovic, DeLeon; Salihi, Wolff (c) SUBS: Santos, King, Neal, Saragosa, Korb, White, Willis

Dayton XI: Williams, Smith, Copier, Dins, Preciodo, Delass, Knotek, Jones, Garner, Bartels, Bardsley. Dayton bench: Holloway, Robinson, DeGron, McNamara, Earton.
Michigan Bucks XI: Grinwis, Cope, Harris, Barson, Givens, Boyden, Caldwell, Catalono, Omekanda, Crnkia, Miller. Bucks bench: Teepn, Dillon, Saas, Steiberner, Grant, St. Louis, Uzoigwe.

Colorado: Pickens; Kimura, Marshall, Palguta, Freeman; Rivero, Larentowicz, Castrillon; Thompson, Edu, Cascio in a 4-3-3. subs: Ceus, Zapata, Ababio, Nane, LaBauex, Hill, and Akpan
Kansas City Starting XI: Nielsen(c); Sinovic, Besler, Collin, Myers; Cesar, Joseph, Zusi; Sapong, Bunbury, Peterson. subs: Kempin, Olum, Harrington, Saad, Thomas, Miller, Warzycha.

@SAScorpions Starting XI: Sattler; Cochrane, Wagner, Greenfield, Janicki; Pitchkolan, Harmse, Ramirez, Denissen; Campos, Bayona.
Charlotte Eagles Starting XI: Irwin; Bloom, Bateau, Grovsis, Rife; Guzman, Kabwe, Thornton, Toby; Roberts, Salles

#Sounders starters: Meredith, Scott, Parke, JKH, Burch, Cato, Alonso, Rose, Caskey, Ochoa, Montero. Sounders FC bench – Weber, Carrasco, Estrada, Evans, Fernandez, Levesque, Seamon.
Cal FC XI – Carrillo, Navarro, Espinosa, Randolph, Menjivar, Gonzalez, Arreola, Cruz, Aghasyan, Danny Barrera, Diego Barrera. Cal FC bench – Grill, Caceres, Werring, Paulo Ferreira-Mendez, Pedro Ferreira-Mendez, Torres, Riviera.

#mnstars XI: VanOekel; Davis, Dias, Altman, Kallman; Ibarra, Hlavaty, Takada, Venegas; Bracalello, Nunez #mnstars bench: Hildebrandt, Tchoupe, Tobin, Wasson, Ibrahim, Walker, Del Do
San Jose Starting XI: Bingham, Beitashour, Opara, Hernandez, Corrales, Chavez, Alexandre, Moreno, Garza, Gordon, Lenhart Bench: Newton, Baca, Cronin, Dawkins, Morrow, Diaz Pizarro, Ring

Affiliation, Brotherly Love at question with Harrisburg-Philadelphia Quarterfinal pairing

When the US Soccer Federation announced the Quarterfinal scenarios Saturday there was one surprise among them, the potential pairing of USL Pro’s Harrisburg City Islanders and the Philadelphia Union of MLS. The two sides have been official affiliate partners since 2010 and it was believed that the two would not be slated to face one another unless they both reached the championship match.

That belief was based primarily upon the 2012 US Open Cup Handbook given to the clubs prior to the tournament, laying out the rules and procedures of the competition.

In the 2012 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup’s Competition Handbook under 2012 US Open Cup Competition Format, it states:

General Provision: Pairings will be arranged to prevent the possibility of a lower division team playing a parent club (e.g. Chicago Fire PDL [PDL] will not be pitted against the Chicago Fire [MLS], should both teams be in the competition in the same round) except for the Championship Game.

In the section listing the competition’s entrants – as were known at the time of publication (no USASA, USCS or NPSL clubs) – there were eight sets of affiliations listed with the accompanying note.

Note: Eight teams listed above have affiliations with another club in the competition. Clubs and their related affiliates are indicated with matching asterisks. See page detailing competition format to see how these affiliations will impact the tournament.

While the list did not include the Harrisburg City Islanders and the Philadelphia Union as affiliates, it did however contain the Union and Reading United AC. Both clubs are described as an “affiliate partner” in recent news releases earlier this spring concerning exhibition friendlies set to take place this summer with trips to Harrisburg June 12 and Reading June 9 during the club’s break for the FIFA international competition window. It is unknown at this time if the Harrisburg friendly will be canceled if the two advance to play one another.

Photo: Derek Meluzio

Upon obtaining the US Open Cup Handbook prior to the tournament, TheCup.us inquired with US Soccer as to why the Harrisburg-Philadelphia affiliation partnership was not listed thinking that it may have been an innocent oversight as it was a new section added to the handbook from the previous year. It would not have been the only error in the handbook, as it has been since discovered that four players were also erroneously listed in the suspension list that had already served their penalties, creating confusion over the eligibility of Rochester’s Danny Earls prior to the club’s first match.

Follow-up requests for information regarding the USSF’s stance on the affiliation between the clubs was met with indecision and a few weeks ago the federation said they were “reviewing the relationship between Harrisburg and the Philadelphia Union, but currently they are not in the same bracket” after stating that “a clear example of a relationship is a situation where an organization has control or ownership of two or more teams. Teams with player development arrangements are also considered to have a relationship in most cases.”

However.

Clearly, with the two teams scheduled to meet in the next round if they both win, USSF believes that Harrisburg and Philadelphia do not have a close enough relationship to warrant avoiding them meeting until the Final.

According to Philadelphia’s March 1, 2010 news release [Union Partner with City Islanders: City Islanders to be Exclusive USL-2 Affiliate Club], the team was “further extending the Major League Soccer club’s player development model. The City Islanders will be Philadelphia Union’s Exclusive USL-2 Affiliate Club.”

It continued, saying: “The City Islanders will become a key part of Philadelphia’s player development strategy, as the club will have the option to loan players to Harrisburg for increased playing time. As partners, both clubs will also work to help identify City Islander players who have the potential to make the leap to MLS. The relationship continues the growth of Philadelphia Union’s player development strategy, building off of previously established relationships with PDL squad Reading United AC, Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association (EPYSA), Delaware Youth Soccer Association (DYSA) and YSC Sports.”

Nick Sakiewicz, CEO & Operating Partner of Philadelphia Union, stated: “With the Harrisburg City Islanders and our previously announced relationship with Reading United AC, Philadelphia Union Team Manager Peter Nowak will instill ‘first team’ principles in training and playing attacking, attractive football throughout Pennsylvania that our supporters will truly enjoy."

City Islanders President Eric Pettis added: “We’re proud and excited to make this announcement today. Before they’ve even played a game, Philadelphia Union have proven themselves to be a truly first-class organization. Both clubs will see numerous benefits, on and off the field, as a result of this partnership. It’s a natural fit.”

The release also noted: “An annual friendly match in Harrisburg between the clubs (date to be announced) is another highlight of the partnership. Other components will include cross promotional opportunities, clinics and Philadelphia Union player appearances in Harrisburg during the summer and off-season.”

These factors and comments clearly show the two clubs as affiliates that would warrant separation in the tournament until the Final as per the handbook and response from USSF. Given the movement of numerous players over the years, the staffs of the City Islanders and Union clearly are in regular coordination with one another. And perhaps more importantly, the presence of annual scheduled exhibition matches present a significant financial incentive to the City Islanders that make them subservient to the Union and – without accusation that they actually would – place them in a position of wanting to please Philadelphia in a manner that could result in impropriety, which is the entire reason that the ‘affiliation rule’ exists.

The Week Before - Fourth Round

Only six of the of the remaining US Open Cup clubs set for the Fourth Round next week are in action between rounds as Major League Soccer is primarily idle for the FIFA international match window.

The only MLS contest on the slate for this weekend features two of the eight clubs shockingly eliminated Tuesday and Wednesday with Chicago playing New England.

In the lower divisions, however, one match-up features two of the remaining NASL clubs squaring off as the expansion San Antonio Scorpions play host to the defending league champion Minnesota Stars Saturday. The RailHawks, meanwhile, are at home versus the Puerto Rico Islanders, who are back in action after advancing to the Final Four of the Caribbean Football Union's championship last Friday.

The lone remaining PDL side, Michigan Bucks, travels to face the Cincinnati Kings Friday. In USL Pro, the Harrisburg City Islanders host the Richmond Kickers Friday and the Dayton Dutch Lions, still winless in league play, host the Charleston Battery Saturday.

Outside of the remaining eight MLS clubs, the only pro club idle over the weekend is the Charlotte Eagles.

2012 Third Round Lineups - Quick Reference

We'll post the lineups here as a quick reference as we get them...

WEDNESDAY...

SILVERBACKS STARTING XI: GK Nasco; D Moroney, D Lancaster, D Burciaga, D Cox; M McManus, M O'Brien, M Turcios, Carr; F Horth, F Navia BENCH: GK Illyes, M Paulini, D Davis, D Hunt, M Colaluca, D Rilla, F Santamaria
SEATTLE SOUNDERS XI: GK Meredith; D Burch, D Parke, D Hurtado, D Scott; M Caskey, M Rose, M Alonso, M Cato; F Ochoa, F Johnson BENCH: M Evans, F Estrada, F Montero, M Carrasco, F Levesque, D Sivebaek, GK Weber

Cal FC Starting XI: Carrillo; Gonzalez, Navarro, Randolph, Espinosa; Manjivar, Arreola, Cruz, Di. Barreria; Da. Barrera, Aghasyan  Subs: Rivera, Pa. Ferreira, Pe. Ferreira, Caceres, Warring, Rodra, King
Timbers: Perkins; Jewsbury-c, Mosquera, Horst, Smith; Alhassan, Chara, Nagbe, Alexander; Boyd, Perlaza Subs Bendik, Jean-Baptiste, Kawulok, Taylor, Braun, Richards, Rincon

TUESDAY...

#Kickers Starting XI: GK Pascale; D Johnson, Dos Santos, Vercollone, Görres; M Elcock, Heins, Foglesong, Nyazamba; F Yeisley, Agorsor #Kickers subs: Jones, Hiroyama, Mackenzie, Delicâte, Bulow #USOC
#DCU Starting XI: GK Willis; D White, Dudar, Korb; M Saragosa, Najar, King, Neal; F Salihi, Wolff, Santos #DCU Subs: Hamid, McDonald, Woolard, Kitchen, Morsink, Boskovic, Deleon

#Crew96 Starting XI: Lamspon, Perry, Gehrig, James, Francis, George, Grossman, Meram, Birchall, Finlay, Vargas #Crew96 Bench: Gruenebaum, Williams, Veeder, Anor, Duka, Renteria, Horton
Dayton Starting XI: Williams, Preciado, Copier, Dias, Smith, Jones, DeLass, McNamara, Garner, Bardsley, Priestly Dayton Bench: Whisenhunt, DeGroot, Robinson, Knoteli, Holowaty, Bartels, Kissinger

RailHawks 11: GK Burse, D Elenio, D Agbossoumonde, D King, D Low, M Lowery, M Zimmerman, M Da Luz, M Ortiz, F Shriver, F Schilawski RailHawks Substitutes: GK Fitzgerald, D Stockley, D Finch, M Nurse, M Shipalane, F Garey, M Palacio
LA Galaxy 11: GK Gaudette, D Lopes, D Meyer, D Leonardo, D Gaul, M Sarvas, M Jimenez, M Stephens, M Nakazawa, F Barrett, F Noonan LA Galaxy Substitutes: GK Perk, D Jordan, M Magee, M Garcia, M Walker, F Buddle


Rapids starting lineup: Ceus; Freeman, Marshall (C), Palguta, Zapata; Thompson, Henao, Hill, Castrillon; Akpan and Edu in a 4-4-2 Available subs: Joyce, Kimura, Ababio, Moor, Rivero, Nane and Cascio.
Rowdies: GK Attinella, D Sanfilippo, D Arango, D Yamada, D Washington, M Campbell, M Hill, M Savage, F Mulholland, F Ambersley, F Antoniuk

#NYRB Lineup: Meara, Barklage, Holgersson, Conde, Pearce, Solli, McCarty, Ballouchy, Lade, Arteaga, Cooper #NYRB Bench: Vuolo, Keel, Borrajo, Maduro, Palsson, Ruthven
Charleston:  Duckworth, Wilson, Falvey, Hoffer, Mueller, Sanyang, Donatelli, Paterson, Cuevas, Boyd, & Bundu

Fire Starting XI: Tornaghi; Walls, Anibaba, Berry, Jumper; Videira, Paladini, Bone; Robayo; Puppo, Barouch // SUBSTITUTES: Johnson, Gargan, Segares, Watson-Siriboe, Pineda, Nyarko, Oduro.
Michigan Bucks:  Grinwis; Cope, Harris, Barson, Givens; Boyen, Caldwell, Catalano, Omekanda; Crnkic, Uzoigwe (Steinberger 35') Bucks Subs: Teepen, Dillon, Opare, Ogunyemi, Grant, Miller

Philadelphia Union Starting XI: Konopka; M. Farfan, Okugo, Williams, G. Farfan; Carroll, Lahoud, Daniel, Adu; Martinez, Pajoy Bench: Hoppenot, Pfeffer, Hoffman, Jordan, Herdling, McLaughlin, Harrison
Rochester: Nicht; Traynor, Kyriazis, Roberts, Kirk; Cost, Rosenlund, Earls, Banks; McManus, Brito

Sporting KC: Kempin, Myers, Warzycha, Collin, Sinovic, Nagamura, Olum, Joseph, Peterson, Dwyer, Saad Bench: Nielsen, Besler, Bunbury, Harrington, Sassano, Sapong, Zusi
Orlando 11  Gallardo(c); Bernard, Mechack, Boden, Valentino; Campbell, O'Connor, Pulis, Molino; Chin, Watson bench: Allen, Davies, Fuller, Kelley, Ustruck

San Antonio Scorpions Starting XI: Sattler; Janicki, Blake Wagner, Kling, Cochrane, Pitchkolan, Knight, Denissen, Harmse; Bayona, Campos.
Houston Dynamo Starting XI: Deric; Creavalle, Boswell, Oscar Recio, Sturgis; Dixon, Moffat, Camargo, Clark; Kandji, Weaver.

#FCDallas XI: Seitz, John, Benitez, Hedges, Loyd, Guarda, Jackson, Jacobson, Leyva, Sealy, Top Available subs: Hartman, M. Hernandez, Ulloa, Luna, Castillo, Lee, Marcelin
Charlotte:  NA

SJEarthquakes: Starting XI: Bingham, Ring, Opara, Morrow, Suggs, Cronin, Alexandre, Moreno, Garza, Lenhart, Guvenisik  Bench: Newton, Baca, Beitashour, Dawkins, McLoughlin, Diaz Pizarro, Hustedt
@FTLStrikers: Glaeser, Blake, Shanosky, Stewart, Lorenz, Morales, Motagalvan, Restrepo, Pecka, Thompson, Anderson Bench : Martin, Otte, Orozco, Gebor, Hassan, Ramos, Herron

#OpenCupFan Twitter Tally Update

A few weeks ago we launched a campaign to have fans, clubs, media – anyone really – declare their support for the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. It was quite simple: tweet mentioning @usopencup and/or #OpenCupFan along with the name of the club(s) you support (preferably using their Twitter name).

Well, to say the least, the response has been underwhelming. And to be frank, we are quite stunned that professional clubs are all being outdone by a team from the amateur NPSL, the Fullerton Rangers – no offense intended.

We are giving you a second chance, extending the voting period through until the completion of Round 4.

Got a US Open Cup catchphrase or slogan you want to share? We want to hear them. We have gotten a few good team-related comments like “When I tweet, I tweet for the Timbers” (Toothi), “#FourInARow” (KyleDJames) and “Hammers til I Die! All others are #sharkbait #chumchum” (BMSscienceguy), but the two Open Cup related phrases we like so far are:

“Unlike Hans Backe I am an #OpenCupFan” – ScreaminMonkey Circus (Chicago Fire)
“League owned, no longer Open Cup banned” – Doughboy767 (Minnesota Stars)

The Numbers…

Klinsmann selections leave MLS sides mostly intact for Open Cup

With the European season concluded, impact on the US Open Cup by players being called up by the US National Team will be minimal over the next two rounds as only four Major League Soccer sides will be missing five combined players.

Jurgen Klinsmann's 23-player selection for the current five-match run that includes three friendlies and a pair of 2014 World Cup Qualifiers was made up primarily of players outside of MLS.

MLS Selections
Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo)
Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake)
Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy)
Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)

Third Round - The Week Before, League Results

Coming into the Third Round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup this Tuesday, a number of clubs played two games in the past week in league competition.
Major League Soccer teams make their entry into the competition this round. Seven of the eight teams that had midweek MLS contests also played on the weekend with New York Red Bulls being the only side that was idle. San Jose's second match was on Sunday versus Sporting Kansas City.

In USL Pro, Orlando City played Thursday and Saturday while the Rochester Rhinos played Friday and Saturday. The league took Sunday off, but the NASL's expansion San Antonio Scorpions were in action north of the border in Edmonton.

The Sister Tournaments - ACC & CFU Updates

The US Open Cup is in full swing at the midway point of the month-long, four-round blitz that will take the field of 64 down to eight. Meanwhile, on Wednesday the Amway Canadian Championship crowned a winner and this weekend the Caribbean Football Union will reduce the field down to the final group for the championship round.

Both tournaments will send representatives on to this summer's CONCACAF Champions League while the Open Cup winner will join the fray for next year's CCL. And if Puerto Rico Islanders get at least a draw Friday evening in the Cayman Islands, at least one club from the North American lower divisions will advance yet again, possibly two, from the CFU.

Second Round Lineups

LINEUPS - We'll post them here as we get them...

@MichiganBucks lineup: Grimwas; Givens, Barson, Cope, Harris; Boyden, Ogumyemi, Catalano; Caldwell, Miller, Uziogwe Subs: Teepan, Saas, Hintz, Steinberger, Grnkie, Grant, St. Louis
Pittsburgh starters: 1-Hunter Gilstrap, 4-Niko Katic, 5-Sterling Flunder, 13-Louie Rolko, 23-Anthony Calvano, 2-Matt Kassel, 6-Rich Costanzo, 9-Stefan Lundberg, 21-Shintaro Harada, 7-Darren Amoo, 11-Ricky Smith

PSA Elite 11: GK Whiddon, D Dunn, D Miranda, D Smith, D Gafa, M Lopez, M Spicer, M Paul, M Whitfield, F Riemer, F Ramirez - Bench: GK Oseguera, D Turner, M Prieto, M Ontiveros, M Lopez, M Avila, F Harrington
RailHawks 11: GK Fitzgerald, D Elenio, D Agbossoumonde, D King, D Low, M Lowery, M Zimmerman, M Ortiz, M Da Luz, F Shriver, F Schilawski - Bench: GK Burse, D Shields, D Stockley, M Nurse, M Shipalane, M Palacio, F Garey

Chicago Fire PDL Starting XI: Godsey; Keller, Tiemstra, Boxall, Doody; Bushue, Ritter, Ciesulka, Shipp; Blades, Kannah - Bench: Euler, Beasley, Totsch, Engel, King, Medina, Prince
Dayton: 

KC starters: Grow (GK), Marky, White, Oren Andrews, Cody Andrews, Shrout, McDaniel, Baker, Johnston, Webb, Perkins
Orlando City starters: Kelley, Mechack, Bernard, Davies, Ustruck, Fuller, Rooney, Campbell, Watson, Griffin, Luzunaris 

Tampa Bay Rowdies GK Jeff Attinella, D Frankie Sanfilippo (Captain), D Andres Arango, D Draymond Washington, D Takuya Yamada, M Stuart Campbell, M Shane Hill, M Luke Mulholland, F Mike Ambersley, F Daniel Antoniuk, F Matt Clare
Jacksonville United GK Stuart McCrory, D Adam Allee, D Hollis Donaldson, D Mats Elmsater, D Jacobi Goodfellow, M Stefan Durr, M Jonathan Glenn, M Enrique Haussler, M Jay Nelson, M Tyler Williams, F Tornislav Krizanovic

@RochesterRhinos Starters-24 Nicht, 4 Zaher, 5 Traynor, 8 Rosenlund, 10 McManus, 11 Chinn, 12 Roberts, 13 Kirk, 16 Earls, 23 Hoxic, 29
Brooklyn:

Charleston Starters @Chas_Battery: Duckworth, Mueller, Falvey, Ellison, Flatley, Romero, Azira, Richter, Cuevas, Prince, & Kelly
Reading: 

@ATLSilverbacks Nasco Davis Lancaster Burciaga R. Cox O'Brien Gonzalez Turcios Carr Colaluca Navia - Bench: Ati Moroney Paulini Horth Hunt Rilla Santamaria
Georgia: XI: Schultze, Nwiloh, Vania, Poku, Keene, Bacher, Bentley, Maduka, Nicholson, Sumpter, Papanikolopoulos

Richmond Kickers starting lineup: Pascale, Yomby, Kalungi, Goerres, Johnson, Dos Santos, Vercollone, Callahan, Heins, Agorsor, Yeisley
Aegean Hawks lineup:

Minnesota Stars lineup: Van Oekel: GK; Davis, Dias, Kallman, Altman: D; Hlavaty, Takada, Venegas, Ibarra: M; Bracalello, Walker: F.
Des Moines Menace Starters: GK Obando, D Deim, D Kallman, D Lopez, D Laetti, M McDaniel, M Fricke, M Jupic, M Piffer, F Ramos, F Moloto.

Harrisburg- Nicholas Noble, Stephen Basso, Tommy Brandt, Andrew Marshall, Bilal Duckett, Joseph Noone, Andrew Welker, Drew Yates, Morgan Langley, Brian Ombiji, Yann Ekra
Long Island Rough Riders- Thomas Booth, Matthew Wendelken, Timothy Parker, Tom Wharf, William Hole, Gary Flood, Adriano Gabriele, Ben Arikian, Stephan Barea, James Mulligan, Keith Detelj 


Ventura County: Edwards, Rupert, Daly, Pontius, Weit, Steres, Chongo, F. Lopez, R. Lopez, Roman, Chavez
LA Blues:

@LaredoHeatSC Starting XI: Emmanuel; Carlos, Adan, Martin, Omar; Max, Gregory, Luis, de Dios; Irving, Horacio.
San Antonio Starting XI: Sattler; Cochrane, Pitchkolan, Gold, Kling; Harmse, Ramirez, Knight, Greenfield; Campos, Denissen.

El Paso & Charlotte - http://pic.twitter.com/dcr3SRup
Charlotte: Eagles lineup. GK: Irwin D: Bateau, Rife, Grousis, Jones M: Blanco, Herrera, Toby F: Roberts, Kabwe, Thornton 

The Weekend Before Results - Second Round

While the Rochester Rhinos are no longer perfect following a draw against winless Dayton Dayton Lions, they and the Minnesota Stars remain part of a trio of teams heading into the Second Round of the US Open Cup unbeaten. Minnesota downed Fort Lauderdale in NASL action and Rochester rival Orlando City was idle in USL Pro.

The draw also kept Dayton among a trio of winless professional league clubs as the Atlanta Silverbacks lost to Tampa Bay and Carolina played to a 1-1 draw against league leading Puerto Rico in NASL action.

The season kicked off for the Long Island, but the Rough Riders fell to fellow Second Round side Reading United AC. The Michigan Bucks' opener, meanwhile, went a lot better Saturday with a 4-1 victory against expansion Chicago Inferno. In two other matches featuring a pair of Open Cup Second Round clubs, Georgia Revolution downed Jacksonville United of the NASL and in the PDL the Laredo Heat topped the El Paso, the first of back-to-back losses for the Patriots, who also lost in Austin Saturday. All three such games were decided by one goal. Also playing twice, Ventura County Fusion won both contests at home, blanking Ogden and Pali.

Follow Open Cup clubs on Twitter - Participant List [+] 

THIS WEEK*

Friday, May 18
Richmond Kickers 1:1 Pittsburgh Riverhounds
Dayton Dutch Lions 1:1 Rochester Rhinos
El Paso Patriots 1:2 @ Laredo Heat
Fresno Fuego 1:3 vs Orange County
Ventura County Fusion 2:0 vs Ogden

Saturday, May 19
Puerto Rico Islanders 1:1 Carolina RailHawks
Tampa Bay Rowdies 3:2 Atlanta Silverbacks
Minnesota Stars 3:1 Fort Lauderdale Strikers
FC Edmonton 0:2 San Antonio Scorpions
Dayton Dutch Lions 0:4 Harrisburg City Islanders
Charlotte Eagles 1:1 Wilmington Hammerheads
Reading United AC 1:0 @ Long Island Rough Riders
Michigan Bucks 4:1 vs Chicago Inferno
El Paso Patriots 1:6 @ Austin
Des Moines Menace 3:2 vs Kansas City
Brooklyn Italians 2:1 @ NY AC
Georgia Revolution 2:1 @ Jacksonville United

Sunday, May 20
Ventura County Fusion 3:0 vs Pali

*Open Cup PDL/NPSL clubs included, listed first &/or bold

The Weekend Before - Second Round

Nearly all of the lower division professional league clubs are in action the weekend before their entry into the 99th edition of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Still unbeaten in league play are 3-0-3 Minnesota Stars of the NASL and the USL Pro duo of defending champion Orlando City (6-0-1) and Rochester Rhinos (6-0-0).

Minnesota is on a trip to Florida to face the 2-2-3 Fort Lauderdale Strikers. The Rhinos are playing host to the 0-3-2 Dayton Dutch Lions while Orlando City is idle. Also off this weekend in USL Pro are the Charleston Battery and LA Blues.

In addition to Dayton, the Atlanta Silverbacks (0-3-4) and Carolina Railhawks (0-4-4) are looking for their first wins of the league campaign. Atlanta hosts Tampa Bay Rowdies and Carolina is at home against the league-leading Puerto Rico Islanders.

In the PDL and NPSL, there had been only one meeting between two Open Cup entrants prior to the First Round (Des Moines vs Real Colorado), but this week along there are three. In the PDL, the Texas duo of the 1-0-1 El Paso Patriots square off against the 0-1-0 Laredo Heat Friday evening. On Saturday, the 0-0-1 Reading United AC face Mid Atlantic Division foes Long Islander Rough Riders, who are kicking off their league campaign. Also on Saturday, the NPSL rivals Georgia Revolution and Jacksonville United meet up.

Also finally kicking off their league campaign are the Michigan Bucks, who play host to the expansion Chicago Inferno Saturday. The Chicago Fire will not play their first PDL game until the night following the Second Round fixture, playing host to River City Rovers.

Follow Open Cup clubs on Twitter - Participant List [+]

THIS WEEK*

Friday, May 18
Richmond Kickers @ Pittsburgh Riverhounds
Dayton Dutch Lions @ Rochester Rhinos
El Paso Patriots @ Laredo Heat
Fresno Fuego vs Orange County
Ventura County Fusion vs Ogden

Saturday, May 19
Puerto Rico Islanders @ Carolina RailHawks
Tampa Bay Rowdies @ Atlanta Silverbacks
Minnesota Stars @ Fort Lauderdale Strikers
FC Edmonton @ San Antonio Scorpions
Dayton Dutch Lions @ Harrisburg City Islanders
Charlotte Eagles @ Wilmington Hammerheads
Reading United AC @ Long Island Rough Riders
Michigan Bucks vs Chicago Inferno
El Paso Patriots @ Austin
Des Moines Menace vs Kansas City
Brooklyn Italians @ NY AC
Georgia Revolution @ Jacksonville United

Sunday, May 20
Ventura County Fusion vs Pali

*Open Cup PDL/NPSL clubs included, listed first &/or bold

US Open Cup First Round - Lineups

This page is a quick reference to lineups for the 2012 First Round during match night... We don't expect to get them all, but as we do they will be compiled here...

Chicago Fire PDL - #cf97 PDL Starters J. Godsey, D. Keller, D. Tiemstra, S. Totsch, P. Doody (C); B. Wahl, J. Bushue, H. Shipp, M. Blades; I. Kannah, C. Prince SUBS: S. Euler, T. Engel, D. Figura, C. Ritter, L. Medina, M. Gutierrez, J. Torres
Croatian Eagles - CE XI: Boyd; Narciso, Patterson, Schroeder, Von Rueden; Willan, Wiedabach, Suprise, Raymonds, Anderson; A. Lauber SUBS: A. Cop, A. Cranfill, E. Crespo, I. Ksenidi, G. Mena, M. Sethi, S L Ziba


Jacksonville: Stu McCrory in goal, Adam Allee, Mats Elmsater, Jacobi Goodfellow and Hollis Donaldson in the back, Tyler Williams, Jon Glenn, Sean Steed, Qui Que Hausler and Nedim Hrustic in the middle, Tommy Krizanovic up top: playing 4:5:1
Orlando City: NA

Bavarian starters: GK 31 Rhode, D 6 Stone, D 18 Goodnetter, D 17 Krenzien, D 23 Whitehead, M 4 Hoover, M 8 Islami M 9 Herrera, M 24 Madsen, F 20 Simmons
Des Moines: GK 28 Billings, D 19 Laetti, D 16 Lopez, D 6 Diem, D 17 Lawal, M 22 Moloto, M 11 McDaniel, M 8 Fricke, 2 M Armaral, 20 M Jupic, F 7 Silva

Cal FC XI: D. Carrillo (GK), Aghasyan, Arreola, Da. Barrera, Di. Barrera, Cruz, Espinoza, Gonzalez, Manjivar, Navarro, Randolph [Carillo played for Kitsap in 2010]
Kitsap: Kitsap: Brim; Friesen, MacLeod, Johnson, Medina, Mohn, Robbins, Sampson, Bettencourt, Miley, Truax SUBS - Lubin, Fabian, Drew Jensen, Jarrett Robbins, Jamie Thomas and Sam Zipperstein make up the bench

Fresno: Goalkeeper: G. Vega; Defenders; A. Berhane, TJ Grewal, E. Gonzales, E. Ochoa; Midfielders: N. Blanco, G. Cignetti, P. Islas, A. Campos, I. Yanez; Forward: T. Reinhart;

Fullerton: gk Geovanni Hernandez df julio garrido, david arvizu, mf, alex munoz, julio madrigal, fw cristian alvarado, elves rodan
Ventura County: Hayden, Steres, Rupert, R. Lopez, Chongo, Tsonis, Daly, F. Lopez, Roman, McGlynn, T. Pontius

TheCup.us creates Twitter Open Cup - #OpenCupFan

We few faithful who have managed and operated TheCup.us since the site’s founding in 2002 have had a burning question searing in our heads lately. How can we get the fans out there to show their appreciation or love for the US Open Cup?

In the past few years, we have seen a greater percentage of clubs in Major League Soccer taking the cup more seriously on the field and many fans have also displayed the same respect for the tournament we have long held.

Now we are asking you to show that pride to the world in a super Twitter battle that is OPEN TO ALL (including the ACC/CFU event clubs), regardless if your team qualified or not.

#OpenCupFan

All you have to do is tweet mentioning @usopencup and #OpenCupFan along with the name of the club(s) you support (preferably using their twitter name). We will tally the results and announce after the completion of the US Open Cup Third Round (featuring MLS teams) which clubs have the best support overall and in each league.

Add a Slogan

Got a slogan or something creative to say to support the tourney? Include the hashtag #OpenCupFan and a panel will select the best for publication along with the Twitter battle voting updates and results. Your tweets only count once toward the tally, but feel free to submit as many #OpenCupFan comments as you wish. More importantly, make sure your friends and followers do the same!

Follow 44 of the remaining 48 teams on Twitter in one place - 2012 Entrants List

A Call for a Canadian Open Cup

Jonah Freedman of MLSsoccer.com may be onto something - though it has been a topic of discussion for a long while - with his feature column about expanding and opening the Amway Canadian Championship into an event more like the US Open Cup. The question behind the scenes over the years has been: "Can we create an Open Cup in Canada?" Politics and the same financial realities the American version faces were the main roadblocks over the years, particularly before Major League Soccer grew over the border.

With Toronto FC came a desire from the then lower division Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps to continue to show that they are just as good, despite the technical designation of the league. The three clubs, having built themselves to a professional capability on and off the field far superior to those in the other Canadian and Canadian-American leagues, came together, with the revamped CONCACAF Champions League on the horizon, and created the Canadian Championship. That event, obviously, has evolved with Vancouver and Montreal moving up to MLS while FC Edmonton was also founded.

But four years later, the question still remains. Can Canada, with a lot of fan and, seemingly, corporate support, finally expand the nation's championship event and make it open to all levels of the sport?

The Weekend Before: PDL & NPSL clubs in action

With the First Round of the 2012 US Open Cup looming around the corner on Tuesday evening, 16 of the 22 clubs from the USL Premier Development League and National Premier Soccer League will be in action this weekend, many making their season debuts.

Ten clubs have already kicked off their campaigns and have a combined record of 10-5-5.

Among the clubs with multiple games already under their belts, the PDL’s Fresno Fuego and NPSL’s Brooklyn Italians are off to the best starts. Fresno, who visits Orange County Friday evening, has won all three matches. Brooklyn, which travels to Rhode Island Saturday, has won both contests on its slate.

On the other side of the ledger are the Des Moines Menace, who are winless through three. Coming off a 1-0 road loss in Springfield Wednesday, the Menace visit St Louis Saturday looking to head into the tournament on a positive note. A primary reason for the 0-2-1 start is a season-opening series with fellow Open Cup participant Real Colorado Foxes, the only league meetings between First Round clubs thus far. The Foxes won the second match, 1-0, after a 1-1 draw in the season opener of the double dip.

With the advanced time frame of the tournament, nearly a month earlier than the past, PDL clubs will go into the event without any games played for the first time. The Long Island Rough Riders and divisional foes Michigan Bucks and Chicago Fire PDL will not open their league schedules until after they begin their Open Cup campaign. In the NPSL, FC Sonic and Milwaukee Bavarians will also enter the tournament without any official matches played.

Follow 52 of the 64 teams on Twitter in one place - @USOpenCup/USOC2012Entrants

THIS WEEKEND
(Open Cup club listed first)

Friday
PDL: Orlando City U23 v Fort Lauderdale
PDL: Fresno Fuego @ Orange County
PDL: Portland Timbers U-23s v Fraser Valley

Saturday
PDL: GPS Portland Phoenix v Vermont
PDL: Carolina Dynamo v Real Maryland
PDL: Reading United AC v New Jersey
PDL: Des Moines Menace v St Louis
PDL: Laredo Heat @ Texas
PDL: Mississippi Brilla v Ocala
PDL: Real Colorado Foxes v Winnipeg
PDL: Kitsap Pumas v Fraser Valley
PDL: El Paso Patriots v Austin
NPSL: Jacksonville United v Myrtle Beach
NPSL: Georgia Revolution v Mississippi
NPSL: Brooklyn Italians @ Rhode Island

Sunday
PDL: Ventura County Fusion @ Los Angeles
PDL: Real Colorado Foxes v Winnipeg

Canadian Championship kicks off Wednesday; Monterrey repeats as CCL champs

A week after CONCACAF crowned Monterrey champions and while the US Open Cup and its modern professional era record 64 entrants are busy preparing for the 99th edition of the tournament, the Amway Canadian Championship's fifth edition is about to kick off Wednesday evening with the three MLS clubs and one lower division NASL entrant.

FC Edmonton of the NASL and Montreal Impact, in their first season as an MLS club, will play host to the first leg matches. The second leg matches for the Canadian Championship are next Wednesday, April 9.

The Vancouver Whitecaps will head north with a 4-2-2 record in league play to face the winless FC Edmonton (0-3-1), who picked up their first point two weeks ago with a scoreless draw in Puerto Rico and ended their scoreless status in a wild 4-3 loss at their home opener 10 days ago.

Vancouver has yet to win the competition, finishing as runners-up the past three years. FC Edmonton is hoping to become the second lower division side to win the competition since the Montreal Impact accomplished the feat in the inaugural edition in 2008. It will be only the second all-Canadian match this season for Vancouver, who opened the MLS season with a 2-0 victory over the visiting Impact, who were making their league debut. Sebastien Le Toux and Camilo Sanvezzo scored in the match.

Open Cup Chronicles: Hejduk and Burke

US and Columbus Crew great Frankie Hejduk announced his official retirement Thursday, returning to Columbus for a front office position after a year in Los Angeles playing for the Galaxy in 2011. Hejduk’s announcement comes just prior to another team great being honored in Richmond Saturday, Michael Burke.

In honor of both, I thought I would take a look back at their histories with the US Open Cup as most reminiscent stories about the duo will focus on their overall career achievements, which are numerous.