US Open Cup round-up, March 19

Of the nine games that took place last night, each between a third-tier side and one from lower down the (unofficial) soccer pyramid, four saw victories for the lower-ranked teams, a rate of upsets that bodes well for seasoned underdog fanciers. The win that grabbed the headlines was Vermont Green's victory over USL League One leaders Lexington SC. The USL League Two club became the first to host a US Open Cup game in the Green Mountain State, and only the second side from Vermont to take part in the competition's latter stages, and a sell-out crowd of 3,500 was on hand to see the Burlington outfit race into a 2-0 lead courtesy of Zach Barrett and Nick Lockermann (whose corner Barrett had nodded in). Isaac Cano pulled one back for the visitors after 20 minutes had elapsed but Jacob Labovitz added a third for the Green midway through the first half and, with the score at 3-1 at half-time, the upset watch was on. The Vermont fans were in dreamland five minutes into the second-half when Labovitz, a former Greenville Triumph player, scored his second, and even two goals from Cameron Lancaster couldn't spoil Vermont Green's party, a 4-3 win emphatically celebrated by both players and fans.

Down in Tennessee, new MLS Next Pro side Chattanooga FC welcomed Miami United to Finley Stadium, the two very familiar from the days they shared in the NPSL. United now play in the United States Soccer League's Florida division - sixth-tier at best - but played a textbook defensive game to restrict the home side to zero shots on target. The visitors managed two, though, and one of them - from Colombian veteran Jhon Pajoy was all it took for the Florida side to move through to the next round. Two other Florida minnows were less fortunate, both in games against third-tier sides from Georgia. USL League Two Braves SC hosted NISA's Savannah Clovers, with both sides playing their first games of 2024, but the visitors' greater experience told with a 2-0 win courtesy of first-half goals from Roderic Green and Vladimir Jokic. The stupidly named FC America CFL Spurs of the fifth-tier UPSL travelled to Statesboro to play South Georgia Tormenta in the USL-1 side's third home game in a row but were undone by Nick Akoto's fifth minute goal for the hosts.

With Chattanooga bowing out, you might have thought that the evening's remaining MLS Next Pro sides - the reserve teams of Austin FC and Portland Timbers - might have put up more of a defence of their division, but both were defeated at home. Austin FC II are reigning MLS Next Pro champions but could only draw 2-2 with Dallas-based Foro SC of the UPSL, going behind after 39 minutes when Jonathan Sauceda headed the visitors in front. Jonathan Santillan forced an own goal equaliser early in the second-half but even a red card for Foro's Ivan Muanze-Bengono couldn't prevent the game going to extra-time. Sebastian Pineau looked to have won the game for Los Verde on the stroke of extra-time half-time, but Foro kept pressing and achieved the impossible with an equaliser from Kyle Bennett coming in stoppage time. The game went to penalties and Bennett scored the winner for Foro, sending MLS representatives Austin tumbling out. 

It looked to be more straightforward for Portland Timbers 2, playing NPSL side El Farolito SC at Providence Park, home of the first team Timbers. Keesean Ferdinand put the home side ahead on the half-hour mark when he pounced in an error by the Farolito goalkeeper and it stayed that way until the 52nd minute, when former Atletico Nacional man Sebastian Yabur levelled for Farlotio, who won the US Open Cup in 1993 under the name Club Deportivo Mexico. Timbers 2 then had Harvey Neville sent off a minute later, giving Farolito the impetus to press for a winner, which duly arrived when Honduran striker Dembor Benson put the fourth-tier side through.

It was business as usual elsewhere as USL-1's Forward Madison defeated Duluth FC of the NPSL 2-0 in Wisconsin thanks to a brace from Christian Chaney, NISA regular Maryland Bobcats won 2-0 away at West Chester United (also of the NPSL, and with Darwin Espinal scoring twice), and Tulsa Athletic couldn't repeat their heroics of a year ago when they hosted Northern Colorado Hailstorm of USL-1. 1-0 up at half-time thanks to Lucky Opara, the visitors put their foot on the gas in the second-half and went 4-0 up thanks to Irvin Parra, Mark Hernandez, and Ethan Hoard, with Athletic grabbing a consolation through Riolan Mello just before the final whistle.