US Open Cup round-up, March 20

After four of Tuesday's matches ended in "cupsets," it was business as usual in the majority of Wednesday thirteen ties, with just two lower-league sides progressing (and one of those by default). NPSL side Apotheos FC, formed in 2021 and based 30 miles northwest of downtown Atlanta, were given a walkover win over Georgia Lions, one of a crop of new sides in the NISA league this year who clearly weren't ready to start a club from scratch in such a short amount of time. They will be joined in the next round by Des Moines Menace of USL League Two, who managed to secure a draw away at another of the new NISA teams, Capo FC, and then win the penalty shootout. The Iowa club made headlines by signing former USMNT star Sasha Kljestan, who retired at the end of the 2022 MLS season with LA Galaxy, could only swell the gate to around 100 fans but played the full 120 minutes for Menace and assisted Cyrus Harmon for the opening goal eight minutes into the second-half. Capo hit back through Parker Scalzo 13 minutes later and 1-1 was how it stayed through to the end of 90 minutes. Capo had Daniel Segal sent-off five minutes after the restart and former Sporting Kansas City academy player Leroy Enzugusi thought he'd won it for the visitors with just three minutes left to play, only for Scalzo to equalise with almost the last kick of the game to take it to penalties. After the first four penalties for each side had been converted, Kljestan stepped up to give Des Moines the advantage and it was Scalzo who took Capo's final kick, shooting over the bar to send the USL-2 side through.

There were three other games in California last night, all with third-tier clubs successfully negotiating some tricky hurdles. NISA side LA Force welcomed Redlands FC to their new base at Long Beach Community College, with the USL-2 side acquitting themselves well early on, until former Hartford Athletic man Joel Quist opened the scoring for the hosts on 40 minutes. Redlands levelled two minutes later through Ethan Kovach and it looked like penalties might be needed here, too, but Jose Montes put Force through with six minutes to spare. Fellow NISA club Irvine Zeta were playing the first game of their professional era and hosted 2023 US Amateur Cup champions SC Mesoamerica at the Championship Soccer Stadium, also home to the USL Championship's Orange County SC. Japanese midfielder Shin'ya Kadono, who started his career with OC, got an early goal for Zeta in the 12th minute and despite some pressure from the visitors, that's how it stayed (with a red card for Mesoamerica's Gonzalo Salguero for good measure). The third game in the Golden State came from east of Sacramento, where FC Folsom of the UPSL welcomed USL-1's Central Valley Fuego to Folsom Lake College. Jason Ramos put Jermaine Jones's visitors ahead in the 9th minute and that's how it stayed to the half-time whistle despite both sides having their chances. Six minutes into the second-half, Moshi Wilondja headed in from close range to tie the game but the professionals' class showed as Shavon John-Brown fired home to take Fuego through to round two.

Up the coast in Seattle, 2024 USL-2 champions Ballard FC were cheered on by 1,800 fans as they took on USL-1 expansion side Spokane Velocity at the University of Washington. It was a tight affair with chances at a premium and it took Andre Lewis's 97th minute strike to separate the teams just as extra-time was beckoning. Over in Florida, 2024 UPSL champions AS Frenzi and NISA's Club de Lyon met in an Orlando-area derby at Daytona Beach College Soccer Stadium and, with CdL having endured a torrid season in 2023, hopes were high for an upset. The pro side went ahead in the 9th minute when Frenzi's Kevin Miranda put through his own net, with Juan Manuel Martinez doubling Lyon's advantage midway through the first half. Miranda headed in on 35 minutes to reduce the deficit and the home side got off to the best possible start after the break, levelling the scores through Jean Forestal two minutes in. Their chances of kicking on were dealt a huge blow, though, when Justin Dorman got two yellow cards in five minutes and was dismissed in the 53rd minute, but it still took Lyon until the 90th minute to find a winner, Martinez notching his second to take the NISA side through.

400 miles north in Columbia, South Carolina United Bantams were facing state rivals Greenville Triumph in a USL-2 versus USL-1 clash. A decent crowd of 600 trekked out to the SEFL Soccer Complex but chances were at a premium in the first half, which ended looked to be ending goalless before veteran striker Leonardo Castro headed Triumph in front. That's how it stayed to the final whistle, despite the Bantams having two good chances in stoppage time. Over the border in North Carolina, USL-2 Asheville City and USL-1 One Knoxville resurrected the Smokey Mountain Series trophy they played for in USL-2 in 2022, with over a thousand fans on hand at Asheville's Greenwood Field stadium to witness the clash. Asheville had the better of the game and dominated the goal chances but it was Knoxville's class that showed, taking the tie (and the golden work boot) thanks to first-half goals from Rodolfo Castro and Callum Johnson. Jalen Crisler saw red for the visitors just past the hour mark. Richmond Kickers won the US Open Cup in 1995 and are one of the biggest sides currently playing at division III level. They hosted Christos FC, based out of a Baltimore liquor shop, at City Stadium and it was only Adrian Billhardt's first-half stoppage-time goal that separated the teams at the final whistle.

The final three games all featured MLS Next Pro sides and, with all three of their representatives falling on Tuesday night, a small amount of pride was at stake, as well as a berth in round two. New York Red Bulls II - who really need a snappier name - took on USL-2's Hudson Valley Hammers at Montclair State University, 1,073 fans enjoying a game with 33 shots, 20 of them on target. Six of those were converted, with five of them going to the home side. Red Bulls raced into a 3-0 lead courtesy of Dylan Sullivan, Mohammed Sofo, and Aiden Jarvis, after Dylan Evande saw red for a bad foul 12 minutes in, but Brazilian midfielder Israel Neto pulled one back for the Hammers with 11 minutes left on the clock to give the visitors some hope. It was New York who finished the game strongly, though, adding two more goals through Malick Demebele and Ibrahim Kasule to go through 5-1. The other two games came from Chicago, where Chicago Fire II hosted Chicago City of USL-2, and everyone's favourite second side Chicago House AC (of the sixth-tier Midwest Premier League) welcomed Minnesota United 2 to the Windy City. 

Fire's reserves had an easy time of it at SeatGeek Stadium, where goals from Giovanni Granda, David Poreba, Michael Nesci, Harold Osorio, Vitaliy Hlyut, and a Aleksandar Labovic own goal completed a 6-0 route, and it was also straightforward for the Loons on the Elmhurst University campus in the west of the city as Jordan Abebayo-Smith put three unanswered goals past Tony Halterman in the House goal. The remaining ten games in the first round are tonight.