Three upsets; Richmond wins Battle of Champions
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
TAMPA, FL – Aside from one postponed match, the First Round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup has concluded with three amateur teams recording upsets over professional clubs to advance to the Second Round. The PDL’s Ocean City Barons and El Paso Patriots moved on as did the USASA’s Milwaukee Bavarians. In the Battle of Champions, the Richmond Kickers topped the Michigan Bucks 4-2.
The Upsets
Barons bounce Crystal Palace Baltimore 1-0
Byron Carmichael scored the lone goal just before halftime on an assist by Sean Boyle while Adam Edwards made eight saves for his fifth straight shutout in all competitions. Down a man since the 22nd minute when Harold Urquijo, Baltimore’s Colombian youth international, was shown a straight red card after delivering an elbow to the head of Barons defender Adam Ennis, it looked as though Palace were going to get through the first half unscathed until Boyle delivered a pass to Carmichael at the top of the 18-yard box. The veteran striker turned quickly and toe-poked the ball past a diving Rowland to give the Barons a 1-0 lead in the 45th minute. Crystal Palace continued to press, and rarely looked like a team playing with 10 men but were unable to find an equalizer and eventually saw Sergio Flores sent off in stoppage time.
Patriots get past Miami 4-3 on penalties after 2-2 draw
Goalkeeper Jorge Muniz denied a legend from the spot and fired the match-winner in penalty kicks, as the El Paso Patriots won the first penalty kick knockout in franchise history, beating Miami FC, 4-3, after a 2-2 draw through overtime, to earn a spot in the Second Round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. A Omar Mora cross to Michael Griego gave El Paso the early lead only to see Zinho level the match with a blast to the far post and Jamaican international Sean Fraser give the visitors the lead in the 78th minute. An 89th minute equalizer from Mora forced overtime and eventually penalties as the match ended 2-2. That’s when Muniz turned hero, stopping Zinho’s penalty attempt in the third round of the tiebreaker and scoring the winning tally himself in the final round to put the Patriots through.
Bavarians make history with win over Cincinnati 1-0
The Bavarians through Steve Sperl scored the lone goal of the match five minutes into the game and held on for the victory. The Kings struggled in the first half playing sluggishly which led to their fourth straight road loss. They rebounded by taking control of the match in the second half, but were unable to mount an attack that would net them an equalizing goal. The Bavarians became the first team from the USASA to register two victories over professional teams in the tournament, having previously defeated the Reading Rage (then a USL-2 club) in 2003.
The Battle of Champions
Richmond quells Michigan comeback 4-2
Despite a three hour lightning delay halfway through tonight’s match, the defending USL-2 champion Richmond Kickers were able to defeat the defending PDL champion Michigan Bucks 4-2. The 2006 USL-2 MVP Robert Ssejjemba put Richmond on the board in the 17th and defender Trevor McEachron scored his second in three games in all competitions for a 2-0 lead going into the three hour halftime session. Both teams perhaps needing a bit of time to get back into the groove, three goals came in a six minute span halfway through the second stanza as Sascha Gorres put Richmond up 3-0 in the 70th. Back-to-back Zavier Balc to Nik Djokic strikes in the 73rd and 76th for Michigan put the Bucks back in the match before Matt Watson scored the final tally four minutes from time.
The Scares
Western Mass rallies for 3-2 overtime win
On the road against the USASA’s Danbury United, the Western Mass Pioneers headed into overtime tied 1-1. The host club took the early lead in overtime with Mauro Santos scoring two minutes in for a 2-1 lead, but without golden goal the Pioneers still had an opportunity to move on to the Second Round. In the 105th minute Jeff Deren provided the equalizer on a penalty and four minutes later Easton Wilson struck for the game-winner.
Rhinos edge Rough Riders 1-0
Playing their third game in five days and missing several starters to injury, the Rhinos worked their way to a win over Long Island on a goal from Matthew Delicate 20 minutes in. Chase Harrison kept busy with nine saves as he kept the visitors off the board to move the 1999 tournament champions onto the next round.
Thunder rally past Indios 3-2
Minnesota fell behind five minutes in to the USASA’s El Paso Indios before scoring three straight for a commanding lead. Godfrey Tenoff set up Jeremiah Bass and Darren Spice in the 37th and 40th minutes for the lead at the break and Leo Gibson made it 3-1 in the 66th.
Complete Scoreboard
Visitor :: Home
Western Mass Pioneers 3 :: OT :: 2 Danbury United
Crystal Palace Baltimore 0 :: 1 Ocean City Barons
RWB Adria 1 :: 4 Carolina RailHawks
Western Mass Pioneers 3 :: OT :: 2 Danbury United
Crystal Palace Baltimore 0 :: 1 Ocean City Barons
RWB Adria 1 :: 4 Carolina RailHawks
Central Florida Kraze 0 :: 3 Charleston Battery
Long Island Rough Riders 0 :: 1 Rochester Rhinos
Milwaukee Bavarians 1 :: 0 Cincinnati Kings
Kansas City Brass 0 :: 4 Cleveland City Stars
El Paso Indios USA 2 :: 3 Minnesota Thunder
Azzurri 0 :: 10 Atlanta Silverbacks
Aegean Hawks 0 :: 4 Harrisburg City Islanders
California Victory 2 :: 1 BYU Cougars
Michigan Bucks 2 :: 4 Richmond Kickers
Portland Timbers 2 :: 0 Bakersfield Brigade
Miami FC (3) 2 :: PK :: 2 (4) El Paso Patriots
Banat Storm 1 :: 4 Seattle Sounders
Lynch’s Irish Pub @ Charlotte Eagles - Wednesday, 7:30 pm ET
US Open Cup Second Round - Tuesday, June 26
Harrisburg at Ocean City – 7:30 pm ET
Western Mass at Rochester – 7:35 pm ET
Cleveland City at Richmond – 7:00 pm ET
Milwaukee at Carolina – 7:30 pm ET
Charlotte/Lynch’s at Atlanta – 7:55 pm ET
El Paso at Charleston – 7:30 pm ET
California at Minnesota – 8:05 pm ET
Portland at Seattle – 10:00 pm ET
