A little over a week after being the last two teams to qualify for the Lamar Hunt Open Cup, both California South teams are heading to the second round thanks to impressive upsets.
Cal FC, managed by Eric Wynalda and Nick Webster, took out the USL Premier Development League champions, Kitsap Pumas, 3-1 behind two goals from Danny Barrera. He gave Cal FC a 1-0 lead going into half and scored another in the 66th minute.
Kitsap posted a comeback opportunity once Matt Friesen scored in the 72nd minute, but the Pumas would lose a player in the 80th minute after Danny Medina was sent off. The victory was the first for Cal South since 2008 when Hollywood United upset the Portland Timbers.
Cal South champions, PSA Elite, were successful in their first round matchup as well. Thanks to two goals from Davis Paul and a strong defensive effort from goalkeeper Trevor Whiddon, the Elite downed Portland Timbers U23s by the score 3-1.
PSA Elite continued to display their defensive prowess as was the case in the Region 4 tournament. They proved patience and good tactical play is hard to beat, especially in the second half when the Timbers came within a goal and picked up their offensive pressure.
Both teams will head across the country to North Carolina for their second round matchups. Cal FC will take on the Wilmington Hammerheads, and PSA Elite will face the Carolina RailHawks.
Two other regional USASA clubs also find themselves heading to the second round.
DC/Virginia’s Aegean Hawks, a 3-time US Open Cup qualifier in the last seven years, handled a young Carolina Dynamo club 3-1. Scott Larrabee netted two first half goals and Matt Ney added a goal in the 86th minute to cap off the victory.
The Hawks next step is a spar with the Richmond Kickers.
KC Athletics, a club founded in 2001, defeated Real Colorado Foxes 3-1 for their first US Open Cup win. They’ll take on Orlando City SC in the second round.
The Croatian Eagles, NY Greek American Atlas and ASC New Stars also put up great fights.
The Eagles fell to the Chicago Fire PDL 0-1 after letting up a goal in the 5th minute to Isaac Kannah. Eagles’ goalkeeper Bryce Boyd had a stand out performance. He finished with eight saves and kept the Eagles, who went to a 3-5-2 in the second half to try to increase their offensive opportunities, in the game.
Reading United rained on NY Greek American Atlas’ night beating the former US Open Cup winner 2-1. Down 0-2, NY Greek Atlas’ Stephen Roche scored a 64th minute goal only to have the game delayed for over an hour due to weather.
ASC New Stars gave the Laredo heat a scare taking their game to overtime but fell 2-4. The New Stars played a man down for the final 30 minutes of the match and overtime.
Results of all nine USASA regional teams are listed below:
Croatian Eagles - 0
Chicago Fire PDL - 1
NY Greek American Atlas - 1
Reading United - 2
Carolina Dynamo - 1
Aegean Hawks - 3
Jersey Shore Boca - 0
Michigan Bucks - 6
KC Athletics - 3
Real Colorado Foxes - 1
ASC New Stars - 2
Laredo Heat - 4 OT
NTX Rayados - 1
El Paso Patriots - 3
PSA Elite - 3
Portland Timbers U23s - 1
Cal FC - 3
Kitsap Pumas - 1
