CHICAGO (April 4, 2023) – The Second Round of the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, U.S. Soccer’s national championship, began with all the big dogs taking care of business. In all, 10 teams advanced on the first match day of the Second Round, which continues on Wednesday with 17 games – eight of which will be broadcast on the B/R app and B/R Football YouTube.
All nine Division II (USL Championship) pro teams advanced against lower division competition and in the lone match featuring a Div. III pro club as the favorites against amateur opposition, the higher-tired team also advanced.
USL League 1 (Div. III) side One Knoxville SC were the closest to pulling a Cupset on the night, taking USL Championship strugglers Memphis 901 to within 90 seconds of penalty kicks. But the more established of the two Tennessee sides grabbed a heart stopping win 2-1 in extra time.
Elsewhere, what would have seemed a Cupset on paper, never materialized as USL Championship club San Antonio FC’s academy players pulled off a comeback, 2-1 win in extra time against NISA’s Club de Lyon FC (Div. III), which gave a valiant account of itself.
It was a relatively worry-free night for the other eight teams, especially, New Mexico United (USLC), which smashed local amateurs UDA Soccer 6-0 in the Land of Enchantment. Similarly, USL Championship sides Miami FC, Hartford Athletic, Tampa Bay Rowdies, Charleston Battery and Oakland Roots all won by multi-goal margins. Fellow USL Championship club Detroit City FC pipped new Motor City upstarts Gold Star Detroit (NISA) 1-0 in a hard-fought affair.
After Wednesday’s massive slate of 17 games, U.S. Soccer will conduct the Third Round Draw at 6:30 p.m. ET. The Draw, available to watch on the B/R app and B/R Football YouTube, will serve as the lead-in to the final game of the week, which sees 1995 Open Cup champs Richmond Kickers (USLL1) host amateurs Cleveland SC at 7 p.m. ET on the B/R app and B/R Football YouTube.
The Open Cup Third Round welcomes 18 lower-seeded Division I (MLS) clubs to the competition. Teams in the Third Round will be pooled geographically into groups of either four or six (depending on geographic distribution), with the Div. I clubs distributed as evenly as possible among the groups. All Div. I sides will be drawn to face a Second Round winner and not another Division I club.
Second Round Recaps
Miami FC (USLC) 3, Jacksonville Armada FC (NPSL) 1
Second-half substitute Claudio Repetto scored twice in the final eight minutes to snap a 1-1 deadlock in Miami FC’s favor at FIU Soccer Stadium in Miami, Fla. The visiting Armada finished what was a physical match with nine men, Miami with 10. Repetto, who entered the match in the 64th minute, volleyed home a left-wing cross by Aedan Stanley in the 82nd minute before he converted a penalty kick in the 85th to seal the match. With visions of a cupset, Jacksonville grabbed a 33rd-minute lead as Luto Tom sent a pass over the Miami defense to a racing Charles Eloundou, who beat goalkeeper Jacob McGuire. A minute later, the hosts equalized as Ryan Telfer headed in a corner kick from the left side past keeper Nicklas Rulle. Tom was given his marching orders after being awarded his second yellow card in the 43rd minute. Miami, however, wound up playing a man down after Curtis Thorn received his second yellow five minutes into the second half. The visitors were reduced to nine players when Ayrton Redmore accrued his second yellow in the 84th minute.
Hartford Athletic (USLC) 3, Lansdowne Yonkers FC (EPSL) 0
Ghanaian striker Elvis Amoh had a night to remember with Hartford Athletic as they captured their first victory of 2023 across all competitions with a resounding 3-0 victory over storied amateur side, Lansdowne Yonkers FC. After several quality chances on goal in the opening minutes, Hartford Athletic finally broke the deadlock when Amoh opened the scoring with a 27th-minute goal, assisted by Kyle Edwards. Though the clubs went to halftime separated by a single goal, Hartford Athletic looked to be the club in control and used the second half to add more insurance goals to the scoreboard. In the 73rd minute, Hartford was awarded a penalty kick, which was cooly placed by Amoh to get him one step closer to his eventual hat trick. The evening was capped off with a third goal from Amoh in the 82nd minute with the assist provided by Jeciel Cedeño. Hartford Athletic finished the night with 24 shots, 9 of which were on goal.
One Knoxville SC (USLL1) 1, Memphis 901 FC (USLC) 1, 1-2 AET
In one of the most dramatic finishes in recent years, Jeremy Kelly scored four minutes into stoppage time of the second extra time to boost Memphis past their hosts at Regal Soccer Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. As the match appeared headed to a shootout, Aaron Molloy sent in a corner kick that deflected off a Knoxville player to Kelly, who buried a seven-yard shot past goalkeeper Peter Swinkels. Ninety seconds later, the final whistled sounded. Memphis drew first blood in the 38th minute when Dylan Borczak headed home Molloy's free kick from the left side, from six yards out. Knoxville knotted things up in the 56th minute as Ilja Ilic converted a penalty kick to the lower right corner, sending goalkeeper Bill Hamid the wrong way.
Detroit City FC (USLC) 1, Gold Star Detroit (NISA) 0
USL Championship club Detroit City FC narrowly avoided a scare in their 1-0 victory over NISA side Gold Star Detroit. In the opening minutes, confidence was riding high for Gold Star, which was able to put some quality pressure on their higher division hosts. As the first half wore on, Detroit City FC put together their own attempts on goal and had a big chance go to waste, but found the back of the net shortly before halftime. In the 43rd minute, Yazeed Matthews scored the lone goal and match winner. Matthews finished the night with three shots, two of which were on goal and was only dispossessed once. With the win, Detroit City brings themselves one step closer to matching last year's Open Cup run, which ended in the Fourth Round.
Tampa Bay Rowdies (USLC) 2, Nona FC (USLL2) 0
Lucky Mkosana scored one goal and assisted another in the first half to pace the Rowdies at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, Fla. Mkosana set up JJ Williams, who slotted the ball past Nona goalkeeper Rafael Santos in the 25th minute. Seven minutes later, Mkosana buried a cross from Dayonn Harris for a two-goal advantage. Tampa keeper Connor Sparrow recorded the clean sheet. Rowdies head coach Neill Collins was not allowed to sit on the bench as he served a suspension due to a red card he incurred when Tampa Bay was eliminated by eventual champion Orlando City SC in the 2022 Third Round last April.
Flower City Union (NISA) 3, Manhattan SC (USLL2) 1
It was an action-packed evening at the Rochester Community Sports Complex, as Flower City Union and Manhattan SC battled it out. When it was all said and done, Flower City Union walked away the victor with a 3-1 win at home. Flower City scored first with a goal from Stephen Elias in the 36th minute, following a corner kick. The home side doubled their lead before halftime with another goal from Elias, this time in open play from the top of the goal area. Manhattan SC made things interesting in the 71st minute after Bibi Karamoko was able to find space inside Flower City’s box and place the ball in the upper corner. Just over ten minutes later, Flower City separated themselves fromm the visitors when Alioune Diakhate scored in the 82nd minute, assisted by Angelo Calfo. Flower City will wait anxiously to be assigned an opponent in the next round as they look to get past the Third Round for the first time in club history.
Charleston Battery (USLC) 4, Savannah Clovers FC (NISA) 1
Augi Williams keeps putting the charge in the Battery. Robbie Crawford scored before halftime and Williams, Charleston’s leading scorer with 16 goals in 2022, got on the score sheet early in the second half en route to a 4-1 victory at Patriots Point Soccer Stadium in Mount Pleasant, S.C. Crawford opened up Savannah’s defense in the 36th minute when his shot was deflected inside the area but beat Clovers keeper Jack Pondy under the bar, and Williams put a one-touch finish on a clinical give-and-go five minutes into the second half for a 2-0 lead. Tristan Trager scored his first goal for the Battery two minutes after the hour mark before Andy Sanchez put Clovers on the board in the 75th minute. Nick Markanich added one more for Charleston, which advances out of the Second Round for the first time since 2019.
San Antonio FC (USLC) 1, Club De Lyon FC (NISA) 1, 2-1 AET
Roman Holt smiled before and took a bow after scoring the game-winning penalty in overtime. The 18-year-old academy player stepped to the spot and calmly slotted a shot to the lower left corner in the first overtime as the reigning USL Championship kings were forced to come from behind at Toyota Stadium in San Antonio, Texas. Augustine Ortiz, one of only 12 players rostered by Club de Lyon, pounced on a rebound off the post in the 62nd minute as the visitors shocked the crowd by taking an initial lead. Dane Augustin equalized for San Antonio FC in the 79th minute with his left-footed curler that snuck inside the far post that sent the match to extra time. In the first overtime period, Max Salinas was fouled on a darting run into the box, resulting in a PK and Holt bagging SAFC the lead. Goalkeeper Carlos Mercado made two reaction saves late in the second overtime to preserve the victory for San Antonio FC.
New Mexico United (USLC) 6, UDA Soccer (UPSL) 0
The first U.S. Open Cup match between two New Mexico clubs was very one-sided. Jose Sosa scored his first professional goal in the third minute, and Joshua Dolling scored three times in the second half as New Mexico United ran away from their amateur opponents at Rio Rancho High School Stadium. Journeyman midfielder Justin Portillo, 30, scored his ninth goal in 34 appearances for New Mexico United in the first half, and Dolling had goals in the 48th, 61st and 73rd minutes in United’s tournament-opening win. Sosa, making his debut, scored on an assist from Englishman Daniel Bruce, who also added a goal to help lead New Mexico United to the Third Round for the second straight year.
Oakland Roots (USLC) 3, El Farolito (NPSL) 1
Emotions ran high in the East Bay on the Opening Night of 2023 U.S. Open Cup Second Round. Johnny Rodriguez had a goal and an assist, and Wolfgang Prentice scored twice in the first half as Oakland Roots, playing now at CSU-East Bay’s historic soccer specific Pioneer Stadium in Hayward, Calif., won its first Open Cup match in club history. Rodriguez’s headed goal in the 12th minute – his third in three matches across all competitions this season – came from a free kick, and Wolfgang Prentice added goals in the 19th and 24th minutes for the Roots, which lost in its tournament debut last year. Ricardo Delgado converted a penalty right after halftime to give El Farolito hope, but a series of late confrontations led to Jehimy Arias receiving a second caution for dissent. Despite being forced to finish the game with 10 men, the 1993 Open Cup champions gave a strong accounting of themselves, hitting the bar late on as they tried to mount an ultimately unsuccessful comeback.
