USL PRO U.S. Open Cup Round-Up
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
CHARLESTON, S.C. – A pair of goals by Dane Kelly and Nicki Paterson allowed the Charleston Battery to rally for a 2-1 victory against the PDL’s Reading United in the second round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday night at Blackbaud Stadium, giving the Battery the opportunity to host Major League Soccer’s New York Red Bulls in the third round next Tuesday night.
After a scoreless first half that saw an even contest between the two sides, Reading was able to take the lead in the 64th minute as defender Ibikunle Olutolani headed home a corner. The Battery were able to hit back quickly, though, as Navion Boyd’s pass found Dane Kelly five minutes later, and the Jamaican striker was able to fire the equalizer into the corner of the net from 25 yards out.
The Battery then got what proved to be the game-winner with 12 minutes to go, as Paterson curled a beautiful free kick from the left side, 30 yards out, into the top-left corner of the net. According to the Charleston Post and Courier’s Andrew Miller, it was the third time Paterson had scored the goal that eliminated Reading from the Open Cup in the past four seasons, having previously done so for Harrisburg in 2009 and Real Maryland in 2010.
“We knew this game wasn’t going to be easy,” Charleston captain Colin Falvey told the Post and Courier. “We knew a couple of their players. They are good college players. We knew they were going to be direct and they wouldn’t be intimidated by us. Everyone wanted to talk about the Red Bulls, but I knew we’d have our hands full.”
Battery coach Mike Anhaeuser also paid tribute to the Reading side.
“I will tell you they are a good side, and they have some quality young players,” Anhaeuser said. “They did a very good job causing us some problems, particularly on the corner kicks and free kicks.”
DAYTON 2, CHICAGO PDL 1: The Dayton Dutch Lions got a stoppage-time goal by Daniel Holowaty to earn victory against the Chicago Fire PDL at the Toyota Park Practice Field to advance to the third round of the U.S. Open Cup for the first time in the club’s history.
After a scoreless first half, the Dutch Lions had taken the lead through Eli Garner in the 58th minute as he finished a chance created by Shane Smith. Dayton appeared to be headed through until the final minute, when the Fire PDL’s Brendan King volleyed home an equalizer, apparently sending the game to overtime. Dayton responded immediately, however, with Holowaty scoring the decisive goal in the 92nd minute to put his side through.
The Dutch Lions will now travel to face the Columbus Crew at Crew Stadium next Tuesday in the third round. The contest will be the first time the USL PRO club has faced MLS competition in the Open Cup.
HARRISBURG 2, LONG ISLAND 0: Two second-half goals by reigning USL PRO Player of the Week Yann Ekra and Brian Ombiji were enough to lift the Harrisburg City Islanders past the PDL’s Long Island Rough Riders in the second round of the Open Cup at Skyline Sports Complex.
The City Islanders broke through two minutes after halftime as Morgan Langley provided a cross from the right that allowed Ekra to score his fifth goal in his last four games in all competitions. Long Island struggled to find scoring chances until a late strike by Keith Detelj hit the post in the 80th minute, and by that time the City Islanders had doubled their lead through Ombiji off an assist by Andrew Welker.
The City Islanders will now host the New England Revolution next Tuesday at Skyline Sports Complex in the third round of the tournament at 7 p.m.
ROCHESTER 3, BROOKLYN 0: Tam McManus scored his first goal for the Rhinos as they claimed a convincing victory against the Brooklyn Italians to advance to a third round Open Cup contest against the Philadelphia Union.
McManus broke the deadlock off a corner as Troy Roberts’ header back across goal found the Scotsman, who finished into the left corner of the net. Roberts also played a role in setting up the Rhinos’ second goal for Conor Chinn, his header playing the forward in for a finish from seven yards out.
The victory wasn’t without incident, Brooklyn’s Kirk Scarlet being sent off in the 59th minute for a bad challenge on McManus that saw the forward need to be substituted, but JC Banks added a third for the Rhinos late on to complete the victory and send the Rhinos to PPL Park next Tuesday for their contest with the Union.
RICHMOND 4, AEGEAN 0: Two goals in either half allowed the Richmond Kickers to advance into the third round of the Open Cup as Chris Agorsor had a pair of goals in their win against the Aegean Hawks at the Maryland Soccerplex. The victory means the Kickers will host D.C. United at City Stadium next Tuesday night.
Agorsor opened the scoring in the 20th minute after he was played in by Jason Yeisley’s flicked header from Henry Kalungi’s long ball upfield, allowing him to turn and fire home from seven yards. The Kickers doubled their lead eight minutes later through a header by Gerson Dos Santos from Luke Vercollone’s cross.
The Hawks had a pair of chances to get back in the game late in the first half, just missing twice, but the Kickers put the game away late on as Agorsor got his second with eight minutes to go, and Nozomi Hiroyama added another two minutes later to wrap up the victory.
United’s visit to City Stadium will be their first in four seasons, with the Kickers hoping to emulate their run of success that saw them reach last season’s Open Cup semifinals.
ORLANDO 7, KC ATHLETICS 0: A pair of goals apiece by Max Griffin and John Rooney allowed Orlando City to cruise past the KC Athletics at the Sanford Soccer Complex and into the third round of the Open Cup, where they will travel to face Sporting Kansas City at LiveSTRONG Sporting Park next Tuesday.
Orlando got an own goal to open the scoring in the fourth minute, Coady Andrews turning the ball into his own net, and then Griffin and Rooney struck two minutes apart to put the Lions ahead 3-0 before the half-hour mark. Griffin added a second before halftime, and then Jamie Watson made it five on the hour mark. Rooney’s second arrived in the 71st minute, while Matt Luzunaris added his name to the scoresheet with four minutes to go.
The Lions could face a former player next Tuesday in their contest against SKC, with midfielder Lawrence Olum having joined the MLS side this offseason.
CHARLOTTE 1, EL PASO 0: Nate Thornton scored the only goal as the Charlotte Eagles advanced to the third round of the Open Cup with victory against the El Paso Patriots at Patriots Stadium.
The Patriots had the better of the first half as the Eagles were content to sit back and try and hit on the counter-attack, and Charlotte goalkeeper Clint Irwin had to be sharp to keep his side on level terms as Edgar Mendoza went close to opening the scoring in the 33rd minute.
The Eagles’ strategy would pay off with 18 minutes to go as Thornton scored on the counter-attack. Charlotte was able to maintain its lead and claim a return to Texas for a third-round contest against FC Dallas next Tuesday.
CAL FC 4, WILMINGTON 0: The Wilmington Hammerheads were bounced from the Open Cup as a pair of goals by Danny Barrera led Eric Wynalda’s Cal FC into the third round and a contest with the Portland Timbers next Tuesday night.
Cal FC controlled the majority of the game, Danny Barrera opening the scoring in the 25th minute as he finished off a corner by Diego Barrera. Arthur Aghasyan doubled the lead 10 minutes later. Cal then added another pair of goals after the break, Danny Barrera scoring his second of the night in the 57th minute before Pedro Ferreira-Mendez completed the scoring with 11 minutes to go.