Four NASL Clubs Advance To Third Round Of Open Cup
Photo credit: Miami FC/Orovio Photography
Wednesday night marked the start of the NASL’s involvement in the 104th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Four clubs advanced to the third round of the competition and will now face United Soccer League (USL) opposition when the Cup picks back up on May 31.
Jacksonville Armada FC, North Carolina FC, Miami FC, and the San Francisco Deltas all moved on in the competition and, aside from the Deltas, will host in the next round.
Jacksonville began its Cup journey with a 2-1 victory over National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) side Miami United. Aaron Pitchkolan and Jack Blake, from the penalty spot, scored late in the first half to overturn an early deficit. Jacksonville then held off the plucky NPSL side to set up a matchup with Charleston Battery. Armada FC defeated Charleston, 2-1, in the third round in 2016.
North Carolina used an attacking outburst to move past Premier Development League (PDL) club Carolina Dynamo, 6-1, with three goals apiece in each half. Brian Shriver, the NASL’s all-time leading scorer in the Open Cup, added his eighth in the competition, setting the tone early. Matt Fondy and Tiyi Shipalane added goals later in the opening stanza before Billy Schuler scored a brace after coming on to start the second half. Jon Orlando added the other tally in the win. North Carolina will now face the Charlotte Independence. In the third round last year, as the Carolina RailHawks, North Carolina FC won, 5-0.
Hosting the South Florida Surf, Miami FC earned a 3-2 win. Former NASL players Darwin Espinal and Jeff Michaud, who scored against Miami in the Cup in 2016, found the goals for the visitors. After going down, Kwadwo Poku nodded home from close range and an own goal from the Surf put Miami in front. Michaud’s tally, however, evened the score before Jaime Chávez found the back of the net, on a goal similar to Poku’s, to advance. Miami hosts the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the next round.
The San Francisco Deltas played their first ever game in the Cup and came out with a 2-1 win over the PDL’s Burlingame Dragons. Reiner Ferreira scored the club’s first goal in the competition to cancel out Jamael Cox’s opener. Forward Tom Heinemann added the second goal, his first in the Cup since 2010, to lead the Deltas into an away contest against Phoenix Rising FC.
The New York Cosmos and Indy Eleven both saw their Cup runs come to an end on Wednesday night. Three goals in a six-minute stretch for Reading United was enough for the PDL side en route to a 3-2 win. Indy was upended by the Michigan Bucks, also of the PDL, 1-0.
