Real Salt Lake is pleased to announce an exciting addition to the team's current home schedule. The third round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup is coming to Salt Lake, as RSL will host the Virginia Beach Mariners of the USL (United Soccer League) First Division on Tuesday, July 11th. Kickoff for the contest will be 7:00 PM MT at Rice-Eccles Stadium, with Carnival Real opening at 6:00. Real Salt Lake Season Ticket Holders will be able to gain access to the contest by using their "Bonus Game C" tickets, already included in their season ticket package.
The Virginia Beach Mariners advanced to the third round of the Open Cup by virtue of a 1-0 victory over the amateur Arizona Sauharos on Wednesday, June 28th in Phoenix, Arizona. FW Greg Simmonds, the Mariners' leading scorer who has extensive MLS experience, tallied the game-winner in the 74th minute.
The Mariners are a USL First Division Team, placing them one level below Major League Soccer in the United States soccer pyramid. Located in Virginia Beach, VA, the Mariners play their home games in their own soccer-specific venue, the 7,000 seat capacity "Virginia Beach Sportsplex." Coached by James A. Hoffman Jr., the Mariners feature eight players who have MLS experience:
FW Gregory Simmonds (DC United, Miami Fusion)
MF Jeff Bilyk (Miami Fusion)
MF Felix Brilliant (New England Revolution)
DF Craig Demmin (Tampa Bay Mutiny)
MF Ryan Mack (Chicago Fire)
DF Christopher Shwarze (FC Dallas)
M/D Steve Shak (NY Red Bulls, Colorado Rapids)
MF Roland Vargas-Aguilera (Columbus Crew, New England Revolution)
DF Alan Woods (Colorado Rapids, New England Revolution)
In another interesting sub-plot to the match, Virginia Beach also features GK Chase Harrison, who Real Salt Lake selected in the 4th round of the 2006 supplemental draft. Harrison is currently on loan to the Mariners, and RSL still retains his MLS rights. Despite the difference in divisions, RSL Head Coach John Ellinger knows that the Mariners pose a legitimate threat, and his squad will have to approach the match very seriously if they want to advance to the Cup's fourth round.
"We are pleased to have the opportunity to expose our fans to the tradition and excitement of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup," said Ellinger, returning today from Chicago. "The opportunity to play our third-round game at home in front of our loyal and passionate fans is one we need to capitalize on. Virginia Beach is one of the USL's Division I powers, so the game won't be easy. But we will be motivated and prepared; we want to bring a title home to our fans."
Dating back to 1914, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is the oldest cup competition in United States soccer and is among the oldest in the world. Open to all affiliated amateur and professional teams in the United States, the annual U.S. Open Cup is a 90-year-old single-elimination tournament.
The U.S. Open Cup is very similar to domestic cup competitions popular throughout Europe, South America and the rest of the world. Cup competitions, which usually run concurrent with a country's league season, are open in the early stages to any club that can qualify, giving local amateur teams a chance to compete against the best teams a country has to offer.
In leagues like the English Premier League, the Serie A in Italy and the Bundesliga in Germany, cup competitions are prestigious tournaments waged between a country's strongest teams like Manchester United, AC Milan and Bayern Munich, and smaller teams like Watford F.C. in England, a small-time club that hit it big in 1984 by making it all the way to the F.A. Cup Final. Just two years ago, unfashionable Chesterfield of the Second Division (the third flight in England) advanced to the semi-finals of the 1997 F.A. Cup in England before finally losing.
The winner of each country's domestic cup competition, in addition to taking home the prize money, is automatically placed into a tournament to compete against neighboring countries cup winners. In Europe this tournament is known as the Cup Winners' Cup competition, and in North and Central America it is the CONCACAF Cup Winners' Cup, which was first held in 1992.
In last year's Open Cup competition, RSL dropped a 4-6 overtime decision in St. Paul, Minn., against the USL Division I Minnesota Thunder, who went on to defeat two other MLS teams en route to the 2005 Cup Semifinals, where they lost to eventual champion MLS Los Angeles Galaxy. The Galaxy captured the domestic "double" last year, also winning MLS Cup 2005.
