Seven amateur teams advanced to the 30-team Third Round of the 2016 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup after a wild first night of the 42-team Second Round on Wednesday included five shootouts.
The Second Round concluded Thursday night, with the PDL's Jersey Express edging Open Division qualifiers New York Pancyprian Freedoms 1-0. The draw for the 32-team Fourth Round, when US-based MLS teams enter the tournament, was held Thursday morning.
On Wednesday, the upsets were highlighted by wins from Open Division qualifiers Lansdowne Bhoys (N.Y.), La Máquina (Calif.) and the LA Wolves (Calif.). La Máquina and the Wolves will face each other in Round 3, ensuring at least one Open Division qualifier will reach the Fourth Round. The Wolves, who had advanced via forfeit after the Ventura County Fusion used an ineligible player, knocked off USL club OC Blues on penalty kicks, while La Máquina beat NPSL powers Sacramento Gold 2-0.
Both of those wins came at home, while Lansdowne Bhoys beat the USL's Pittsburgh Riverhounds 2-0 on the road, with former Houston Dynamo draft pick Jimmy Nealis delivering a free kick to set up the opening goal. The Bhoys will next travel to face the defending USL champions, the Rochester Rhinos, who crushed amateurs Southie FC (Mass.) 7-0 behind a hat trick from Asani Samuels (pictured).
Perhaps the most drama of the night came in Clinton, Mississippi. After a scoreless tie, Jimmy Nielsen's OKC Energy went to a shootout against PDL club Mississippi Brilla. The conclusion was anything but quick, however, as the shootout went 11 rounds before OKC goalkeeper Jacob Lissek saved a Brilla shot and converted his own to send the Energy through to a Third Round meeting against presumed city rivals, NASL club Rayo OKC.
Teams from the professional USL went 13-4 on the night, with the other losses coming when the PDL's Des Moines Menace upset the Tulsa Roughnecks 2-0 (with a clinching goal from 18-year-old Elvir Ibisevic, a US youth international who spent less than a year in Sporting KC's academy and is the cousin of Bosnian international Vedad Ibisevic) and when PDL club The Villages SC (Fla.) beat the Charleston Battery in a shootout after a 2-2 tie. The Villages were disqualified on Thursday, however, after using an ineligible player.
Other results included NPSL heavyweights Chattanooga FC scraping past PDL club Reading United on penalty kicks in front of 3,641 fans, newcomers FC Cincinnati edging the Indy Eleven's NPSL club 2-1 (using goals from former MLSers Omar Cummings and Jimmy McLaughlin to set up a matchup against the NASL club of the same name) with a crowd of 8,668 and the NPSL's Detroit City falling in a shootout at the USL's Louisville City.
The lone MLS-affiliated amateur team remaining, the Seattle Sounders U-23s, were eliminated by fellow PDL club Kitsap Pumas, while one of last year's Cinderella stories, Harpo's FC, fell 1-0 to the Colorado Springs Switchbacks. On-loan D.C. United goalkeeper Charlie Horton made his debut for the Richmond Kickers, posting a shutout in their 4-0 win over Open Division qualifiers Aromas Café (Va.).
In addition to Rochester's big win, the night included 5-0 margins for USL clubs Wilmington Hammerheads, Arizona United and Sacramento Republic.
By level:
USL 13-4
PDL 3-5 (1 remaining)
NPSL 1-8
Open Div. qualifiers 3-4 (1 remaining)
Results:
Richmond Kickers (USL) 4, Aromas Cafe (Va.) 0
Charleston Battery (USL) 2, The Villages (PDL) 2, ET, Villages disqualified for ineligible player
Rochester Rhinos (USL) 7, Southie FC (Mass.) 0
Pittsburgh Riverhounds (USL) 0, Lansdowne Bhoys (N.Y.) 2
Chattanooga FC (NPSL) 0, Reading United (PDL) 0, ET, Chattanooga advanced 4-1 on PKs
West Chester United (Pa.) 0, Harrisburg City Islanders (USL) 2
Charlotte Eagles (PDL) 0, Charlotte Independence (USL) 2
FC Cincinnati (USL) 2, Indy Eleven NPSL (NPSL) 1
Louisville City (USL) 0, Detroit City (NPSL) 0, ET, Louisville advanced 3-1 on PKs
Wilmington Hammerheads (USL) 6, Miami Fusion (NPSL) 0
St. Louis FC (USL) 2, AFC Cleveland (NPSL) 0
Mississippi Brilla (PDL) 0, Oklahoma City Energy (USL) 0, ET, OKC Energy advanced 10-9 on PKs
Des Moines Menace (PDL) 2, Tulsa Roughnecks (USL) 0
San Antonio FC (USL) 3, Corinthians San Antonio (NPSL) 1
La Máquina (Calif.) 2, Sacramento Gold (NPSL) 0
LA Wolves (Calif.) 1, OC Blues (USL) 1, ET, Wolves advanced 4-2 on PKs
FC Tucson (PDL) 0, Arizona United (USL) 5
Colorado Springs Switchbacks (USL) 1, Harpo's FC (Colo.) 0
Sacramento Republic (USL) 5, Aguiluchos USA (NPSL) 0
Kitsap Pumas (PDL) 1, Seattle Sounders U-23s (PDL) 0
Thursday, May 19
Jersey Express (PDL) 1, New York Pancyprian Freedoms (N.Y.) 0
