Upset Alert! U.S. Open Cup Day 2 Delivers | OneFootball

Once again, the Qooligan drew the short straw and is working late into the night on the w(b)est coast with some ice-cold Fernet and a whole lotta YouTube streams.

Yes, we had some upsets. We also had some gnarly beatdowns. Hell, it’s the beautiful game and it’s sometimes oogly. Just like English is a living language and you can make up words like “oogly” and get away with it.

In any event, here’s the Hooligan/Qooligan take on the Day 2 U.S. Open Cup shenanigans….

The Upsets…

Richmond Kickers 1 – 3 Virginia Dream FC

This one definitely wasn’t on my bingo card, and I daresay some brave punters made a bit of coin off this result. The visiting amateur side saw their DREAMS come true (get it?) with an early penalty call which gave them an early cushion. Richmond, however, would equalize in the 36th off a stunning shot from James Vaughan, and the sides would enter the locker room all square.

A true upset in every sense, the Dream undershot Richmond and were generally below them in nearly every category. But they did convert their chances, and this ruthlessness is what propels them into the next round.

Real Monarchs SLC 1 – 3 El Farolito

When I checked in on this game earlier in the evening it was all square at one goal apiece with a few minutes before regulation expired. I had no opinions then as to the outcome, though my lizard brain was clacking away at me saying: “Yo, if Monarchs haven’t put this away by now, you KNOW Farolito is gonna win.” There’s one for the lizard brain.

So Farolito retain the title of MLS Academy Killers Extraordinaire. Good for them. I hope they don’t draw Oakland Roots next….

Sporting Kansas City II 1 – 2 Des Moines Menace

I mean, not really an upset given the relative parity between the MLS Next Pro and the USL-2 leagues, but anytime a relatively unknown club beats an MLS academy this is news.

Little Rock Rangers 1 – 0 Birmingham Legion FC

Well this IS an upset. With a capital UP. It was the visiting Legion team who got the first advantage when referee Deshun Beard deemed a tackle to be just inside the box and awarded a PK in the 24th. But Stags keeper Tomasz Wróblewski was resolute and got a strong left hand down to deny Lucca Dourado.

Not long after the second half start, a Rangers long throw-in was poorly cleared out of the box. Midfielder Caomihin McConnell stepped up and took it off the half-volley and blazed it into the net. A fine shot from the North Ireland loanee. Little Rock conceded only 3 goals in 12 matches last season, and that defensive stinginess was at play again tonight as the clean sheet advanced them into the next round.

The Wipeouts…

Columbus Crew 2 4 – 1 NY Renegades FC

Everything was going fine for Renegades in the first half. Sure, Columbus was dominating possession, but the New York team’s defense had been up to the task. Then came a 44th minute corner, and Keesean Ferdinand hammered it home off his melon. The visitors would suffer another blow in the final seconds of stoppage time as Nicolas Rincon would break through the Renegade line and feed a following Brent Adu-Gyamfi for the late score. They would concede two more in the second half before Jonathan Silveira would score an honor goal in the 79th minute.

Lexington 5 – 0 Southern Indiana FC

This WAS a mismatch, with zero opportunity for an upset. Lexington jumped ahead in the 13th and never looked back. Southern Indiana only had 18% possession, 2 shots on goal and a single corner kick, all shockingly low figures. They couldn’t even earn a yellow card.

El Paso Locomotive FC 5 – 1 FC Boulder Harpos

That’s a bummer of a scoreline, but from the pictures I saw of the visiting team from Boulder they look like they’d make the best of the experience. Better luck next year, Harpos!

Monterey Bay 4 – 0 Inter San Francisco

It took two minutes for Monterey to take the visitor’s hopes down a peg. It turns out there’s a pretty big gap between San Francisco league soccer and the USL Championship. Props to Inter’s keeper Jose Medina who registered five saves on the night.

LAFC 2 7 – 1 FC Arizona

Goodness gracious there’s nothing to see here. What a grisly scene. Move on, ya rubberneckers.

And the Rest…

Chattanooga FC 1 – 0 Corpus Christi FC

This one had to go into extra time, as Corpus Christi proved to be an unexpectedly stubborn opponent. The Chattanooga goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic is 40 years old but played like someone half his age, making three saves. Both sides used nearly all their substitutes to keep fresh legs on the pitch, and it was clear that Corpus Christi was content to let this head into penalties. But a hopeful cross from wing-back Milo Garvanian found the head of substitute Markus Naglestad, and we had our winner.

Inter Miami CF II 4 – 2 Miami United FC

A regional rivalry delivered tonight with six goals.

Appalachian FC 0 – 3 One Knoxville

Those sasquatch lovin’ hippies in Boone sure love their soccer. Before a crowd of 2,400+ (the highest reported attendance for the day) Appalachian FC did their best but ultimately fell short against a stronger One Knoxville side.

Ballard FC 0 – 1 Spokane Velocity FC

When you see a scoreline as tight as this, you know there’s a backstory. We know these two are regional rivals, so that makes it extra special for the fans. But the tale of the tape shows a fiercely contested battle with fully even possession, a slight edge to Ballard on shots on frame (3 : 2), a slight edge to Spokane with shots (12 : 9) but a big advantage on saves to the visitors. Ultimately, the game went over two hours and was decided on a deflected shot from Anuar Peláez. No matter how it was decided, it was a classic Open Cup fixture.