Fans of the 106-year-old Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup live by its magic moments. And the Semifinal Round of the 2019 competition tossed up a good few of those on August 6 and 7. Join usopencup.com for a look back at eight moments of note from those two games in which the Uniteds (Atlanta and Minnesota) set a date with destiny, Ozzie Alonso joined the pantheon of Open Cup heroes and a pair of Walls were filled with equal parts agony and ecstasy.
No Martinez, No Matter
All the talk early Tuesday was about the state of Josef Martinez. Where was the 2018 MLS MVP? What was the injury that kept him from traveling to Orlando for the Open Cup Semifinal? Atlanta United fans asked: What will we do without out him? Orlando City fans considered the upside: Could this be our time? All such questions were answered by Atlanta United that night. They dug deep into their bag of tricks. Head coach Frank de Boer changed tactics and Justin Meram, a tormenter out left, Ezequiel Barco and new arrival Emerson Hyndman stepped up (Hyndman even grabbed a mis-hit winner in the 2-0 victory). “That’s just what this team’s about,” said goalkeeper Brad Guzan under a hot Florida rain after booking his club’s place in a first-ever Open Cup Final. “We’ve got guys waiting in the shadows just to get their chance out on the field. Anyone and everyone that stepped on the pitch tonight was brilliant.”
Orlando’s Heroes
Florida has history in American soccer. It goes back a ways. From the Tampa Bay Rowdies and Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the old NASL in the 1970s to the failed attempts to build something lasting in MLS’s early days (both the Miami Fusion and Tampa Bay Mutiny folded after drawing breath for five years). There are new neon imaginings of a team soon to be born in Miami with the help of David Beckham and mountains of cash. But in the very real challenges of the here and now, Orlando City laid down a marker in the 2019 Open Cup. On the field, they gritted and gutted their way to a first-ever Semifinal. And in the stands, an army of purple stood and roared on their heroes – Nani and Sacha Kljestan and Adam Grinwis among them. The crowd of 18,461 was the third highest in the tournament’s century-plus history and a sign that soccer is here to stay in FLA. In a city that’s home to Walt Disney’s wonderlands and Universal Studios, a place that trades in the fantasies and mythology of make-believe, Orlando City’s Soccer Club is no illusion. It’s the real deal. And the Exploria Stadium is no soundstage.
