This Fourth Round road test for Chicago House, who started life as a pro side in 2020 before dropping into the amateur ranks for a reset, is another long-hauler. After traveling to Indiana for a slim win over Metro Louisville FC in the Third Round, the Chicagoans have to board a plane again to take on high-flying Brockton United FC in faraway Randolph, Massachusetts.
Seven Repeat Hopefuls
This Brockton United outfit, who’ve risen like a rocket in the Bay State’s amateur scene in the last decade, have yet to leave their home state of Massachusetts for any of their Qualifiers. They’ve racked up wins over Boston Street FC (1-0) and Unations (5-2) after a bye through the First Qualifying Round.
The Brockton men, who draw heavily from the area’s Cape Verdean community, are one of seven remaining Open Division teams aiming to reach their second consecutive U.S. Open Cup Proper. The others are Lansdowne Yonkers (New York), Azteca FC (Colorado), D'Feeters Kicks SC (Texas), Miami United FC (Florida) West Chester United SC (Pennsylvania) and NoVa FC (Virginia).
Lansdowne Yonkers, the 2021 National Amateur Cup champions, have won three Qualifying games with a combined goals-scored tally of 12 (conceding only once). The side, led by coach and former Arsenal academy product Sean Kelly, and ace striker Shamir Mullings, will meet the only surviving New Jersey representative, SC Vistula Garfield, on the road in Clifton in the Fourth Round.
“We need to use this [Open Cup] as a platform,” said English-born Mullings, a former pro who’s also Lansdowne Yonkers’ youth director and was part of the side that exited last year’s Open Cup after a Second Round loss to pros Rochester NY FC . “There’s a lot of exposure that comes with it and we think we have a deeper squad than we did last year.”
Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Contest
NoVa FC, out of Leesburg, Virginia, earned their Third Round result the hard way (1-0) against a strong DCFC side in the nation’s capital. They'll now host an outstanding West Chester United SC side who are perennially among the top amateur teams in the country
Led by long-time coach Blaise Santangelo, the 2018 National Amateur Cup runners-up from West Chester have won all three of their Qualifiers on the road (and will be asked to do so again in order to reach the Open Cup Proper for a second straight time).
