There’s three other Mind-the-Gap matches on opening day (Tuesday, March 18). One with real potential for a Cupset-outcome will take place in Wayne, Pennsylvania. There Blaise Santangello’s amateurs, West Chester United SC, long-time fixtures at the tip-top of national amateur scene, will host Div. II USL Championship outfit Loudoun United FC.
The Leesburg, Virginia-based side, led by ace striker Wesley Leggett, reached the Round of 16 of last year’s Open Cup before being bounced by eventual Champs LAFC of MLS – and they’ll be hoping for more this year in their sophomore turn in the tournament. But up against the motivated part-timers from West Chester, including veteran striker Chas Wilson, a school teacher by day and a former star at Temple University, the Loudoun County boys are sure to have their hands full.
“It’s never easy for the amateur teams,” said the 33-year-old Wilson, brimming with wisdom following West Chester’s rampage through the grinding amateur Qualifying Rounds (14 goals scored in three games with only two conceded) to reach a sixth Open Cup since debuting in 2016. “We have to make a lot of sacrifices, but we’re here and it’s the Open Cup, so we find a way.”
Two more Mind-the-Gap games round out the Opening Day menu. Hartford Athletic of the USL Championship host the NY Shockers of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) and Miami FC, the USL Championship’s worst-performing team of 2024 (a scant 11 points from 34 games) welcome NPSL club Naples United FC. In both games it’s a case of the amateur teams lining up in the Open Cup for the first time as a club – and surely they’ll be aiming to carve out their own little slice of history by knocking off the on-paper heavy favorites.
Jeopardy Suffuses Day Two Too – Harpos & Inter SF on the Hunt
The second day of the 110th edition of the Open Cup features four Mind-the-Gap contests between amateur hopefuls and full-time professionals from the country’s Division II USL Championship.
Of those, two games jump off the page straight-away: Monterey Bay (USLC) vs. International San Francisco of the famed amateur San Francisco Soccer Football League (SFSFL) and Harpos FC (Colorado Premier League) on the road against USL Championship men El Paso Locomotive.
International San Francisco, run by local physician and ambitious organizer Amir Darabi, burst onto the scene in 2021 when they climbed from the bottom to the top division in the SFSFL in the space of two years. It may not sound like much to those unfamiliar with the quality of this league, but it surely is. They reached the Open Cup in 2023, and their loss to fellow Bay Area amateurs El Farolito sparked a few years of rebuilding that led them to a hard-charge in the 2025 Qualifiers.
A heady mix of young, talented amateurs like Adrien Argast and wily old ex-pros like Matt Fondy, Inter San Francisco will be liking their chances against a Monterey Bay side that beat MLS’ San Jose Earthquakes in the Third Round of the 2023 Open Cup.
