“We don't train as much as our opponents do. But what we do have is quality. We have a higher average age, which means that we have more experience,” said Pancyprians captain-turned-head coach Andreas Chronis. “We need to use our experience.”
Let us not overlook the Little Rock Rangers, the only amateur team to knock off a Div. II pro side in the First Round when they defeated 2023 Open Cup Quarterfinalists Birmingham Legion 1-0 in Arkansas. They’ll have no respite to think back fondly on past achievements as they’re on the road again in the Second Round – this time up against FC Naples, the first-year USL League One pros who survived a dramatic Florida derby with USL league Two side Sarasota Paradise in the First Round.
“In the Cup, you’re going to go through moments where everything isn’t going to be perfect,” said FC Naples coach Matt Poland, who made a name for himself in the amateur ranks when he guided Chicago House AC through to the 2023 Third Round and a date with four-time Open Cup Champs Chicago Fire. “You’re going to have to suffer, but we’re going to suffer together and build something strong here.”
Last but not least, we turn our attention to Iowa where the “underdog” “amateurs” of the Des Moines Menace meet the Div. III pros of Union Omaha (USL League One). It’s the second game between the two sides in the Cup in as many years, but this time the Menace is loaded with MLS stars of yesteryear, like four-time Champion Ozzie Alonso, former USMNT members Benny Feilhaber, Dax McCarty, AJ DeLaGarza and Sacha Kljestan (in his second year in the Open Cup with the Menace). Also in the roster are former MLS scoring ace Bradley Wright-Phillips and MLS Defender of the Year Matt Hedges.
Does this make the Menace favorites? No, it does not. Never underestimate the ravages of Father Time or the absolute professionalism and class of our 2022 Open Cup Quarterfinalists Union Omaha.
Cup Underdogs Elsewhere
The majority of the remaining ten games pit teams from lower pro divisions against teams from higher pro divisions – condensing the Magic of the Cup into a most potent brew.
On Tuesday, Columbus Crew 2 (MLS NEXT Pro) will have some heavy lifting at home at Lower.com Field (where hangs a proudly-displayed banner in honor of Columbus Crew’s 2002 Open Cup title). Their opponents, Lexington Sporting Club, hail from the Div. II USL Championship and did a number on debutants Southern Indiana FC (5-0) in the First Round. Another MLS NEXT Pro side, Inter Miami FC II, have their hands full with USL Championship pros Miami FC, who boast a former USMNT man and 2013 Open Cup Champion (with D.C. United) between the posts in veteran Bill Hamid.
The other two games on Tuesday, April 1 pit MLS NEXT Pro sides on the road at USL League Two clubs in a battle of both sides of the Div. III pro coin.
Mike Jeffries’ Charlotte Independence, with new sensation Rafael Jauregui coming off a two-goal day against the Long Island Rough Riders, host Carolina Core – an independent club in the MLS NEXT Pro system run by a raft of former USMNT stars of yesteryear. AV ALTA – a first-year USL League One side – aim to make it two for two in their debut Open Cup when they open their doors to LAFC2. The young Angelinos are coming off a huge 7-1 win in the First Round and, it should be noted, are the academy side of reigning Open Cup Champions LAFC.
Wednesday, April 2 rounds out our Second Round and boasts some spicy contests you won’t want to miss.
Portland Hearts of Pine, the USL League One side that began life as a club in our First Round, return to their home-away-from-home in Lewiston, Maine. This time they’ll be the underdogs as the Div. II USL Championship pros of Hartford Athletic make the trip north with the aim of matching their best-ever run in the Open Cup with a spot in the Third Round.
“You always have to ride your luck a little in the Open Cup,” said Hearts head coach Bobby Murphy, a member of the 2022 Union Omaha coaching staff who helped guide the underdogs Owls to the Open Cup Quarterfinals. “But if you can dig yourself in and find your footing, then confidence and belief can grow.”
Perhaps the marquee matchup of the Second Round – at least among the games that don’t have an obvious underdog – is the Battle for Chattanooga. Historic Finley Stadium will be the venue for home side Chattanooga FC (MLS NEXT Pro) to take on city rivales Chattanooga Red Wolves (USL League One) in a battle for bragging rights and city dominance.
“This is such a big game,” said Markus Naglestad, the Norway-born striker and icon of FC Chattanooga who scored the OT winner in a First Round test against the amateurs of Corpus Christi FC. “There’s a lot of familiarity and a lot of pride among booths sets of players. There’s a lot on the line for all of us and for the fans too.”
The two remaining games where an underdog can win out are Forward Madison of USL League One, who host Div. II powers FC Tulsa, and Ventura County FC (the MLS NEXT Pro affiliate of LA Galaxy who won their First Round contest 7-0) hoping to cause a sensation at home against USL Championship (Div. II) pros El Paso Locomotive.
The Second Round concludes with a Pacific Northwest grudge match between Div. III pros Tacoma Defiance (MLS NEXT Pro) and Spokane Velocity (USL League One) and an all USL League One tilt between Greenville Triumph, who needed a shootout against amateurs Asheville City in the First Round, and One Knoxville SC.
So, let’s do all this. It’s bound to be fun.
BE SURE to WATCH all 16 SECOND ROUND Games LIVE and FREE on U.S. Soccer’s YouTube channel. DIRECT LINKS to ALL SECOND ROUND Games HERE.
Fontela is editor-in-chief of ussoccer.com/us-open-cup. Follow him at @jonahfontela on X/Twitter.
