By FRANCO PANIZO
The 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup will much different than any of its predecessors.
U.S. Soccer announced a number of changes for the 99th edition of the tournament. Those changes
include a 64-team field (the largest in the modern era), a random selection process for determining
home teams from the opening round until the quarterfinals, and the inclusion of all professional
teams from the top three divisions, meaning the MLS qualifying bracket is no more.
Por snedecorAún no ha llegado a la final como el Quevilly, ni siquiera a semifinales como
nuestro Mirandés, pero en un año en el que los modestos parecen haberse puesto de acuerdo para
llevarse todos los focos en las copas de medio mundo,
la industria americana ha decidido lanzar
su propio remake y se ha sacado de la manga a su Cenicienta particular: el Cal FC.
The US Soccer Federation has approved a major change to the US Open Cup. A change that will
certainly enhance how the tournament is played in the US.
The competition will feature a Modern Professional Era (1995-present) record 64 teams, including
every US-based professional club in the American soccer pyramid from Major League Soccer (16
teams), the North American Soccer League (6 teams), and USL PRO (10 teams).
This past week has been a whirlwind for Fire fans. We had the MLS SuperDraft hoopla last week
with a couple of new player signings sprinkled in (Robayo and Puppo). On the heels of that we had a
sponsor announcement and new jersey unveiling. Somewhat lost in the shuffle was the announcement of
the changes to the U.
It will be an all-Croatian matchup in the opening round of the U.S. Adult Soccer Association
Region II Open Cup.
The Croatian Eagles will head south to Illinois and play fellow Croatian club RWB Adria in one
of three first-round matches on April 15, as determined by a draw Wednesday night. Kickoff is set
for 4 p.
The spring portion of the Wisconsin Adult Soccer Association Major League's 2011-12 season is
scheduled to start April 29 – and it could be the organization's last season overseeing adult
soccer in the state.
The U.S. Soccer Federation Board of Directors revoked the membership of the Wisconsin Soccer
Association/WASA as the adult state association for Wisconsin on Jan.
Never a supporter of a mellow Twitter Chat we decided to crank up the tempo by introducing one
of those sticky subjects associated with the game. The topic for this weeks #SoccerSpeakUSA was the
US Soccer Pyramid.
The most trust worthy source of information out there on the internets (Wikipedia) described
the US Soccer Pyramid as a term used in soccer to describe the structure of the league system in
the United States.
Milwaukee's Croatian Eagles and Chicago's RWB Adria have a long history on the soccer field –
the Eagles were formed in 1922, Adria followed in 1959 and the teams have been regulars at the
Croatian North American Soccer Tournament since it started in 1964.
On Saturday, the decades-old rivalry continues in a first-round match of the U.
Ramon "Choko" Alvarado (Franklin) scored early, Scott Raymonds (Brookfield
East/UW-Green Bay) scored late and veteran goalkeeper Ante Cop and his backline handled the
rest Saturday as the Croatian Eagles moved within one win of a berth in the 99th Lamar Hunt U.S.
Open Cup.
The Eagles got past Croatian rival RWB Adria 2-0 in a first-round match of the U.
After an offseason wrought with back-room strife, the Major League – the state's top men's
amateur league – resumes its 2011-12 season Sunday afternoon with the start of its nine-game
spring schedule.
The league's status was somewhat in doubt over the winter, as the U.S. Soccer Federation Board
of Directors revoked the membership of the Wisconsin Soccer Association/Wisconsin Adult Soccer
Association as the adult state association for Wisconsin on Jan.
The Croatian Eagles figure to make a few additions to their roster before facing the Chicago
Fire PDL team in a first-round match of the 99th Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup next Tuesday night in
Bridgeview, Ill.
As for the roster for the Fire's developmental team, it appears that not much likely will be
known until closer to gameday.
As fellow Stumptown Footy Editor Will Conwell reported earlier this week, the 2012 Timbers U23
USL Premier Development League (PDL) season begins tomorrow, as they host the British
Columbia-based Abbotsford Magnuson Ford Mariners at 7pm.
Then on Tuesday at 7:30 the U23s' open their US Open Cup run against PSA Elite, a
California-based US Adult Soccer Association club.
A decision on the governing body for adult soccer in Wisconsin could come June 8.
Or perhaps not.
The U.S. Soccer Federation Board of Directors will review the applications at its meeting June
8, Neil Buethe, the senior manager of communications for U.S. Soccer, wrote in an email this
week.
PSA who?
Exactly.
Before I get all nasty with this ... just a touch of background.
I went to watch the final of a U.S. Adult Soccer Association regional (huh?) between a team
called PSA Elite and a team that Eric Wynalda formed, Cal FC. (That was May 6th)
These are two teams that were just slapped together this past month in hopes of qualifying for
the US Open Cup.
BOYDS, MD – The Richmond Kickers advanced to the Third Round of the U.S. Open Cup with a
convincing 4-0 victory over the Dulles Sportsplex Aegean Hawks FC of the U.S. Adult Soccer
Association Tuesday night. Early goals by Christopher Agorsor and Gerson Dos Santos gave the
visiting Kickers the lead that they held throughout the match.
The U.S. Open Cup dream is still very much alive for Cal FC.
Former Real Salt Lake forward Artur Aghasyan's goal in the fifth minute of extra time gave the
United States Adult Soccer Association side a stunning 1-0 victory over the Portland Timbers at
Jeld-Wen Field Wednesday night and sealed the club's unlikely place in the fourth round.
