US Open Cup First Round Preview
A jam-packed mid-week schedule sees the return of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup after the conclusion of qualifying. With US Soccer deciding that every tie would feature an amateur club and a pro side, the Des Moines Menace of USL League Two faces Sporting Kansas City II of MLS NEXT PRO on Wednesday, and Duluth FC of NPSL travels to Forward Madison of USL League One. Since this is amongst the first match for everyone, there are precious few roster details available (apart from Menace, but more about that below)
The tournament structure has been revised yet again, with only 16 MLS sides competing (their NEXT PRO sides will represent the rest). The Loons are one of those 16.
Menacing the opposition since 1994
Des Moines Menace are the designated amateur side in their match. However, this is a weak distinction given that the Menace organization is pros-in-waiting (as USL Pro Iowa) and that they will field a roster thick with former pros who have reinstated as amateurs. Oh, and they are a two-time champion of their league, amateur though that is.
In their 13 year history of matches in the USOC, they have been knocked out by a panoply of professional sides, most recently Union Omaha last year.
SKC II have four players from the MLS club on their roster (Ian James, Jack Kortkamp, Jacob Bartlett and Stephen Afrifa) and 7 academy players from a 30 man squad and have started the season 0-2. Check out the action from SKC II vs MNUFC 2 last year for a snapshot of their recent past, via our sister sister site Northland Soccer Journal.
The Flamingos host the BlueGreens
Forward Madison will host Duluth FC for a second year in a row, having secured a 2-0 win in Wisconsin last year. The hosts began their season tonight, with a surprisingly blunt 2-0 defeat on the road against a resolute smash-and-grab effort from first year club FC Naples. The margin of defeat equals any of the 6 they suffered last season across four tournaments as they reached the semifinals of the USL League One playoffs and the final of the Jägermeister Cup, losing both on penalties.
Their guests are in the off-season but also reached the semifinals of their league, winning the Midwest Region on the way. The match will mark the first competitive outing for new head coach Thomás Pazo. The Carioca man joins following Sean Morgan’s move to lead coaching for the Gitchi Gummi youth club. They played Dakota Fusion in 2018 to a wild PK shootout and played the Menace in the 2019 competition (reports courtesy of our predecessor, E Pluribus Loonum).
We will be live on BlueSky and will have a full recap on both these matches later.