US Open Cup Second Round Review
Des Moines Menace 1-2 Union Omaha
The Menace again fielded a star-studded line-up, as they welcomed Union down I-80 to Des Moines but the current pros of Omaha strolled out to a comfortable 2-0 lead. A slick piece of passing and a wicked cross from the right was blasted home by Dean Acoff to make it 1-0. The lead was doubled after a goalkeeping error as a shot from Josue Gomez was parried softly back to the Union player. The hosts staked a claim with a 54th minute penalty kick, which also saw the Nebraskans reduced to ten men, Benny Feilhaber with the goal.
Leroy Enzugusi had a golden chance to tie the game in the 81st minute, but after rushing onto a ball behind, he chipped it marginally wide of the keeper and Union Omaha did not face any other challenges.
Defeat for the Menace means $50,000 goes to defending NPSL champions El Farolito as the amateur side which has gone the furthest in this edition of the Cup.
Also of note:
Forward Madison 1-3 FC Tulsa. The Roughnecks make it two home losses for teams from the Northland in this round and conclude our coverage of this year's tournament. Thanks for following along. A reminder that Minnesota United join in the fourth round. Details on our sister site Northland Soccer Journal
US Open Cup Second Round Preview
Having proven that they can beat a team of developmental professionals from an MLS club and still facing the recruitment battle that amateur sides all face in the Cup's early rounds, Des Moines Menace now play a second division 3 professional side in Union Omaha. The Owls are the defending USL League One champions and secured their first win of the young league season, cruising to a 3-1 win on the road against South Georgia Tormenta.
Forward Madison moves on from their victory over Duluth FC in the first round to face FC Tulsa of the USL Championship. The Oklahoman club is 3-0-1 in their league and their hosts are 1-0-1 in League One.
Looking forward, the remaining Championship clubs will join for the third round, and the clubs MLS has deigned to include in the tournament will join in round four - including our own Minnesota United. Both Menace and Forward play on Wednesday night. Stay tuned to this site for full coverage, and follow us on Bluesky for live posts.
US Open Cup First Round Review - Forward Madison FC see off the BlueGreens
Forward Madison 5-1 Duluth FC
Forward Madison finished with a fistful of goals and a comfortable score-line but the course of the match may have been very different had Duluth FC’s Alex Mihov not raised his hands into the face of Nico Brown for a straight red card in the thirty-fifth minute. It only took Forward 5 minutes with the numerical advantage to score, through Ferrety Sousa but that was the extent of the damage at the half, in part because of a goal line clearance by Jake Starling in first half injury time.
A long-ball over the top of the Forward defense in the 63rd minute saw home defenders obstruct each other and Mario Fernandez swept the ball home after the on-rushing goalkeeper couldn't fully stop a shot. Ten minutes later, the home advantage was restored as Eddie Munjoma finished a passage of passes in close on the right wing. The final score gained an unrepresentative gloss in the 85th minute as Juan Galindrez broke out on the counter and settled the bouncing ball before half volleying it into the corner. John Murphy Jr slotted away Forward's 4th after Tristan Adams missed a cross, and it was 5 after Adam Braman in goal for Duluth conceded a PK and Galindrez saw his penalty saved but the rebound nestle in the net.
Coming Up:
Forward move onto the 2nd round, where they host FC Tulsa of the USL Championship on April 2nd at 6:30pm.
US Open Cup First Round Review - Sporting Kansas City II pay the penalty against Des Moines Menace
Sporting Kansas City II 1-2 Des Moines Menace
Des Moines Menace brought an experience-laden squad to the maelstrom of Swope Park, with a 15-year age gap between the two squads' average ages.
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However, even with the aid of wind gusting up to 45 mph at their backs, the home side failed to make their advantage count in the first half. SKCII accumulated 6 corners and hit the crossbar twice (within a minute).
With the visitors gaining the wind advantage in the second half, they might have been expected to stroll away. Still, neither team asserted themselves and it took until near the hour mark for the deadlock to be broken, from a penalty kick by Sacha Kljestan (52 caps for USA and 13 years in MLS, amongst other things) as Bradley Wright-Phillips (twice MLS golden boot winner) tiptoed through the minefield at the top of the SKCII area and Benny Feilhaber (150 games for SKC, 44 caps for USA and a former head coach of SKCII) burst through, only to be halted by a foul by Jacob Bartlett. Their lead would only last 5 minutes, as SKCII loaded the box and Beckham Uderitz slotted home the equalizer. In the 74th minute, a lightning fast attack down the right by Leroy Enzugusi for Menace set up the winning goal as he wriggled his way into the penalty area, stopped by a foul by an SKCII defender and despite a solid appeal for offside. The penalty kick, taken and scored by Kljestan for his second goal and last touch of the game, would be the winning goal.
Coming Up
The Menace, who will still be without a lot of their college-athletes and therefore likely to repeat the All Star trick, will enter the second round draw scheduled to take place after all the games are over this week (or most, since we have an anomalous Friday match due to weather). Stay tuned to our social media channels for more.
Tonight sees Duluth FC v Forward Madison in the capital of Wisconsin. Full coverage of that on our Bluesky, and here tomorrow.
Update:
The second round draw is out, with Des Moines Menace hosting Union Omaha , who won on the road against Flatirons FC
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.
A new North is unveiled by NPSL
There are no brand-new clubs to the North Conference of the NPSL, but it is getting longer and shorter at the same time with Dakota Fusion's hiatus and the entry of former Gateway Conference members Iowa Demon Hawks.
Of the four playoff qualifiers from the North in 2024, two (Dakota Fusion and Minnesota TwinStars) are not part of 2025's festivities. The TwinStars leave after 20 years at this level and a 30-year history overall that made them by far the oldest club in this division.
Duluth FC will be defending their region with a new head coach for the first time since 2020, with the departure of Sean Morgan. Their fellow playoff team, Joy Athletic Club, is joined by Lakeville's Minnesota Blizzard (who also play in MASL2 alongside the Demon Hawks) as the only presence in the Twin Cities metro.
The Demon Hawks arrive in the North, having lost in the Regional Semifinals to Duluth FC (as Des Moines United). The Demon Hawks are also an established MASL2 indoor team. There is a possible fresh rivalry between the Des Moines-based Demon Hawks and the Sioux City-based Siouxland United. On the subject of the latter, the Outlaws bring in Alex Trent as head coach off the back of his undefeated regular season with Fusion. Lastly, Sioux Falls Thunder remain in the conference and at Bob Young Field as another potential rival to the Iowans.
Also, a little note about the US Open Cup. The tournament saw Duluth FC seize a priority bid as regional winners and it turns out that Fusion were offered a spot (turned down because of hiatus) as spectacular regular season participants. The BlueGreens are on the road against Forward Madison of USL League One for the second consecutive year, largely as a consequence of two things: Relatively close proximity and a desire to match all amateurs against a pro side in the 1st round. We will be covering that for you.
US Open Cup First Round Recap: Duluth FC @ Forward Madison FC
On Tuesday night in Madison, WI one of the perennial powers of the NPSL North in Duluth FC made their return to the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.
The last time the BlueGreens had played in the tournament was 2019 where they fell in the opening round to USL2 side Des Moines Menace on penalties. This match was different for Duluth and the handful fans who made the trip down with the team, the BlueGreens would be facing off against a professional club, rather than another amateur side. Duluth FC and head coach Sean Morgan have been in that situation previously as well. In 2018, Duluth hosted the now defunct St. Louis FC club ultimately falling 2–0 in their second round encounter.
Their opponents in Forward Madison FC were also no strangers to the Open Cup, having participated in all three seasons possible since the club formed. With a 3-3 tournament record, the 'Mingos looked to improve on their outing in 2023 where they fell 3–2 to MWPL side Chicago House AC in their only match of the competition.
Forward Madison made a near wholesale change with their Starting XI from the previous weekend. Michael Chilaka and Stephen Payne were the only returning starters from USL1 season opener. Madison's 2023 top scorer Christian Chaney made his return to the Starting XI, his first start since coming back from injury.
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"Predominantly we're recruiting NCAA players and it becomes a little bit challenging because they changed the rules. We can't have a lot of those guys eligible after May 1st," Duluth FC manager Sean Morgan said about constructing the roster for the match. "So I think we did quite well to get a fair amount of returners who have previously played for us in the last year maybe two in some cases three and have that continuity. And then try and introduce quality into the squad in areas that are key in helping us for the game."
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Madison came out of the gate hard and fast controlling the pace without question during the opening minutes. That constant offensive pressure paid off for Forward Madison when Christian Chaney snatched the opening goal less than 10 minutes into play.
"We want to play forward first. We do want to get into the opponents half and create better chances in them. I think we did that in our first two games."Forward Madison coach Matt Glaeser said post match.
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Following the early goal Madison was content to relax offensively while defensively heavily pressuring Duluth. The result was Duluth FC not getting a shot off during the opening 45 minutes of play.
The second half started in very similar fashion to the first. Madison pressing hard offensively, pushing for that second goal. A second goal, once again a one touch effort coming from Christian Chaney just eight minutes into the second half.
"I was just trying to focus on hitting the target and it ended up going in. Really good goal I'm really happy I got to score," Madison forward Christian Chaney said to media post match.
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From there on Madison, with a 2–0 lead once again slipped back into slowing down pace when in possession and heavily pressuring Duluth when out of possession. The BlueGreens managed two shots in that second half of play, the first being a header by Joe Pickering that missed just wide left of goal. The second being a blast from Tyler Limmer that went over the crossbar and out of play.
"I think one of the biggest aspects in terms of key takeaways, as you go up the levels the speed of play increases. I think that was obvious at times tonight," Duluth FC manager Sean Morgan told the media.
The loss ends Duluth FC's third venture into the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup and turns their attention towards finishing roster construction for the upcoming NPSL season. Duluth FC begins their sixth season in the NPSL on Wednesday, May 15th against Joy Athletic Club at Public Schools Stadium in Duluth. The BlueGreens are also set to participate in the second edition of the Minnesota Super Cup.
Forward Madison meanwhile continues their journey in the 2024 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. The 'Mingos second round match will pit them up against MLS Next Pro side Chicago Fire II. That match will be played at 7pm on Wednesday, April 3rd at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, IL.
US Open Cup First Round Preview: Duluth FC @ Forward Madison
Today is the day everyone, the local league season is [kind of] underway once again. In addition to this Border Battle with Duluth FC opening their season at Forward Madison. Des Moines Menace, Chicago House, and others will open their season in the 2024 edition of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. This has been a massively different start to the 2024 edition and a match has not been played yet. A long delay initially started following Major League Soccer's announcement they would not play in the tournament and intended to send their MLS Next Pro affiliates instead. This kicked off a long drawn out conversation for the format, which included fears the USOC would be scrapped entirely for this year.
This was settled on March 1st when the United States Soccer Federation finally revealed the tournament format. Gone were all MLS teams participating, reverting back to the partial participation common through 2011. In were some of the affiliated MLS Next Pro sides, allowing affiliated lower league clubs back in for the first time since the 2015 edition.
The Magic of the Cup
The US Open Cup is the only true national soccer championship in the United States. Due to the lack of promotion and relegation, along with most league's tendencies to self isolate interleague play is rare. This is one of the few times each season clubs from different leagues play each other. This makes the Open Cup truly unique in American sports as there is no equivalent in other sports. There is no baseball tournament where the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks can play the Minnesota Twins and no hockey tournament where the Quad City Storm could face the Iowa Wild. The NBA does have an in season tournament, but it includes no G League teams.
The Open Cup also provides every team something to compete for in every match. The furthest advancing lower league side from each division earns $25,000. The runner-up earns a cool $100,000 and the tournament champion gets $300,000 and a place in the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup. With only eight MLS teams participating in 2024 it is quite possible the Cup could see it's first non-MLS winner since the 1999 Rochester Raging Rhinos.
Forward Madison FC (USL1)
The 'Mingos are the clear favourites to win in this first round clash. The professional side has already been together for a full preseason unlike Duluth. Madison has also already opened their 2024 league campaign with a 1-1 draw with South Georgia Tormenta FC. Madison will look to lean on 2023 top scorer Christian Chaney to overpower the BlueGreens. Matt Glaeser is in his 3rd Season in charge of the 'Mingos and will certainly be hoping to avoid another Cupset like last season.
Duluth FC (NPSL)
The BlueGreens return to the US Open Cup for the first time in nearly five years and for the first time under fourth year manager Sean Morgan for their first match of 2024, a full two months before NPSL play begins. This is not the first time Duluth has had to assemble a squad on short notice for the Open Cup. Duluth FC previously qualified for the 2018 and 2019 editions. In 2018 Duluth defeated fellow NPSL North club Dakota Fusion on penalties in an absolute classic before falling in the Third Round to the now defunct St. Louis FC club. In 2019 the BlueGreens fell on penalties to Des Moines Menace in the First Round.
Tune in via US Soccer here
Other Area Matches
All Matches on Wednesday, March 20:
Chicago City SC (USL2) @ Chicago Fire II (MLSNP) – 7pm CT
SeatGeek Stadium – Bridgeview, IL
Stream here
MNUFC2 (MLSNP) @ Chicago House AC (MWPL) – 7pm CT
Langhorst Field – Elmhurst, IL
Stream here or follow our coverage on Northland Soccer Journal
Des Moines Menace (USL2) @ Capo FC (NISA) – 9:30pm CT
Jserra Catholic High School - San Juan Capistrano, CA
Stream here