Vlora FC v FC Milwaukee Torrent : Men's US Amateur Cup (Midwest) QF Review
Vlora FC (Burnsville, MN - MASL/UPSL) 3-5 FC Milwaukee Torrent (Wauwatosa, WI - NPSL)
Bob Pates Stadium at Burnsville High School, Burnsville, MN. Thursday at 7pm.
This didn't feel like an 8 goal game, but Vlora's window closed fast as their go-ahead goal in the 49th minute became a tie game in the 57th minute and then a man down for 20 minutes.
FC Milwaukee Torrent travelled to Burnsville having not conceded a point in league play and put their foot on the throttle and the ball in the net twice through Javier Steinwascher in the space of 3 minutes, as a right wing attack was finished off and then an errant pass in the area by a defender was picked off.
However, the hosts ralllied, Nacho Gonzalez finishing off a neat spell of Vlora possession to make it 2-1 in the 26th minute and Hurtado sliding in at the far post to finish off a move sparked when Easton Hoch beat his defender on the left. That left it at 2-2 in the 29th minute and that was the half time score.
With the stiff wind at their back, Vlora pressed on in the opening minutes of the second half and went ahead in the 49th minute when Miguel Leon scrambled in a ball served from the left wing. The lead would only last five minutes as a Vlora defender slid recklessly in, and a penalty kick was awarded. Javier Steinwascher took a monumental run up and then slid the kick under Austin Gunkel and relatively down the middle for his hat trick and another tie.
Another five minutes passed with Vlora on the attack but Torrent countered clinically and took the lead in the 62nd minute through Gabe Voung. When they look back on this game, the hosts will probably need to analyse a two minute spell where a shout for a Vlora penalty kick went unheeded and Torrent went straight up the other end and were cut down by Rodolfo Batisti for a red card denial of a goalscoring opportunity in the 71st minute.
From that point, while Vlora did not look undermanned, the visitors were more than happy to play on the counter and the game's final goal came in the 73rd minute, a calmly executed coup de grace by Voung.
FC Milwaukee Torrent move onto the Region II semifinals of the Amateur Cup, to face RWB Adria in Wisconsin.
Men's US Amateur Cup (Midwest) Quarter-Finals Preview: Vlora FC v Milwaukee Torrent
Vlora FC (Burnsville, MN - MASL/UPSL) v FC Milwaukee Torrent (Wauwatosa, WI - NPSL)
Bob Pates Stadium at Burnsville High School, Burnsville, MN. Thursday at 7pm.
The Twin Citians won a coin toss to host the supposedly seeded Torrent, who enter at this point. Vlora FC has already played two matches in this year's tournament, beating MN Blizzard in regulation fashion and then United Serbian SC in a less orthodox match . They are 3-0-2 in Division 2 of the Minnesota Amateur Soccer League, but 5-1-3 in the UPSL Premier Midwest West Division. Last year, they lost to the Torrent in the regional semifinals. The key men are the Zürcher Easton Hoch, who has 6 goals, Bahian Rodolfo Batisti anchors the defense and has 4 and the Senegalese striker Ibrahima Ndaw has 3.
Milwaukee Torrent are 5-0-0 in the Central States Conference of the National Premier Soccer League, the #4 ranked team overall in the national league. Last year, they won the Bill Davey Cup for the Region II Amateur Cup and made it to the Fritz Marth Cup Final for the overall US Amateur Cup title, but lost 6-0 to NY Pancyprian Freedoms, one step shy of a berth in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Their leading goalscorers are the former pro Michigander Alejandro Steinwascher, Stuttgarter Max Ludwig and the New Zealander Jamie LeComte with 3 goals each.
Women's US Amateur Cup preview
The United States Adult Soccer Association runs Amateur Cup competitions for both men and women.
Milwaukee Torrent plays in both, with the women's tournament much less extensive. Only two teams are in the first round. Their opponents are fellow WPSL Lake Michigan Division club Green Bay Glory and both are undefeated after two rounds of play. Torrent finished last season 8-0-0 before falling to eventual National Semifinalist FC Pride in the Midwest Conference Final. Glory finished second in the division.
The match will take place on Wednesday at 7pm, at Lawrence University's Banta Bowl in Appleton, Wisconsin. Stay tuned to Northern Lights Football for coverage.
Men's US Amateur Cup (Midwest) Round 2: Vlora FC advance from a whacky one
Vlora FC (MASL/UPSL) 6-2 United Serbian SC (WSL)
Vlora FC began this game in control but it took a succession of yellow cards to tip the scoresheet in their favor as decisively as the final score would suggest. Vlora came into this match 1-0-2 in the Minnesota Amateur Soccer League Second Division (from where they qualified) but 3-1-0 in UPSL Premier Midwest West play. Their opponents were 5-1-1 in the Wisconsin Soccer Leagues' Milwaukee Premier League. Neither team will have prepared for the chaos that followed.
It was only 1-0 at half time of regulation, the red-hot Easton Hoch driving in from the left for Vlora and hitting a shot hard across the Serbian keeper, who could only parry the ball into Benjamin Peña's path for an easy finish in the 18th minute. In the 35th minute, it could easily have been 1-1 but University of Northwestern goalkeeping coach Austin Gunkel was equal to a shot, and Oscar Alvarez laid out to block the second shot. Three minutes later, Ibrahima Ndaw challenged the Serbian goalie, who nearly conceded a goal. Vlora had 9 corners in the first forty-five minutes but had been held to the one goal. It was a mismatch of stats they could have regretted.
In the 52nd minute, Oscar Gonzalez intercepted a poor pass inside the Serbian penalty area and slotted the ball across to Hoch, who notched a second goal of the tournament and a sixth of the season to add to his earlier assist.
Four minutes more had elapsed before the first of a number of second-caution red cards, this one for United Serbian SC's Reyes Perez. Soon after, Hoch went down in the Serbian box, looking for a penalty kick but not receiving one.
In the 65th minute, the game turned as the referee awarded a penalty kick for United Serbian SC for a stamp by a Vlora defender. Litigation and Risk Management lawyer Aleksandar Prpa, who is the vice-chair of USSC, stepped up and hammered the penalty home into the side netting to halve the deficit. Prpa then added a free kick (cleared for a corner) and a subsequent corner which was headed hard into the ground and up into the roof of the net by Vladimir Petrović for the equalizer in the 70th minute. Both teams had chances, including a Sohail Ebrahimi bicycle kick which cleared the Serbian goal in the 80th minute. In the 82nd minute, Prpa received a yellow card and he was lucky to remain on the pitch, given a final warning after another tough challenge before regulation was up. The Serbians chipped Gunkel from 40 yards out and it was only just saved.
Extra Time began with Ebrahimi heading over the crossbar from inside the 6 yard box and just failing to connect on a pass in the 94th minute. Two minutes later, he whipped a ball in from the left and Benjamin Peña slotted it home for his second goal. His joy would turn to despair in six minutes as was shown a second yellow card for a reaction to the referee after he himself had been fouled. One minute of even numbers had passed before Jeronimo Zelaya Diaz chested down and volleyed in the home team's fourth of the day.
In the 104th minute, Milorad Kosanović was issued a second yellow of his very own, for raising his hand into an opponent's face and United Serbians were down to 9 men for the remaining half of Extra Time. As Redouane Baarab came off the bench to score in stoppage time, the visitors were also down 5-2.
It remained a 3 goal lead until the last touch of the game as Petrović attempted a clearance and sliced the ball into his own goal.
Vlora FC move on to the Quarterfinals of the Region II Amateur Cup, two wins from the Bill Davey Cup and four from the National Amateur Cup title outright. They will face Milwaukee Torrent, who enter at this stage. Bavarian United are also entering at the Quarterfinal stage, and will be joined by 5 other winners from Round 2. Stay tuned to Northern Lights Football for further coverage of this tournament and others across the Northland.
Photo Gallery: MN Blizzard vs Vlora FC (Amateur Cup, Round 1)
US Amateur Cup
With two goals in the opening minutes, Vlora FC cemented an eventual 5-1 victory over Minnesota Blizzard in Tuesday’s 2025 National Amateur Cup Round 1 match at Eagan High School. Here are our photos from the pitch.
MN Blizzard host Vlora FC in an early season Amateur Cup test
Burnsville-based Vlora FC make the short trip to Eagan to face Lakeville-based Minnesota Blizzard FC as this regionalized, national tournament makes its opening visit to Minnesota for this year.
Vlora operates a UPSL squad, but they entered the draw as Minnesota Amateur Soccer League members. In that league, they finished third in the third division and won promotion to the second division for this upcoming season. They are two games into their UPSL season and are currently 2-0 with a 2-1 win over FC Minneapolis at home followed by a 5-0 drubbing of Rochester FC on the road. The squad will presumably be more UPSL than MASL because the latter schedule clashes with this match.
Minnesota Blizzard reserves also play in the third division of the MASL, and share a player pool with the first team NPSL squad from which the club will select their USAC squad. This match is the season debut for the team from the South Metro, who will follow up with a friendly against Wisconsin Conquerers. The NPSL season begins May 17th against Sioux Falls Thunder FC.
The US Amateur Cup has been played since 1923. The country is divided into the four regions of the United States Adult Soccer Association. There's a fuller explanation here, but for our purposes, it's only relevant that Northland falls in Region 2. 24 teams enter in the first round, and those winners face another round before the 6 left standing are joined by Milwaukee Torrent and Bavarian United for the quarter-finals. Torrent and Bavs received seeded entry because of their progress in last year's tournament.
The ultimate winners of Region 2 win the Bill Davey Cup and qualify for a national semifinal against one of the other three regions' winners. Whoever emerges from the national semifinals and the final the same weekend takes the National Amateur Cup title and a guaranteed spot in the 2026 US Open Cup.
So 5 wins (or 2, if you're the Milwaukee clubs) and you get a trophy. 7 (or 4) and you get a second trophy and qualification for a third.
Check back after the game for a photo gallery from the game by our Photography Director, Michael Lake.