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U.S. Open Cup: Cal FC, Michigan Bucks aim to shock again and more

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Cal FC has become the story of U.S. club soccer in recent weeks, and the amateur side's biggest test yet is on tap for Tuesday night. 

The fifth-tier side takes on the three-time defending U.S. Open Cup champion Seattle Sounders in a fourth-round match that will be nationally televised on Fox Soccer Channel. After a triumph over the Portland Timbers at Jeld-Wen Field, the stakes rise even more for Cal FC, but coach Eric Wynalda is confident in his group and has a pointed message for the Sounders.

"I was worried about it last week that they would play to the occasion, but they responded," Wynalda told SBI via telephone. "I didn't really manage the game particularly well. We'll have a minor tweak in the way we address this game. It definitely will throw Seattle off. At some point they will be standing there counting heads trying to figure out what happened."

Here is a closer look at all of Tuesday's U.S. Open Cup fourth-round matches:

U.S. OPEN CUP FOURTH ROUND

CAROLINA RAILHAWKS VS. CHIVAS USA (7:07 p.m., WakeMed Park)

After toppling the Los Angeles Galaxy in the last round, the RailHawks are out to defeat the other half of the SuperClasico duo. It seems as if the win over the Galaxy has focused the NASL side, as it won its first league game of the season over the weekend.

Chivas, meanwhile, is coming off a victory over the Ventura County Fusion and has new life after acquiring Juan Agudelo and Danny Califf.

D.C. UNITED VS. PHILADELPHIA UNION (7:30 p.m., Maryland SportsPlex)

One of two MLS vs. MLS matchups in the round, these two teams will see one another again when they resume league play on June 16. Ben Olsen is expecting both teams to put out first-choice lineups, and he'll have just about everyone available to him save for the recovering Chris Pontius (glute strain) and Dwayne De Rosario and Dejan Jakovic, who are on international duty with Canada.

"It's a chance for us to get a trophy back," Olsen said. "There's a CONCACAF berth at the end of this, and that's something I want to be a part of and this organization wants to be a part of. It's changed everything in this tournament. You're four, five games away from playing in (the CCL). This organization has loved being a part of that competition. We've done well in it, and I want to get back to that, so this is another step in that direction."

The match also marks the return of current Union and former D.C. United players and area products Freddy Adu and Brian Carroll and former D.C. United coach and current Union boss Peter Nowak to the region.

HARRISBURG CITY ISLANDERS VS. NEW YORK RED BULLS (7:30 p.m., Skyline Sports Complex)

Thierry Henry will not be making the trip to Harrisburg, but the Red Bulls will still be fielding as first-choice a squad as possible despite numerous absences in their quest to put last year's debacle in the rear-view mirror and make a concerted effort to win their first trophy.

After watching his team come back from a three-goal deficit in extra time to defeat the New England Revolution in the last round, Islanders coach Bill Becher is prepared for anything and everything come gametime.

"The (Red Bulls) offense seems to be clicking on all cylinders," Becher told SBI. "Defensively they started a little slow, but they've started to figure it out. It's definitely a challenge for us. What they did to Charleston (in the last round), nobody in our league does that. We know that we have a huge test in front of us. Based on the lineup they put out there, they're taking it serious and trying to win this."

Becher also added that the Red Bulls approached Harrisburg about switching hosting rights, but even if the two had agreed to terms it would have come too late in the process to pull off the move.

MICHIGAN BUCKS VS. DAYTON DUTCH LIONS (7:30 p.m., Oakland University Soccer Field)

If not for Cal FC, PDL's Michigan Bucks would be getting a bit more of the limelight, especially after a victory over the Chicago Fire.

With New England Revolution academy player Scott Caldwell and Columbus Crew academy player Chad Barson, the Bucks, who traditionally have succeeded in the Open Cup, have two up-and-coming University of Akron players in the lineup and are hopeful of springing another surprise. Don't expect the Bucks to be overwhelmed by the moment, though.

"If they didn't puke all over themselves against Chicago, I don't think they'll do so against Dayton," Bucks coach Gary Parsons told SBI.

Dayton, meanwhile, is looking to complete its assault on the Columbus Crew program. After defeating the MLS side last week, the 0-5-4 USL Pro club takes aim at the Bucks, a Crew affiliate.

SPORTING KANSAS CITY VS. COLORADO RAPIDS (8:30 p.m., Livestrong Sporting Park)

The other MLS vs. MLS matchup is a rematch from a league game less than three weeks ago, when Teal Bunbury's two early goals were cancelled out by strikes from defenders Tyrone Marshall and Kosuke Kimura. 

The scene shifts from Dick's Sporting Goods Park to Livestrong Sporting Park, where Sporting KC is 5-1-0 this season in MLS play and just beat Orlando City SC 3-2 in the last round of the Open Cup.

SAN ANTONIO SCORPIONS VS. CHARLOTTE EAGLES (8:30 p.m., Heroes Stadium)

Both teams took down Texas MLS sides, with San Antonio eking by the Houston Dynamo and Charlotte getting by FC Dallas. Now, one of the two lower-tier sides will find a place in the quarterfinals of the tournament.

The Eagles, just 2-7-2 in USL Pro play, are another one of the shock participants in the Round of 16, while the Scorpions are in the mix near the top of the NASL table and will have home-field advantage.

SEATTLE SOUNDERS VS. CAL FC (10:30 p.m., Fox Soccer Channel, Starfire Sports Complex)

The Sounders continue their quest for Open Cup No. 4 in a row amid the spotlight of Cal FC and the controversy sparked by Sigi Schmid's comments about U.S. Soccer conspiring to have the Sounders eliminated from the tournament.

On paper, this is perhaps the most lopsided matchup in Open Cup history, with the four-tier distance between the two clubs playing heavily into Seattle's favor. Not like that stopped Cal FC in the last round, though.

"We match up much better with Seattle than how we did with Portland," Wynalda said. "I want them to play, I want them to do their thing. I invite them into the game, because our guys know the more open this game is the more opportunities they'll have to do their thing. The last game against Portland, fitness and physicality got to us. It won't be the same kind of game. It'll be a spectacle, because both teams are capable of playing a high level of football."

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES VS. MINNESOTA STARS (11 p.m., Cagan Stadium)

Stars coach Manny Lagos takes on the team for which he used to play, as Minnesota attempts to take down a second straight MLS Western Conference power.

The Stars went into Rio Tinto Stadium after selling off hosting rights for the third round and stunned Real Salt Lake. With confidence growing, they'll hit the road again to take on an Earthquakes side that is without the likes of Chris Wondolowski and Victor Bernardez, who are both away on international duty.

Comments

  1. refereeing in the Chivas-Railhawks game was crap. The linesman in front of the Railhawks bench was complete crap and had no idea how to call offsides.

    The handball that gave Chivas the PK at the end was a legit call, but if the pass into the box had been on the other end of the field, the linesman likely would’ve called it offsides.

    Nice that local TV showed the game in Raleigh, on an HD feed that most local cable customers got.

    Pathetic that local news thinks “Chivas” is pronounced “SHI-ves” like the booze instead of “shee-VASS” like the soccer team.

    Chivas played a pretty strong lineup, with Riley and Califf in the back, Vagenas and Moreno in the middle, and Juan up front, and added Angel late in the game.

    Railhawks played well, but let the refs bad calls got them rattled and they got out of their game. For some reason they tried to play a lot of aerial balls forward to Schilawski and Da Luz. They’re both listed at 5’10” but there’s no way. Those guys could do jumping jacks under a 5’10” doorway.
    Good passing out of the back from Low and Elenio, but lacked good linking play from front-mid forward.

    Chivas had excellent control of the middle with Vagenas and Moreno, who played smart balls most of the night. Not a lot of creativity, but very few mistakes.

    Califf was *very* rough in the back, and was consistently hacking Schilawski behind the play, completely taking his legs out at one point when the ref wasn’t looking. It was effective, and the ref let him get away with it, but it was dirty.

    Railhawk Amir Lowery got into a few tussles with some Chivas players, and went dancing with Angel at one point that the ref had to break up. He was tough, but mostly focused on the ball, unlike Califf, who was hacking behind the play.

    Good game, and Chivas were probably the better team overall, but it was hard to tell through the atrocious refereeing. Worst I’ve seen in over 10 years.

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  2. Linesman in front of Railhawks bench hasn’t got an offsides call right yet.

    68th minute ‘Hawks bring in Shipalane.
    Chivas counters in 70th bringing Angel. They’re going for it.

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  3. 1-0 Chivas @ half. Aguedelo w/ header on nice cross from Courtois. Some very puzzling calls. Yellow for dissent to ‘Hawks captain, but no yellow for worse backtalk from multiple Chivas players. ‘Hawks trying to play aerial game w/ 5’7″ front line. No one holding possession well.

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  4. At Railhawks game. Gorgeous night to be out – perfect weather w/ light breeze. Chivas not playing all-scrub lineup: Moreno & Juan A both starting. Clearly don’t want to get popped like LA did.

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  5. ssfc, Cal FC is a group of amature players that was assembled together about a month ago. These guys have talent and desperately want to play professionally, but they had doors slammed into their faces by a number of professional clubs. Wynalda put this team together to showcase these guys, give them a chance and prove his point that the folks running most MLS franchises have a very low soccer IQ. As the top division team, Portland Timbers were supposed to obliterate these amatures in the Open Cup about a week ago. Timbers played their starters and certainly had an edge in size, speed, and fitness, but they were not as good technically and tactically as Wynalda’s boys. Now it is the Sounders’ turn to obliterate these amature players. But, hey, I am rooting for the underdog! If the Sounders crash out of the Open Cup by losing to an amature team, they should make a movie about Cal FC.

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  6. Portland sucks. Seattle does not. They have guys that can actually score. Even Ochoa can score goals. Sadly for Portland, a neutral observer wouldn’t know who was the true DP between Boyd and Ochoa after watching the last round of games.

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  7. Is Seattle shoots like Portland did last week they will lose 1-0.

    If Seattle shoots the ball like a decent MLS team they will win the game 6-1.

    I watch the last 60 minutes of the Port/Cal FC game and Portland should have scored multiple times. The keeper had to make one or two tough saves. The shots were either right at him or 5 yards high or wide.

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  8. Chupa… Money can only buy you home games … talk to RSL and Portland about how that worked out for them this year…

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  9. I agree with you on one point. The Red Bulls suck.

    Money can’t buy you passion, but it can buy you the Open Cup trophy.

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  10. That makes me laugh and sad all at the same time … We’ve come a long ways but still have so far to go.

    What’s so hard to understand about Messi? Tony Parker plays for San Antonio but represents France in international play. Same for many other basketball and baseball players. It’s not tricky

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  11. Rumor has it, Wyanalda told his team to just kick at Seattle players, “they’re soft”. He’s following Klinsmann advice to “turn up the nasty.”

    If Cal FC thinks they are going to kick their way to a US Open Cup final they have another thing coming.

    It will be fun watching Montero come off the bench to make monkeys of all of them.

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  12. Hate all you want goat sucker. That Red Bull trophy case still sits empty… All that money can’t buy you passion.

    3 years, 3 trophies, best fans. Sorry New York, it ain’t you this time.

    If Red Bull did what we did and had fans like us no one would hate them. They’d just accept “New York Swagger” and “New York teams always win”, etc etc…

    Well not in this sport.

    That is all.

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  13. And yet, promotion/relegation is an impossible concept for the 2nd-5th division of USSF.

    Oh yeah, it’s not and it would be awesome.

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  14. Just to reiterate this for everyone because it needs to be said…

    Cal FC plays in USASA, a league with over 250,000 adult players. That’s how amateur this team is.

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  15. While they are technically an amateur team since they are part of USL, they are generally just regarded as a lower professional division side.

    They are not amateurs compared to Cal FC which is part of USASA, a soccer league with over 250,000 adults playing in it.

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  16. Hopefully Cal FC wins so it will suck out all of the hot air emanating from Seattle fans. That should end global warming right there.

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  17. When he started talking about Spain not having Carlos Puyol and how it will be hard for Ramos to move over in the backline…I was just thinking, you better throw in a football references becaseu no one understands what you are saying.

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  18. “We’ll have a minor tweak in the way we address this game. It definitely will throw Seattle off. At some point they will be standing there counting heads trying to figure out what happened.”

    …..look out!! Sounds like Cal FC is going to do a little “Shake and Bake”

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  19. Heard it this monring. Just the biggest face palm. The way Lalas handled it, he sounds like he fielded this question already.

    Messi- plays in Spain, not nesecarily from there. Hard to comprehend.

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  20. If Cal FC wins this game, I fear for the integrity of Earth’s atmosphere. The transfer of oxygen and hot air into Eric Wynalda’s head could leave us with an extinction level event-type scenario.

    God help us all.

    Seriously though, psyched to watch.

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  21. Nice how Wynalda gets lots of run but Gary Parsons doesn’t. At least the error of the Fox Sports article isn’t repeated here – the Bucks were the *first* amateur team to knock off an MLS squad. And not least week either. 12 freakin’ years ago.

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  22. Steven Goff ‏@SoccerInsider
    Wow, ESPN RT @bychrisjenkins: Host on “Mike and Mike” just asked Lalas how Messi will fare in Euro ’12. Turns out, Argentina’s not in Europe
    Please tell me theres a sound clip of that

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  23. Wynalda – when it is 4-0 Sounders at halftime, yes, Sounders will stand around trying to count Cal FC heads, trying to figure out if they fielded a full squad.

    Reply

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