What did the first night of US Open Cup tell us? Several observations both soccer and business-wise
Vermont Green pick up huge victory in front of large crowd
We’ve been told no one cares about the US Open Cup. I suppose if you’re some wealthy suburban elite that loves MLS or spends the week obsessing about the top six in the Premier League and how many trophies they’ll win in a given season it’s kind of a drag.
But for those on the grassroots, and working with players throughout the country, much like the FA Cup in England and domestic cup competitions all over the world, it’s what happens for small clubs in smaller towns or amateurs in city neighborhoods that drives these competitions. Who ultimately wins the Open Cup is less relevant than the experience of the opening few rounds.
Moving past the reality that the representatives from MLS Next Pro went 0-1-2 (W-T-L) on the first night of the competition, the Cup showed a vibrance, a spirit and an importance that’s often lost on the executives in MLS.
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Vermont Green of USL League 2 drew 4,000 fans, got support from Senator Bernie Sanders and beat Lexington of USL League 1.
Open division teams (USL L2, NPSL, UPSL, and others including Miami United) did particularly well paced by Miami United’s 1-0 win over Chattanooga FC of MLS Next Pro.
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One common theme is that it’s particularly difficult for Open Division teams to start the tournament so early. Remember the tournament used to begin in April or May, but in order to ACCOMODATE MLS AND LEAGUES CUP, the first round was moved in March in 2023. For clubs like Brave SC of USL League 2 which I watched yesterday, this creates issues with roster management. As we’ve discussed previously USL League 2 is highly-dependent on college-eligible players and Brave SC, formerly the Villages SC is one of the elite clubs nationally in that league - but rely every season on an intake of college-eligible or summer-available players. I know several other clubs including Vermont Green were in the same position. In many cases, guys are signed EXCLUSIVELY for Open Cup.
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Another issue that has creeped up that has been articulated in the last 48 hours is the difficulty of running a match operationally and marketing wise when given only two weeks notice. While MLS’ efforts to scuttle the competition this year were not successful, subconscious sabotage could be claimed as a result. Nonetheless, the match I attended in The Villages was well-attended by locals and we saw big crowds in places like Vermont and Austin.
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The Cupsets early on set the stage for how difficult this competition might be for established pro sides as amateur clubs and the support staff/fans that are involved with them are particularly motivated this year. Chances are an MLS team will win the trophy, but with only 8 first team entrants, everyone else has a better shot than in the past. And as we saw last night, MLS Next Pro’s youth-dominated squads have a hard time with semipro clubs that have gritty and in some cases very experienced cup players.
To clarify, ALL the three MLS Next Pro teams lost, so actually 0:3. Since the one tie went to PKs, which Austin II lost? This dramatic last game deserves a separate writeup! Foro went up 1:0 early, then sustained in quick succession the equalizer and then a RED card. So Foro played one man down for the final 20 minutes of regular time and then the entire overtime period! All seemed lost in the first OT period when Foro seemed exhausted from frenetic shorthanded defending and conceded what seemed to be the devastating winning goal. But NO! Miraculously, Foro came back in the second OT period to equalize, and then WON on PKs!!
"Another issue that has creeped up that has been articulated in the last 48 hours is the difficulty of running a match operationally and marketing wise when given only two weeks notice."
Anecdotal only, but a coworker was at the Forward Madison game last night and said that "for a Tuesday night, there were a lot more people there than I would've thought." Worth noting that it was also pretty cold (because...Wisconsin), and a school night.