Orange County FC Advances to Third Round of U.S. Open Cup

Orange County FC advanced to the Third Round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with a penalty kick victory over Orange County SC in the tournament’s Second Round.  OCFC now face Las Vegas Lights FC at Cashman Field in Las Vegas, NV on May 29th at 7:30 pm PT.

Orange County SC 2, Orange County FC 2 (3-5 PKs)

The opening exchanges were even between these two teams who play out of the same stadium and whose names are separated by just one letter. Orange County SC only took a lead in the 13th minute because of a mistake in the OCFC rearguard – when Joshua Davis headed an Aodhan Quinn cross from the left into his own net from an awkward position. From that setback, Orange County FC grew into the game and went on the hunt for an equalizer. They got it after 27 minutes, when Dakota Collins slotted home a rebound from a Joshua Bynoe shot to cap off a magnificent lightning counter-attack. Orange County SC put heavy pressure on OCFC for virtually the whole of the second half and when Darwin Jones put OCSC up with a header in the 87th minute, it looked like they’d sealed the deal. But Ryan Holland, OCFC’s English-born center back, had other ideas. He scored two minutes into stoppage time to force an extra-time session that threatened a winner at both ends. However, this game – one destined to become a classic derby – needed a penalty shootout to decide a winner. In the end, OCFC won the night scoring five to OCSC’s three from the spot and they now move on to face Eric Wynalda’s Las Vegas Lights in the Third Round.

El Farolito 0, Fresno FC 1

Second-half substitute Qudus Lawal took advantage of a mistake by goalkeeper Luis Castro to score the only goal of the match in the 75th minute to boost Fresno FC to a 1-0 win over El Farolito at historic Boxer Stadium in downtown San Francisco, Calif. Lawal, a forward, slipped the ball into the net from close range after Castro dropped a right-wing feed in front of the net. El Farlolito, which defeated Academica SC, 2-1, last week, could not conjure up the magic to pull off a cupset this time around. Fresno goalkeeper Sam Howard preserved the shutout by tipping Carlos Montes’ 84th-minute blast just over the crossbar. Jemal Johnson almost gave the visitors the lead in the 35th minute, but his 10-yard shot bounded off the crossbar. El Farolito’s starting XI included former Panama national team midfielder Aramis Haywood, 34, who made five international appearances and participated in the 2011 Concacaf Gold Cup.

Hartford Athletic 2, New York Cosmos B 1

Making their club debut in the Open Cup, Hartford Athletic downed a game New York Cosmos side that couldn’t turn its 19-8 shot advantage and bulk of possession into the final product. Hartford struck first in the 16th minute when Giuseppe Gentile fed Harry Swartz for the opening goal. Mads Jorgensen then stunned the visitors from NYC nine minutes later with a solo effort that had the Connecticut side up 2-0 before halftime. On the other side of the break, the Cosmos continued to carry the play and did well to halve the deficit through Emmanuele Sembroni in the 57th minute. But Hartford saw out the final half hour to advance to a Third Round date.

San Antonio FC 2, Laredo Heat SC 0

A pair of first-half goals off corner kicks carried San Antonio FC over Laredo Heat SC, 2-0, at Toyota Field in San Antonio, Texas. Pascal Eboussi buried a header off a Jack Barmby corner to lift the hosts into the lead in the 17th minute. Ever Guzman added an insurance tally in the 41st minute. Walter Restrepo took a short corner and shuffled the ball to Barmby. Barmby then fed Guzman from point-blank range and he fired a shot that hit the bottom of the crossbar before bouncing into the goal. Goalkeeper Jonathan Viscosi recorded the clean sheet.

Photo Credit: Glenn Feingerts