OSA FC Falls to Reno 1868 in Second Round of U.S. Open Cup
OSA FC hosted USL side Reno 1868 in the second round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday at Starfire Sports in Tukwila, WA. There were already a handful of connections between the sides: Reno coach Ian Russell is a Seattle native, while his little brother Sean was in the starting XI for OSA. This match went the distance as each team only notched a single goal during regular time, sending it into extra time, and then to a penalty shootout. Reno 1868 won the subsequent shootout 4-3 to progress to the next round of the Cup.
The match started off fairly evenly, with OSA getting the better of the initial chances. Alex Roldan and Handwalla Bwana impressed early for the Seattle side, but it was Eli Gordley who broke through for the home team in the 16th minute. OSA took a corner kick that briefly bounced around in the box before Gordley pounced on it and fired it in the back of the net to make it 1-0.
OSA’s Bwana nearly doubled the home team’s scoreline not long after with a brilliant free kick earned by Roldan, but his set piece clanged off the crossbar. It took nearly conceding a second for Reno 1868 to get back into the match, and they started to finally get a rhythm going not long after Bwana’s miss.
Midfielder Cameron Vickers and forward Dembakwi Yomba combined well for Reno a handful of times, finally breaking through with a goal in the 30th minute. Vickers put a perfectly weighted ball over the top of the OSA defense, and Yomba fired a scorching half-volley into the back of the OSA net.
Neither team was particularly dangerous in the final 15 minutes, though OSA’s Roldan had one nice attack that saw him beat several defenders before taking a shot from deep, but it was gathered easily. Reno’s attacking forced OSA to foul them several times near the edge of the box, but they weren’t able to do anything with the set pieces earned.
The second half started in nearly the opposite manner to the first, as Reno 1868 kicked off on the front foot and had the first dangerous chances of the period. Most of their shots flew wide of goal, but they stayed on the front foot in the opening minutes. Roldan had the first chance for OSA of the half with a deflected shot, but it wasn’t enough to beat Reno goalkeeper Klabough.
Both teams had a few half-chances, but Reno had to change their tactics in the 62nd minute when forward Dembakwi Yomba pulled up with an injury and had to be replaced. Yomba had been probably Reno’s best player, and his goal in the first half proved that. He was replaced by Antoine Hoppenot, whose first action of the match was to be flagged offside by the assistant referee.
Each team produced some big chances going into the final thirty minutes of regular time. OSA’s Roldan had a very nice head flick that almost put a teammate through on goal, but the Reno defense managed to intercept it. Minutes after that chance, Sean Russell had a golden opportunity for OSA in the middle of the box, but his shot went over the bar. Reno counterattacked quickly and Efrain Burgos almost finished off the chance, but his shot also flew over the bar.
OSA made their first substitution of the match in the 68th minute, taking off Matthew Shaxton and bringing on Anthony Ayala. He was involved early, getting on the end of a header by a Bwana free kick, but it was saved by Klabough. A particularly dangerous-looking tackle by OSA’s Corban Anderson earned him a yellow card as well.
Reno’s Mackenzie Pridham smacked another one off the cross bar with about fifteen minutes to go, and the forward was subsequently replaced by Matthew LaGrassa. With neither of their starting forwards left on the pitch, Reno had some strong attacks in the final minutes, including a deep shot that looked dangerous before being well-saved by OSA’s Adachi.
OSA almost looked to turn things around with just minutes to go when Anderson latched onto a ball in the box with his left foot, but his strike was saved. Despite getting a short spell of attacking possession, OSA was all defense in the dying minutes of regular time. Reno attacked OSA’s goal relentlessly in the final minutes, but they never managed to find a winner.
The scoreline stayed 1-1 to send OSA FC into extra time for their second Open Cup match in a row. They went all the way to penalties before defending Seattle Sounders U-23s a week prior to this match.
Reno 1868 continued their dominance into extra time, getting a few solid chances on OSA’s goal in the first few minutes. They had no trouble passing in the final third at first, but none of their attacks were particularly dangerous. As soon as OSA managed to get their own spell of possession, a nasty clash of heads sent Gordley to the ground as manager Filippo Milano sprinted onto the pitch with an assistant. After a prolonged spell on the turf, Gordley managed to walk off and get looked at by trainers before eventually returning to the pitch.
It almost looked like Reno had a penalty when Burgos seemed to have been pushed down in the box, but the referee waved his appeals away. OSA counterattacked quickly afterwards, and Gordley almost managed his second goal of the match, but his awkward lob was gathered by the goalkeeper without much trouble. A close volley by OSA’s Ayala flew over the bar just before the referee blew the whistle to end the first period of extra time.
Despite both teams looking tired, the second half of extra time kicked off with a bang as OSA’s Gordley had two chances to get another on the scoresheet in the first 90 seconds. He doesn’t last too much longer, though, as he’s replaced by Hamza Haddidi in the 19th minute. Roldan takes over as captain for OSA.
OSA controlled much of the second half of extra time, requiring a last ditch header by Reno’s Richards to keep things even. The attacking went the other way immediately after, as OSA’s Adachi was forced into a quick-reaction save against a curling shot from deep by Reno’s Efrain Burgos. There was some very late drama, as it looked like Reno had given up a penalty kick, but the referee judged the foul to have taken place outside the box. Bwana’s free kick was dangerous, but it was just off-target.
The match stayed 1-1 at the end of extra time, sending the match to a penalty shootout. This was the second U.S. Open Cup match in a row for OSA FC that went to a shootout, after they defeated Seattle Sounders U-23s in the same manner last week.
Reno 1868 won the shootout 4-3, with the winning penalty scored by Efrain Burgos. Here are the full results of the shootout:
OSA, Blanchard: SAVED
Reno, Casiple: GOAL
OSA, Roldan: GOAL
Reno, Richards: GOAL
OSA, Greene: GOAL
Reno, Hoppenot: MISS
OSA, Haddadi: SAVED
Reno, LaGrassa: GOAL
OSA, Wright: GOAL
Reno, Burgos: GOAL
Reno 1868 progresses to the next round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, and OSA FC’s dream ends here. The home side may have struck first in normal time through Gordley, but an upset was not on the cards after Reno’s Yomba equalized and both teams held on all the way through to the shootout.
