Sonny Dalesandro is a legend in lower league soccer. One of the founders of Tulsa Athletic, his big mustache and even bigger personality have made him a larger than life character in the NPSL. Sure, he’s a master at disc golf and has a penchant for speaking out on social issues, but his soccer club is his passion and Tulsa Athletic are now in the third round of the 2023 Open Cup and set to play MLS’ Sporting Kansas City this evening. The club has lately found its footing in the NPSL, losing in the semifinals in 2022, and this year is the furthest the club has ever made it in the Open Cup. The team is riding high and showing the confidence that comes with success.

“We’ve been to the the second round two other times, once by draw and last year we beat Azteca from Colorado and then played FC Tulsa in the second round, but yeah, this year is the furthest we’ve been.” That second round matchup last year was against fellow Tulsa club FC Tulsa, who plays in USL Championship. That match ended 2-1 last year and a quick second round exit for Tulsa Athletic. But this year that same matchup of club ended differently, with the amateur side coming out on top 1-0. Sonny discussed what was different this year.

“We hosted in the second round, which is huge, and its a derby. In a derby, the venue is a massive advantage. We learned a lot from last year when we played in their stadium. It was new, there were a lot of fans, and that fucks with young players. We were down 2 goals early, we really got punched in the face. So this year there was more of like ‘when the whistle blows, there’s no time to feel these guys out. We have to try and impose our style on this match.’ And so our mentality lent itself to being victorious.”

It didn’t hurt that a majority of the roster that played in last year’s tournament returned for the 2023 run. Sonny estimated 60-70% returned, but, as he points out, Tulsa Athletic has yet to get its college-based players back. That’s a common refrain of most amateur sides playing in the USOC. The schedule does not benefit amateur clubs who’s rosters are built around players who don’t free up till later in the year. Unlike most of those clubs, Sonny was thrilled with that scheduling. “I was really glad that the federation moved it from May to March because it weeds out teams that just want to [airquotes] play [end airquote] in the Open Cup…Look an amateur team is never going to win the Open Cup, but if you enter the competition you should be able to field a side all the way through the competition. These clubs would just jump into the competition and maybe claim a few scalps, but god forbid they should make a semifinal. They’d have no players. So I was a fan of moving the dates, even if it meant thinning out my own roster.”

Going into tonight’s match against a first-tier opponent, Sonny was clear that the match is just another match. “Our approach doesn’t change that much. This is our tenth year of doing this and engrained in our club philosophy is how we prepare for our opponents. If it’s the 1970 Brasil World Cup team or if its a struggling conference opponent, we have a philosophy ‘Respect All, Fear None.’ We’re going to prepare for a good preformance and then turn the boys loose. It’s a cup final for us. No team at our level is going to win the Open Cup, but we still have a chance to make history. So we can lay it all on the line…and play without pressure.”

Tonight, when Tulsa runs out on the field to face a roster full of well-paid professionals, the chance of an upset will be nearly zero. But if there’s an amateur club that could knock off pro side, it wouldn’t surprise most of us if it was Sonny Dalesandro’s club.

Tonights Open Cup matchup will kick off in Kansas City at 7:30CT. Sporting will be broadcasting the match on the club’s youtube channel.

- Dan Vaughn