With 24 matches on tap for round three of the 2022 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, the diversity of interesting amateur teams is set to dwindle further, with 17 of the 28 first-division professional franchises entering play over the next two days. As is our raison d'être, here at Protagonist Soccer, we’ll take a closer look at the amateur teams still in the competition, highlighting a few matchups we find particularly tasty.

UPDATE: We’ve been made aware that the Central Valley Fuego side competing in the USOC is their League One squad and have updated the article as best as possible to reflect that; however, we initially intended to highlight the match as an amateur side taking on a professional side.

ROCHESTER NY (MLSNP) vs FC MOTOWN (NPSL)

After choosing not to return to play last year, the historic Rochester Rhinos underwent an extensive rebrand, changing their name to Rochester NY and modifying their logo to artistically represent the local High Falls - “one of three voluminous waterfalls on the Genesee River.” Winners of the 1999 US Open Cup, where they beat four MLS franchises in succession, including stunning the Colorado Rapids 2-0 to secure the title - Rochester brings a particular pedigree to the contest which is hard to ignore.

Also, despite playing in MLS Next Pro, this Rochester club is organized as an independent member of the minor league setup which the pros have put in place to squeeze out competition in key markets, and unlike their first division super-sized franchise friends, Rochester NY earned their place in this round by defeating Lansdowne Bhoys FC 1-0 in the last round, with the lone goal coming from Gibran Rayo. They are currently 9th in their respective league table with 2 points from 3 games played, scoring 1 goal and giving up 5 (-4 GD) – their only goal scored by forward, Dante Brigida.

FC Morristown, also known as FC Motown, have squads entered into both NPSL and USL League 2 for the respective 2022 competitions. If you looked at the USOC fixtures on google, you might have come up with Clarkstown FC, and while there is a historic reason for that reference, the club has gone by FC Motown for a few years. Interestingly, this New Jersey-based club also brings some US Open Cup pedigree to the table; they also defeated Lansdowne Bhoys FC, 3-2 back in 2017 to qualify for the tournament where they were summarily defeated by none other than the Rochester Rhinos in the second round, 3-0.

Neither of Motown’s clubs’ season have begun, both starting next month, but Wayne, NJ native and former NYRB squad player, Šaćir Hot is listed as the coach for the USOC squad and the NPSL webpage has him listed as the NPSL squad coach. Additionally, goal scorers, Ryan Peterson (who’s 91’ goal in round one to beat West Chester at the death) and Federico de Oliveira (who’s 96’ round two goal sent NISA side Syracuse Pulse packing) are both listed on the NPSL roster. For me, this is the amateur soccer lover’s fixture of the round; with history and a little USOC priors on the books, this is one to watch.

FC Motown before their 2017 USOC win over Lansdowne Bhoys - they would go on to lose to Rochester Rhinos 3-0 in the 2nd Round.

RICHMOND KICKERS(USL1) vs NC FUSION (USL2)

Founded in 1993, the Richmond Kickers are also made of the stuff of legend – having won the US Open Cup in only their second year of existence, back in 1995 (the last year there were no MLS franchises involved in the competition). Defeating teams like the El Paso Patriots, Chicago Stingers, Atlanta Ruckus, and Fairfax Spartans. Kickers have subsequently qualified for and competed in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup 22 of its 30 years of existence and missing the last two was only because the contest was not held.

Kickers, who now ply their trade in the USL League 1 defeated USL League 2 side Northern Virginia (NoVa) 1-0 in the second round with a goal coming from right sided winger David Olsen. Richmond are 1-1-1 in their league play so far, having lost just three days ago, and drawing a week ago. They seem to be slightly out of form, having picked up more yellow cards than goals so far this season. They are set take on another USL League 2 side in this round of USOC – facing North Carolina Fusion U23.

Previously known as Carolina Dynamo and found the same year as Richmond Kickers as Greensboro Dynamo, NC Fusion have, themselves, participated in the USOC 13 times and even have a couple of memorable matches. Including a famous 4-4 draw with Chattanooga FC in 2013, which went through extra time and into penalties, where they won 4-1. NC Fusion’s best run in The Cup; defeating none other than Richmond Kickers 1-0 in the Round 1 and going on to beat Seattle Sounders in Round 2, only to fall to Houston Dynamo 2-4 in Round 3.

NC Fusion rebranded in 2018 and currently compete in South Atlantic Division of the Southern Conference of USL League 2. While their season has yet to start, they showed great form in their last two wins in The Cup; a 1-0 first round win against South Carolina with a winner by Steven Hernandez-Mortimer and a 4-2 beating of USL League 1 side Charlotte Independence, with goals from Luis Pinheiro Neto, Joao Silva, Tom Marriot, and William Lorentz. They very well could be headed into this long-awaited USOC rematch with their tails up and not at all concerned about Kickers’ position in a league a level up.

The Richmond Kickers in 1995 - the year they won the whole thing.

SACRAMENTO REPUBLIC FC (USLC) vs CENTRAL VALLEY FUEGO (USL1)

Sacramento Republic FC earned their spot in the third round of The Cup by destroying Timbers U23s 6-0 with goals from Damia Viader, Matt LaGrassa, club legend Rodrigo Lopez, Zeiko Lewis and a brace from Duke Lacroix. The club followed that effort up with a draw in USL Championship league play away to league champions Orange County SC and are 3-1-1, sitting 6th in the table, with only a +2 GD. That’s not to say that they haven’t scored, with 2-1 wins over FC Tulsa and Monterey Bay, as well as a 3-1 defeat of El Paso Locomotive; its that the only clean sheet they kept was at home in the Open Cup against that Timbers team, which is actually just an amateur side which is no longer affiliated with the MLS organization – that amateur team had only played one match prior to their visit to Sacramento and only practiced together a handful of times.

The Republic, founded in 2012, began play in 2014, and have participated in the US Open Cup 6 times – going out in the 4th round 3 times, leaving in the 3rd round in 2016 and a pair of deeper runs into the Round of 16, in 2017 and 2018. It was in their inaugural year, 2014, when they faced Fresno Fuego in the 3rd round of the US Open Cup – demolishing them 6-0.

The Fuego find themselves in the Third Round meritoriously, after defeating another USL Championship side, El Paso Locomotive, 4-1 with goals from Nathan Smith, Christian Chaney, and a brace from former Sac Republic player, Villyan Bijev. Central Valley Fuego, with squads in both USL League 1 and League 2, also carry the history of their predecessor, Fresno Fuego who has been in the US Open Cup four times; 2003, 2012, 2014, and 2017. Clubs moving from town to town and the handing off of their history is as American as apple pie, so will this Fuego team be seeking revenge for that 0-6 blowout on May 28th, 2014, or are they even aware of it – who knows, but the narrative is unignorable.

This isn’t the first time Sacramento has faced a Fuego team from Fresno in the US Open Cup - will Central Valley get their revenge?

ATLANTA UNITED FC (MLS) vs CHATTANOOGA FC (NISA)

MLS teams entering the competition in the 3rd and 4th Round can be a bit frustrating and seeing their apathy by way of weakened lineups and poor fan engagement is disappointing. Atlanta United, however, are the reigning US Open Cup champions and have a robust supporter’s culture – even if the club moved the match to Fifth Third Bank Stadium, which seats 8,318. While its highly unlikely that they’d draw 20 or 30,000 to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, it is likely that Chattanooga FC could have drawn better than 8,000 to their home, Finely Stadium and thus makes me of the opinion that the lower league team should always have the first right of refusal to host a match. As I discovered this morning, there is a “hosting fee” and so to say the lower league team should always host could be condemning a small club to financial death if they don’t have $12K up front.

This is Atlanta’s first USOC match back since they won the dang thing in 2019 – lest we forget, they dispatched Charleston Battery, Columbus Crew, St Louis FC, Orlando City, and Minnesota United to lift the Cup that year. That, after going out in the 5th Round in both their inaugural season and their second year as a club. They are also a MLS Cup Winner as well and despite all of their accolades, are having a so-so start to their league season; sitting 4th in the Eastern Conference with 3 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses – they have a 0 GD, having scored 9 and given up 9 in league play. United had a hard-fought draw just four days ago and have a critical league match away to second-bottom side Inter Miami – its unknown how serious Atlanta boss Gonzalo Pineda will take the game.

Chattanooga gave Atlanta United their first ever matchup, back in pre-season of 2017, and are amped up for a re-match; however, this time around, there is something on the line. While Chatta have never won the US Open Cup, they have a few more years’ experience in the tournament, having played in 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. Coincidentally, they were knocked out of the contest by the Atlanta Silverbacks in 2014 and 15. For all that experience as a club, it doesn’t help them now. They have played two and drawn two in NISA, so far this season, and have only scored one goal. However, they did earn their spot in this round of the cup by defeating USL Championship side, Memphis 901, 3-1 with three first-half goals from Alex McGrath, Travis Ward, and Taylor Gray. With no league matches until April 30th, I fully expect the well-regarded boss Rod Underwood, to do everything they can to put Atlanta on the backfoot, fight for early goals, and worry about resting after the match is over.

The Five Stripes were the last gang to do the dang thang.

DETROIT CITY FC (USLC) vs COLUMBUS CREW (MLS)

The hyperbole is unavoidable, but this match-up is a massive game and Northern Guard Supporters have every reason to believe they will toss this MLS franchise right into the dumpster. Columbus are… not good right now – 9th in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer and have only 2 wins so far this season. They have a meager +1 Goal Difference and have not even scored in a month, losing three in a row during that time. Crew have an important league match in four days and with as much apathy as MLS gives this competition in the early rounds combined with Caleb Porter looking at a hotseat, I can see Crew prioritizing their game on Saturday at Sporting Kansas City.

While Detroit City also have a league match in four days, head coach Trevor James can afford to focus on winning this match and worrying about rotation at the weekend. Le Rouge are in rich run of form – 4th in their respective Eastern Conference, with 3 wins and a +5 Goal Difference and while that doesn’t scream goals, consider this… Detroit City have not lost since week 2 and even more importantly, they have only given up more than 1 goal in a game two times since 2020. An absolutely astonishing statistic and an indicator of how well organized they can be against any level of competition. Is it even an upset if the better team wins?

by Joshua Duder