The Round of 32 delivered in every way, continuing a run that has left soccer fans thrilled for the US Open Cup. Golazos galore and a couple of upsets made this round a pleasure to watch, but what I’m focusing on is what did we learn from this year’s Round of 32.

Regular season form matters less than we think.

I’m not saying it doesn’t matter at all, just maybe we shouldn’t put all our eggs in the current form basket.

Heading into this round, we extensively discussed the success of certain USL Championship clubs. And we used that regular season success to predict Cup domination, much to our own demise. Charleston Battery is about as dominant in Championship as you can be, on a current ten match undefeated streak, and yet League One South Georgia Tormenta forced the Battery to find a last second hat-trick to advance. Orange County is currently third in the West, but lost to Loudoun United, who sit in the 9th spot in the East. And probably the biggest of them all, Real Salt Lake is in the top spot in the MLS Western Conference and New Mexico United (USL Championship) beat them 4-2. Open Cup is a different kind of beast and playing well doesn’t ALWAYS mean smooth sailing.

MD Meyers delivered one of TWO Championship hat tricks last night. *Image courtesy of Charleston Battery*

Know who you are.

I have long argued that all clubs should aim to find their ethos. The thing that defines them as an organization. The first thought that comes to mind when you think of that team. That’s their ethos. Detroit City might be the most confident club in all of American soccer right now. Sure, they’re known for their gritty defense and finding a way to make it into the playoffs in the face of daunting odds, but when I think of Detroit City, I think of a football club that never gives up, that always feels in it, that is never intimidated or scared.

This Round, they faced Houston Dynamo on the road. While they are playing very well in the Championship, the challenges of facing a division one side are not insignificant. After going down two goals in the first half, it would have been so easy for the team to accept their fate and come back next year. Instead, Ryan Williams hit an absolute worldy into the top corner and it was game on. In the second half, Yazeed Mathews scored to even it up, only for Dynamo to score just minutes later. Another chance to just pack it in. Instead, the king of Detroit, Maxi Rodriguez was in the right place at the right time and scored the equalizer. And then extra time and penalties. Detroit never looked fazed or concerned. They’re just built tougher. And now they advance to the Round of 16.

There are no locks.

If you listened to the last couple of podcasts we did about this Round, we were big on Louisville City’s chances on the road against a struggling Sounders team. The Kentucky side is playing incredibly well in the Championship and it just seemed like the obvious pick for an upset. Instead, LouCity went down 2-0 before battling back even late in the second half. In penalties, Seattle would win 5-4 and Louisville City is eliminated from the tournament. There are no locks and picking upsets is hard to do correctly.

Bonus thought: This is the best competition ever.

Anyone that dislikes the Open Cup is an idiot. This competition is off the charts fun and an absolute blast to watch. I cannot imagine a soccer fan watching that Tampa Bay Rowdies win (6-4 in extra time) over Birmingham Legion and being bored. Or League One Union Omaha pressing Sporting Kansas City to the brink. Or any of the other exciting matches in this Round. The USOC is the best and only Don Garber hates it. And he hates everything fun.