Eight USL League One teams remain in the US Open Cup as the third round approaches tonight. While Lexington, Madison, Fuego and Knoxville are out, Charlotte, Greenville, Richmond, Tormenta, Chattanooga, Omaha Northern Colorado and Spokane all drew USL Championship opponents for round three. Here’s a briefing on each opponent.
Charlotte Independence vs. Rhode Island FC
Tuesday, April 16th, 2024, 7:00 PM ET
American Legion Memorial Stadium, Charlotte
The 2024 expansion side sits in 11th place in the east, with no wins, but just one loss and four draws. Albert Dikwa is responsible for all three goals scored in these matches. The 26 year old striker joined from Pittsburgh Riverhounds in the off season, where he had a career high 20 goals in 2023. RIFC also features Joe Brito, a midfielder who put up five goals and three assists for Union Omaha last year to earn a promotion to USL Championship. Brito has started all five matches so far for RIFC, and while he hasn’t converted an assist just yet, is second on the squad with 8 chances created.
RIFC is operating without the services of star goaltender Koke Vegas, who left the second match of the season with an injury. Jackson Lee, a former LAFC draft pick, has been tending in the meantime.
Charlotte’s defense is heavy on Championship veterans, with Clay Dimick, Joel Johnson, Hugh Roberts and Austin Pack all having experience at the higher level. They should know what to expect facing one of the weaker Championship sides. Charlotte will need to figure out its offensive situation though, currently tied for last in the league on goals scored. Newcomer Juan Carlos Obregón did play alongside Dikwa last season in Pittsburgh, and would love to prove himself against a Championship side with his new squad.
Louisville City vs. Greenville Triumph
Tuesday, April 16th, 7:00 PM ET
Lynn Family Stadium, Louisville
Greenville drew what is arguably the most difficult challenger in the third round, Louisville City FC. After finishing fifth in the eastern table in 2023, the club made it to the semi-finals where they lost to eventual playoff runners up Charleston Battery. They’re off to a hot start in 2024, winning the first four matches before a loss to, yet again, Charleston Battery. The run has included 16 goals in these five matches, giving the side the highest number of goals and best goal differential in the league.
They’re led by current league Golden Boot leader Wilson Harris with seven goals on the season, and Ray Serrano, tied for first in the league with three assists.
Goaltender Damian Las has two clean sheets on the season. The former Fulham youth keeper has the bulk of his American experience with Austin FC II but won the starting role at Louisville this season. Las could sit this one out in favor of backup Daniel Faundez, himself a five year veteran of USL Championship.
Greenville has shifted more towards an offensive powerhouse this season in USL League One, as seen when they overpowered a defensively minded Knoxville side in the second round. However, this also appears to be the style of Louisville City this season, which could lead to a high-scoring affair.
Should Louisville City take the match seriously and give minutes to its stars, Greenville is in for the fight of its season. Battle tested by winning one of the more challenging second round matches, they might be up for the task.
Richmond Kickers vs. Loudoun United
Wednesday, April 17th, 7:00 PM ET
City Stadium, Richmond
These two sides are somewhat familiar, having met twice in the 2024 pre-season. While rosters have changed since then, it gives each side an idea as to what to expect in this Virginia Derby.
Loudoun United is in its second season as an independent club, having previously been the second team for DC United until just before the start of the 2023 season. They missed the playoffs in 2023, finishing 11th in the eastern table on an eight match winless streak that included seven losses. This season’s squad currently sits in 7th place with 2 wins, 2 losses and a draw.
Loudoun United is led by Zach Ryan with three goals, while Kalil ElMedkhar, Florian Valot and Kwame Awuah have two assists each. Valot and Ryan have provided the most scoring chances. Hugo Fauroux has goalkeeping duties so far this season, but may give way for backup Dane Jacomen.
Both teams played on Saturday, and both play again this coming weekend, so roster management tactics will need to be used on both sides. With Richmond somewhat on the upswing and Loudoun not one of the stronger teams in USL Championship, this could be one of the cases where a USL League One side advances.
Miami FC vs. South Georgia Tormenta FC
Wednesday, April 17th, 7:30 PM ET
FIU Soccer Stadium, Miami
Tormenta will travel to Miami (fun fact, Statesboro is closer to Richmond than it is to Miami) to take on Miami FC. The hosts barely missed the 2023 playoffs on a head-to-head tiebreaker with Detroit City FC, then turned around and blew up the roster in the off season. They’re sitting in the same spot in the table after six matches, with one win, four losses and a draw. Currently on a three match losing streak in which they’ve conceded ten goals, they may struggle with a sometimes explosive Tormenta offense.
Miami FC features several familiar names to USL League One fans, including Nico Cardona (Chattanooga Red Wolves), Allen Gavilanes (Greenville Triumph) and Daltyn Knutson, who played with Tormenta in 2023 and Gabriel Cabral, who started his professional journey with Tormenta in 2022. All four are regular members of the starting 11, and Gavilanes leads his side with four goals.
Miami FC is second worst in the league with 13 goals conceded. Daniel Gagliardi has primary keeper duties, but left Friday’s match against Tampa Bay with an injury. He’ll likely be replaced by Khadim Ndiaye, a 24 year old who spent 2019-2020 and part of 2022-2023 with Atalanta BC.
Tormenta’s advantage here might be familiarity with a core portion of Miami FC’s roster, and taking on one of the weaker defenses in USL Championship.
Birmingham Legion FC vs. Chattanooga Red Wolves
Wednesday, April 17th, 7:00 PM CT
University of Montevallo Varsity Soccer Field, Montevallo, AL
Chattanooga is away from CHI Memorial Stadium for the third US Open Cup match in a row, having previously played at a high school in the Chattanooga area in the first round, and travelled to Atlanta for the second round. They’ll face Birmingham Legion FC, currently sitting at 6th in the eastern table.
Birmingham has struggled to score this season so far, with just three scored goals. Bizarrely, they’ve been the beneficiary of two own goals, bringing the season total to five. They’re led again this year by Enzo Martinez and Tyler Pasher, both of whom have a goal each (along with Mujeeb Murana), and eight and seven chances created respectively. 37-year-old veteran Matt Van Oekel has had goaltending duties, with one clean sheet to his name. Long time Legion keeper Trevor Spangenberg has been in backup, but missed the weekend match against NCFC in favor of academy keeper Brock Marlow.
Chattanooga also struggles with inconsistency, having failed to score in its opening match against Lexington, and defeating second round opponent Apotheos FC 1-0. In between those matches, they exploded for three second-half goals against Brockton FC in the first round, two of which came in the second extra time. They also scored four against Fuego FC this past weekend. Five of the nine goals across all competitions have been from Ropapa Mensah.
It’s hard to know what to expect with either of these sides week to week. Chattanooga has not been tested like this so far in 2024, having only played two league matches, both against teams at the bottom of the table, and two US Open Cup matches against amateurs. Meanwhile, Birmingham has five league matches behind them, all of which have been against teams in the top eight of their respective conferences. On paper, this should be an easy advancement for Birmingham.
Union Omaha vs. El Paso Locomotive
Wednesday, April 17th, 7:00 PM CT
Werner Park, Papillion, NE
Winless El Paso Locomotive FC will travel to Nebraska to take on arguably the top team in USL League One. El Paso’s five losses haven’t been blowouts or relatively high-scoring affairs, and they’ve had one of the more difficult schedules to start the season, with all opponents currently in 8th place or higher in their conference. Still, with Union Omaha having little to no issues with USL League One opponents going back to midseason 2023, the advantage likely belongs to the Owls here.
El Paso is led by Amando Moreno with three of the five goals for the squad, with Justin Dhillon providing two assists. Lucas Stauffer has created 13 chances so far on the season. Jamaican international Jahmali Waite has seen goaltending duties for El Paso, backed by FC Juárez loanee Ramón Pasquel in the last match. Either option presents a challenge for Omaha.
El Paso has a sorry history in the US Open Cup, losing 2-0 to Omaha last year, 4-1 to Fuego in 2023 and 3-0 to Forward Madison in 2019. Facing a full strength Omaha side again this season presents another entry-round challenge, that may not even be called an upset if Omaha wins.
FC Tulsa vs. Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC
Wednesday, April 17th, 7:00 PM CT
University of Tulsa Soccer Stadium, Tulsa
FC Tulsa sits just outside the bubble in the west, 9th in the table. After four matches, they have one win, one loss and two draws, both of which are in the last two. They’ve also had a relatively difficult schedule so far, and the draws came against second place Sacramento and 2023’s champions, Phoenix.
In the off season, FC Tulsa scooped up Northern Colorado star Arthur Rogers, arguably one of the best players USL League One ever had. The loss of Rogers (among several others) has been noticeable this season, with Northern Colorado off to a slow start.
FC Tulsa is led by Stefan Stojanovic with two goals, but has goal contributions from five others, and has assist contributions from five players. This indicates a dynamic attack not reliant on a single player. Justin Portillo has two assists on a team-leading 10 chances created.
Goaltending has been split between Michael Creek and Joey Roggeveen, with fairly even results. Each have two appearances, with Roggeveen getting the nod on Sunday in a 1-1 draw with Sacramento.
Northern Colorado will need to tighten up its defense against a side shown capable of striking from multiple options. They’ll also need to figure out a way to score goals, something lacking so far in league play.
Las Vegas Lights vs. Spokane Velocity
Wednesday, April 17th, 7:30 PM PT
Cashman Field, Las Vegas
After a dismal 2023, and a late-blooming off-season that saw the team take on new ownership led by ex-MLB player Joey Bautista, Las Vegas Lights are off to a decent start in 2024. With three wins and three losses, they sit at 5th place in the western table.
They’re led by Gaoussou Samake and Valentin Noël with two goals each, with assists coming from six different players. Jean-Claude Ngando and Noël have provided the most chances, with 11 and 8 respectively. Former Charlotte Independence star Khori Bennett signed with Las Vegas late in the off season, and has featured in all six matches so far, three in the starting 11. Riki Alba appears to have taken over his spot at striker over the last three matches.
Raiko Arozarena and Austin Wormell have split goaltending duties, with the former getting the nod over the last four matches. Wormell has been in and out of the roster since starting the first two matches, in favor of Swiss goaltender Nicholas Ammeter.
Las Vegas’ early schedule has not been on the more difficult side, and when challenged by a higher ranked team, they lost 3-1 to Monterrey Bay. Effectively starting over with new ownership and a roster that only returned one player from 2023, they’re operating somewhat like an expansion side themselves.
Spokane has been playing a bit above expectations in its first season in USL League One, and has some veteran presence to challenge Las Vegas. They also have several former Las Vegas players, likely in search of vengeance after being on the wrong side of a roster rebuild. Is this the time for Spokane to shine in the tournament and take down a team from a higher level?