National Amateur Cup champions Lansdowne Bhoys will take on the New York Pancyprian Freedoms. (Photo courtesy of ENYASA)
CHICAGO – It’s only the second qualifying round of the 2018 Lamar Hunt/U.S. Open Cup and already we have a juicy New York derby.
The three-time Open Cup champion New York Pancyprian Freedoms will meet Cosmopolitan League rival and reigning National Amateur Cup title holders Lansdowne Bhoys (N.Y.) Oct. 22 in the marquee Second qualifying round matchup of Open Division local teams.
The CSL rivals will tussle at Belson Stadium on the campus of St. John’s University in Queens.
U.S. Soccer held the draw to determine the matchups for the entire second round at Soccer House in Chicago Monday, disclosing the pairings through the competition’s official Twitter feed @opencup.
Two top-of-the-table standouts in Massachusetts’ Bay State Soccer League will renew pleasantries with Kendall Wanderers – one of the oldest clubs in the state – taking on GPS Omens, who reached the third round of last year’s Open Cup proper and came within a whisker of taking 1999 winner Rochester Rhinos to a penalty shootout.
Philadelphia will see a battle between two of the area’s best-known soccer clubs when the United German Hungarians meet Junior Lone Star U23s – a club founded by West African refugees in southwest Philly. Christos FC, the darlings of last year’s Open Cup and who took on MLS giants D.C. United in the fourth round, will meet familiar rivals Izee Auto from their Maryland Major Soccer League.
There’s a tasty tangle in Texas too, where now regular Open Cup campaigners NTX Rayados will tackle Austin’s Celtic Cowboys Premier. In Colorado, Harpos FC travel for a second time to play Colorado Springs FC.
The western side of the competition produced an avalanche of goals in the first qualifying round. Newcastle United FC, which won their weekend game 13-0, will take on Santa Ana Winds, who looked good in a 5-2 win vs. Outbreak FC. National Amateur Cup semifinalist L.A. Wolves take on Vanquish FC in another interesting SoCal test.
Cajun Soccer Club (La.), Nashville United (Tenn.), Galati FC (Ariz.), Sporting AZ FC (Ariz.), all of whom received byes in the first qualifying round, will take part in their first-ever Open Cup matches.
All 28 games in the second qualifying round will be played Oct. 21-22.
2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Open Division Local Qualifying Second Round Schedule
Northeast Region
| Date | Game (home team listed first) | Time | Venue |
| TBD | Mass United FC (Mass.) vs. Safira FC (Mass.) | TBD | TBD |
| Oct. 21 | West Chester United (Pa.) vs. Phoenix Soccer Club (Pa.) | 7:30 p.m. ET | West Chester United Turf Field; West Chester, Pa. |
| TBD | GPS Omens (Mass.) vs. Kendall Wanderers (Mass.) | TBD | TBD |
| Oct. 22 | New York Pancyprian Freedoms (N.Y.) vs. Lansdowne Bhoys FC (N.Y.) | 2 p.m. ET | Belson Stadium (St. John’s Univ.); Jamaica, N.Y. |
| Oct. 22 | Christos FC (Md.) vs. Izee Auto FC (Md.) | 3 p.m. ET | Anne Arundel Community College; Arnold, Md. |
| Oct. 22 | United German Hungarians (Pa.) vs. Junior Lone Star U23s (Pa.) | 3 p.m. ET | United German Hungarian Club; Oakford, Pa. |
| Oct. 22 | Rochester River Dogz (N.Y.) vs. Ann Arbor FC (Mich.) | 3 p.m. ET | Doug Miller Family Sports Park; Spencerport, N.Y. |
| Oct. 22 | Aurora Borealis Soccer Club (Ill.) vs. Stegman’s Soccer Club (Minn.) | 3 p.m. CT | Ohio Moose Sports Complex; Mooseheart, Ill. |
Southeast Region
| Date | Game (home team listed first) | Time | Venue |
| Oct. 21 | Celtic Cowboys Premier (Texas) vs. NTX Rayados (Texas) | 3:30 p.m. CT | Onion Creek Soccer Complex; Austin, Texas |
| Oct. 22 | Miami Nacional SC (Fla.) vs. Red Force FC (Fla.) | 3 p.m. ET | Ives Estates Park; Miami, Fla. |
| Oct. 22 | South Florida FC (Fla.) vs. Boca Raton Football Club (Fla.) | 5 p.m. ET | Brian Piccolo Park; Cooper City, Fla. |
| Oct. 22 | Cajun Soccer Club (La.) vs. Motagua New Orleans (La.) | 5 p.m. CT | Moore Park; Lafayette, La. |
| Oct. 22 | Orlando Storm (Fla.) vs. FC Kendall (Fla.) | 7 p.m. ET | UCF Soccer & Track Complex; Orlando, Fla. |
| Oct. 22 | Nashville United (Tenn.) vs. Majestic Soccer Club (Ga.) | 6 p.m. CT | E.S. Rose Park; Nashville, Tenn. |
Mountain Region
| Date | Game (home team listed first) | Time | Venue |
| Oct. 21 | Azteca FC (Colo.) vs. Colorado Rush (Colo.) | 5 p.m. MDT | Aurora Public Schools Stadium; Aurora, Colo. |
| Oct. 21 | FC Denver (Colo.) vs. Fort Collins United (Colo.) | 6:30 p.m. MDT | Aurora Sports Park; Aurora, Colo. |
| Oct. 21 | Ojuelos Jalisco (Ariz.) vs. Galati FC (Ariz.) | 8 p.m. MST | Desert West Sports Complex; Phoenix, Ariz. |
| Oct. 21 | Sporting AZ FC (Ariz.) vs. Inter EmpireWorks FC (Ariz.) | 8 p.m. MST | Phoenix Rising Stadium; Scottsdale, Ariz. |
| Oct. 22 | Indios Denver FC (Colo.) vs. IPS/Marathon Taverna (Ore.) | 3:45 p.m. MDT | Englewood High School Stadium; Englewood, Colo. |
| Oct. 22 | Colorado Springs FC (Colo.) vs. Harpos FC (Colo.) | 6 p.m. MDT | Grace Center for Athletics; Colorado Springs, Colo. |
Pacific Region
| Date | Game (home team listed first) | Time | Venue |
| Oct. 21 | Valley United SC (Calif.) vs. Chula Vista FC (Calif.) | 5:30 p.m. PT | Heritage High School; North Hills, Calif. |
| Oct. 21 | La Máquina FC (Calif.) vs. Las Vegas Mobsters FC (Nev.) | 7 p.m. PT | Santa Ana Stadium; Santa Ana, Calif. |
| Oct. 21 | Santa Ana Winds FC (Calif.) vs. Newcastle United FC (Calif.) | 7 p.m. PT | Lake Forest Sports Park; Lake Forest, Calif. |
| Oct. 21 | L.A. Wolves FC (Calif.) vs. Vanquish FC (Calif.) | 7:30 p.m. PT | John Anson Ford Park; Bell Gardens, Calif. |
| Oct. 21 | San Pedro Monsters FC (Calif.) vs. SFV Scorpions (Calif.) | 7:30 p.m. PT | Banning H.S. Soccer Stadium; Wilmington, Calif. |
| Oct. 22 | El Farolito (Calif.) vs. Academica Soccer Club (Calif.) | 11:15 a.m. PT | Boxer Stadium; San Francisco, Calif. |
| Oct. 22 | Buena Park FC (Calif.) vs. Santa Clarita Storm (Calif.) | 3 p.m. PT | John F. Kennedy High School; La Palma, Calif. |
| Oct. 22 | Cal Victory FC (Calif.) vs. Davis Legacy SC (Calif.) | 5 p.m. PT | Casa Grande High School; Petaluma, Calif. |
Third Qualifying Round: Nov. 18-19
