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Better late than never: Rising FC, SD Loyal survived and advanced

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 04/07/22, 10:35AM EDT

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Open Cup victories on Wednesday show club’s resolve, illustrate why tournament is always compelling viewing


With a 115th-minute winner, Phoenix Rising FC's Claudio Repetto ensured the club would move into the Third Round of the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup after a hard night of work at Wild Horse Pass. | Photo courtesy Ashley Orellana / Phoenix Rising FC

Phoenix Rising FC’s Claudio Repetto was succinct in his assessment of this side’s performance.

“It took a bit too long to be honest, but this is what we’re made of – we fight until the end,” said the Italian forward after scoring the 115th-minute winner for his side against Valley United FC in the Second Round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday night. “We got the result, that’s all that matters.”

For the hosts at Wild Horse Pass, it was better late than never, especially considering Rising FC’s recent Open Cup history was staring it in the face. In the past two tournaments played in 2018 and 2019, the perennial USL Championship contenders were eliminated in the Second Round in a penalty shootout. In 2017, there was the heartbreak of a stoppage-time elimination in the Third Round.

As a result, the aspiration Rising FC has held since coming under its current ownership ahead of the 2017 campaign – to take on the big names in Major League Soccer and make an Open Cup run – hasn’t yet materialized. 

In this year’s tournament – where in the Second Round, the 23 participating Championship clubs are the prized targets for lower division sides – finding a way through is what matters most. That was true whether you’re a club like Phoenix, making its seventh appearance in the tournament, or like San Diego Loyal SC, making its first.

Facing a crosstown opponent in Albion SC on the road, SD Loyal needed an 89th-minute winner from newcomer Jacob Crull – his first professional goal – to pull out a 2-1 win and a place in Friday’s draw. Louisville City FC also edged through with a 1-0 win against USL League One club Chattanooga Red Wolves SC on Wednesday, while Rio Grande Valley FC – also making its tournament debut – came through a winner on the road at League One’s North Carolina FC.

Better their fate than that of Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, which despite being perfect in the league so far this campaign was unable to make its chances count against USL League One side Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC. Playing without two marquee names as 2021 Championship MVP Hadji Barry and current leading scorer Michee Ngalina were both given the night off, the Switchbacks fell 1-0 in extra time as Hailstorm FC won its first official contest as a club at Weidner Field.

“We didn’t show any cutting edge up top,” said Switchbacks Head Coach Brendan Burke. “That’s an area that we may have to address. We need depth that can come on and score goals in big moments and in some ways the Open Cup is a big moment, it’s a big opportunity for lots of people.”

Hailstorm FC’s victory – or those of League One’s FC Tucson against the Championship’s Las Vegas Lights FC on Wednesday and USL League Two side NC Fusion U23 on Tuesday against League One’s Charlotte Independence – are why the Open Cup is always compelling viewing. Just as we’ve seen in the USL Championship Playoffs each season, and in cup competitions around the world each year, single-game, knockout soccer provides an opportunity for frequent – and surprising – upsets.

This year in England’s F.A. Cup – the best-known domestic knockout tournament – that was the story for sixth-tier Kidderminster Harriers and former Tampa Bay Rowdies defender Caleb Richards. Their 2-1 victory against second-tier Reading in the Third Round this past January earned a game with the Premier League’s West Ham United in the following round.

That type of contest is what could be up next for the teams that have advanced in this year’s Open Cup. The Third round sees the entry of 17 Major League Soccer clubs, with the remaining eight arriving in the Fourth Round. For a team like Phoenix or San Diego, or the other Championship clubs that have advanced over the past two nights, the switch will flick from being the club with bounty on its head to being the team aiming to record an upset of its own.

And once you’re in the draw, how you got there starts to matter less.

“We didn’t play with conviction. With a few minutes left in the second overtime we finally played like our backs were against the wall,” said Rising FC Head Coach Rick Schantz. “It’s cup football though. You just need to survive and advance. Who cares how you do it?”

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