MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. – MD Myers scored a hat trick while Christian Garner produced a key penalty kick save as the Charleston Battery took a 4-0 victory against South Georgia Tormenta on Tuesday night at Patriots Point to advance to the Round of 32 of the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup for a third consecutive year.

After a quiet opening to the game, the Battery took the lead just past the half-hour as a corner kick from the left came to Chris Allan at the top of the penalty area, allowing the midfielder to fire a shot that took a wicked looping deflection to drop just inside the left post. Tormenta got the chance to equalize in first-half stoppage time from the penalty spot after Niall Reid-Stephen was brought down, but Tunbridge’s shot was turned wide of the left post by Garner.

Off the ensuing corner the Battery doubled their lead as Johnny Klein combined with Arturo Rodriguez before setting up Myers for a low finish to the right corner.

Myers, who also bagged a hat trick against Tormenta in last year’s Open Cup, added his second on the night seven minutes into the second half when South Georgia goalkeeper Austin Pack was unable to corral a cross from the left by Josh Drack, allowing the center forward to clean up the rebound. The 24-year-old then wrapped up his hat trick with 20 minutes to go, again in the right place to put home the rebound after Rodriguez initial effort was parried.

LOUISVILLE CITY FC 2, LOUDOUN UNITED FC 1: Adrien Pérez and Sam Gleadle scored first-half goals to lead Louisville City past Loudoun United at Lynn Family Stadium, maintaining its perfect home record in the series between the two USL Championship clubs despite a late consolation goal by Abdellatif Aboukoura for the visitors.

LouCity threatened early as Ray Serrano had a chance from close range denied, but a turnover in the Loudoun end by defender Jacob Erlandson proved costly for the visitors as Pérez took advantage with goalkeeper Hugo Fauroux powerless to stop his first-time finish into an open net. Ten minutes later, Gleadle doubled the lead for the hosts as he was played into the left side of the penalty area by Amadou Dia and fired a low shot through Fauroux.

Loudoun almost answered back a minute before halftime on a volley by Florian Valot from 23 yards that flashed just wide of the top-left corner, but the visitors were stifled until the final minute when Zach Ryan stole into the right side of the penalty area and cut back a cross that Aboukoura slid home for his sixth goal across all competitions this season, but after LouCity almost added a third when Serrano hit the post in stoppage time, the final whistle came to send the hosts through.

RHODE ISLAND FC 2, PORTLAND HEARTS OF PINE 1: Clay Holstad and Frank Nodarse scored three minutes apart to lead Rhode Island FC to victory in its first meeting with USL League One side Portland Hearts of Pine at the Franklin Athletic Complex in Lewiston, Maine, giving RIFC its first Open Cup win in its second entry to the tournament.

Hearts of Pine created a good opportunity in the 19th minute when Ollie Wright moved forward on a counterattack and forced a low save by RIFC’s Jackson Lee, but the visitors took the lead when Holstad met a chipped cross from the left by Joe Brito with a sharp back-post volley that tucked just inside the right post.

RIFC doubled its lead in the 37th minute when an angled free kick into the Portland penalty area wasn’t cleared by the hosts, allowing Nodarse to volley home from six yards out. Hearts of Pine attempted to rally back in the second half, and cut into the deficit in the 65th minute when Titus Washington surged forward in the left channel and shot home low to the near post. Each side was reduced to 10 players with Rhode Island’s Karifa Yao being dismissed in the 78th minute and Portland’s Mikey Lopez in the 87th minute for their second yellow cards of the night.

The hosts then had a chance to level in stoppage time, only for Lee to turn aside a first-time finish by Nathanial James in the eighth minute of stoppage time before Patrick Langlois’ last-gasp effort didn’t find the target.

NORTH CAROLINA FC 3, CHARLOTTE INDEPENDENCE 1: Rodrigo Da Costa scored a pair of goals as North Carolina FC overcame a second-half deficit with a run of three goals in seven minutes to take victory against Dogwood Derby rival the Charlotte Independence at the Sportsplex at Mathews.

After an even first half, the Independence grabbed the lead four minutes after the break when Luis Álvarez led an attack down the right side and delivered a low cross that was deflected into the path of Jon Bakero, who finish calmly from close range.

North Carolina hit back with 19 minutes to go, however, when Oalex Anderson sharply volleyed home from the top of the six-yard area after Jaden Servania’s cross from the left had been flicked on at the near post by Pedro Dolabella. Three minutes later, Da Costa put the visitors ahead with an acrobatic volley into the left corner, redirecting home a cross from the right by Mikey Maldonado.

Da Costa wrapped up the result in the 77th minute as Anderson beat his marker on the right byline and cut back a cross that the Brazilian struck first-time into the top-left corner, sending NCFC into the Round of 32 for a second consecutive year.

PITTSBURGH RIVERHOUNDS SC 1, COLUMBUS CREW 2 (0): Danny Griffin scored the only goal as Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC advanced past MLS NEXT Pro’s Columbus Crew 2 at Historic Crew Stadium and into the Fourth Round for the third consecutive year.

The Hounds controlled much of the first half and broke through just before the half-hour mark. Off a corner from the right by Jorge Garcia, Griffin flicked on a header at the near post that found its way into the left corner of the net. Pittsburgh held its hosts without a shot for the opening hour, and despite some late pressure by Crew 2 were able to see out the shutout as goalkeeper Jacob Randolph posted a three-save shutout.

AV ALTA FC 2 (4), ORANGE COUNTY SC 2 (2): Orange County SC fought back from a goal down in the second half, but were eliminated by AV ALTA FC in a penalty shootout as Kyle Scott was denied before Nico Benalcázar missed the target at Lancaster Municipal Stadium.

AV ALTA had an early opportunity to take the lead as Sebastian Cruz shot high but in the 15th minute Orange County took the lead. Off a short corner from the left, Ousmane Sylla received a return pass near the goal line and after weaving past one defender fired home into the roof of the net from an acute angle with a right-footed shot.

OCSC maintained its lead into the second half, but midway through the second half AV ALTA hit back as Luca Mastrantonio got on the end of a corner kick from the left by Eduardo Blancas and headed home into the right corner of the net. The hosts then took the lead with 15 minutes to go when Emmanuel Alaribe shot home into the right corner after the ball fell to him on a deflected pass inside the penalty area.

Orange County leveled the game again with seven minutes to go in regulation, however, as Mouhamadou War rose highest to head home a free kick from the right by Sylla, and after a scoreless pair of extra time periods, the game headed to a shootout.

After each side converted in the opening two rounds, the turning point came to lead off the third when AV ALTA goalkeeper Denzil Smith got down to deny Orange County’s Scott on a low shot to the left, turning it around the post. Antelope Valley’s Sebastian Cruz cemented the advantage, putting his side ahead, and OCSC’s Benalcázar then shot over the crossbar to put the hosts on the brink. Miguel Pajaro converted to the right corner, sending the League One side through before another jubilant crowd at The Hangar.

UNION OMAHA 1, SAN ANTONIO FC 0: Dion Acoff scored the only goal as Union Omaha eliminated San Antonio FC at Caniglia Field on the campus of the University of Nebraska Omaha, marking the first time the USL Championship club had been eliminated by a USL League One side in its history.

San Antonio had the first good opportunity of the night a quarter of an hour in when Jorge Hernandez’s free kick from the right was turned onto the near post by Juan Agudelo. Omaha carved out a big opportunity of its own 11 minutes later when Charlie Ostrem got in behind the SAFC back line in the left channel but had his near-post effort saved by San Antonio’s Richard Sanchez.

Nine minutes before halftime, however, Acoff found the net as he latched onto a ball down the right by Isidro Martinez, cut inside onto his left foot in the penalty area and shot low past Sanchez. SAFC tried to hit back in the second half as Luis Paredes forced a save from Omaha’s Rashid Nuhu just past the hour mark, but Los Buhos were able to see out the remainder of the contest to preserve the shutout and advance.

TACOMA DEFIANCE 2, OAKLAND ROOTS SC 1: Oakland Roots SC rallied to send the game to extra time through a penalty kick by Neveal Hackshaw, but a winner in the 108th minute by Osaze De Rosario sent Tacoma Defiance into the Round of 32 at Starfire Stadium.

The Defiance went close to taking an early lead when De Rosario rang the right post with a shot from the top of the penalty area in just the third minute. Oakland also threatened through EJ Johnson, who shot high in the eighth minute, but Tacoma broke the deadlock in the 28th minute when Peter Kingston curled home an excellent free kick from outside the left edge of the penalty area just inside the near post.

Tacoma almost doubled its lead three minutes later when Kang Joon-Mo was unable to convert from close range, but after the break Oakland began to fight back. An effort by Bobosi Byaruhanga in the 74th minute was parried away by Defiance goalkeeper Andrew Thomas, but moments later Roots was awarded a penalty kick that Neveal Hackshaw put away to equalize.

After the game went to extra time, however, Defiance regained the lead as Jackson Khoury set up De Rosario for a shot that deflected into the right side of the net. While Tacoma was reduced to 10 players late on as Cody Baker received a second yellow card, the hosts saw out the game as Roots’ Open Cup run came to an end.