Last night, teams from American leagues like USL-1, USL-2, the USL Premier Development League, and even the United States Adult Soccer Association competed in the second round of the 2009 US Open Cup. While only two "upsets" (i.e. the team from the lower league coming out on top) occurred, the tournament is still a draw for the hard core fan of the game in this country. The potential for a team from the higher profile MLS winning the tournament is still there, as unlikely as it may be.
But that's exactly what the tournament needs at this point. I've made clear my feelings on the Open Cup, those being that as long as the competition is not highly regarded by MLS sides, the tournament will struggle to gain any traction beyond the passionate fans of the teams involved. If a "lower" (that's for all of you USL-1 fans out there that want to put your league on the same level as MLS) league team can lift the trophy this year, it just might shock the big boys into treating the tournament a little better.
No matter the reaction by MLS or its clubs, the Open Cup desperately needs a shock winner. The status quo isn't cutting it anymore.
Of the non-MLS teams remaining in the competition, five are from USL-1, two are from USL-2, and one is a Premier Development League side. As nice as it would be to see the PDL Ocean City Barons pull off a miracle and make it all the way to the Cup Final, it's probably too much to ask. The Barons are an amateur club after all, and they'll be facing the MLS Eastern Conference-leading DC United in Round 3. No matter what type of team Tom Soehn decides to play against the Barons, they will be massive favorites.
It's from among the seven other USL teams that the chances for an upset lie. One or two (at least) are bound to get out of the third round, beating their MLS opponents. USL-1 clubs are known to beat the big boys on a fairly regular basis, and there's no reason to expect that this year's Cup will be any different. While MLS clubs will line up less-that-full-strength teams, the USL teams will take the match more seriously, relishing the chance to prove that they're better than their "second division" reputation. It's simply a matter of following through at this point; while USL-1 clubs might go deep into the tournament, even as far as the final, they haven't been able to win the Cup since Rochester's 1999 victory.
I know little about the two USL-2 clubs still in the tournament, though I wouldn't be surprised to see one pull off a massive upset. The Harrisburg City Islanders take on the New England Revolution, and with a congested schedule and injuries to deal with, I doubt Steve Nichol will be putting much into the match. The other USL-2 side, the Wilmington Hammerheads, have the more difficult task, facing off against a Chicago Fire club that traditionally does well in US Open Cup play.
If you're a fan of an MLS club, you might not be tracking with my hope that someone other than one of them lift the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup this year. If you're a fan of a club that has yet to make an appearance in the CONCACAF Champions League, you might not want to see a lesser team earn that spot. But the Open Cup competition is laboring, and laboring mightily. It will take an upset winner, someone other than the usual suspects, to inject some life into the tournament.
So when Round 3 comes around on June 30th, and the "minnows" are facing off against the "whales", I'll be rooting for upsets. If the the Open Cup isn't going anywhere, and it sure doesn't seem like it will if it hasn't yet, then it desperately needs a breath of new life. Maybe MLS clubs missing out will do just that.
