The Second Round of the 2015 US Open Cup hit full gear on Wednesday, with 20 games played one night after the Portland Timbers' USL team, Timbers 2, opened the round on Tuesday with a 2-0 victory over the PDL's Michigan Bucks.
Kharlton Belmar, the Timbers' second-round pick (No. 34 overall) in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft, opened Tuesday's scoring in the 55th minute with a well-placed header, and Ghanaian forward Fatawu Safiu iced the game with an injury-time strike on the break. Timbers 2 will face rival Sounders 2, 4-2 overtime winners over Kitsap Pumas, in the Third Round, schedule for May 27. Seattle's squad included four current Sounders Academy players, with alum and Homegrown Player Victor Mansaray opening the scoring. After Kitsap rallied to force overtime, goals from Pablo Rossi via free kick and Andy Craven as time expired sent Seattle through.
There were mixed results for other MLS-operated teams, as the Real Monarchs went on the road to win their first Open Cup game, beating the Long Island Rough Riders on a late goal by Real Salt Lake academy product Ricardo Velazco. But the New York Red Bulls II and LA Galaxy II both fell to PDL clubs. Former Red Bull Chris Karcz scored the only goal to lift the Jersey Express over New York, 1-0, and UCLA star and potential MLS prospect Abu Danladi scored a late game-winner to lift the Ventura County Fusion over Los Dos.
Other upsets on the night included a road penalty-kick win for NPSL runner-up Chattanooga FC, as they knocked out the USL's Wilmington Hammerheads for the second consecutive years, and impressive wins by USASA clubs PSA Elite (2-1 over Orange County Blues) and Chula Vista FC (3-0 over Arizona United).
Out in Colorado, the Cinderella team of the tournament so far, Boulder-based Harpo's FC of the US Specialty Sports Association, saw their run come to an end in a 2-1 loss to the USL's Colorado Springs Switchbacks (9 pm ET).
The 17 US-based MLS teams will enter the tournament in the Fourth Round, playing June 16-17. The draw for the fourth round will be announced on Thursday night.
Here is the complete list of Second Round results.
Tuesday, May 19
- Michigan Bucks (PDL) 0, Timbers 2 (USL) 2 | RECAP
Wednesday, May 20
- Pittsburgh Riverhounds (USL) 3, West Virginia Chaos (PDL) 0 | RECAP
- Wilmington Hammerheads (USL) 1 (3), Chattanooga FC (NPSL) 1 (5), AET/PKs | RECAP
- Richmond Kickers (USL) 2, Virginia Beach City (NPSL) 0 | RECAP
- Rochester Rhinos (USL) 1, Greater Binghamton Thunder (NPSL) 0 | RECAP
- Lansing United (NPSL) 0, Louisville City (USL) 1 | RECAP
- Reading United (PDL) 0, Harrisburg City Islanders (USL) 3
- Charleston Battery (USL) 1, Miami United (NPSL) 0 | RECAP
- Charlotte Independence (USL) 4, Upward Stars (NPSL) 1 | RECAP
- Long Island Rough Riders (PDL) 0, Real Monarchs (USL) 1 | RECAP
- Jersey Express (PDL) 1, New York Red Bulls II (USL) 0 | RECAP
- Seacoast United Phantoms (PDL) 0, Tulsa Roughnecks (USL) 1 | RECAP
- Saint Louis FC (USL) 2, Des Moines Menace (PDL) 1 | RECAP
- Midland/Odessa Sockers (PDL) 1, OKC Energy (USL) 3 | RECAP
- Austin Aztex (USL) 2, Laredo Heat (PDL) 0 | RECAP
- Colorado Springs Switchbacks (USL) 2, Harpo’s FC (USSSA) 1 | RECAP
- PSA Elite (USASA) 2, Orange County Blues (USL) 1
- Arizona United (USL) 0, Chula Vista FC (USASA) 3
- LA Galaxy II (USL) 1, Ventura County Fusion (PDL) 2 | RECAP
- Sacramento Republic (USL) 4, Sonoma County Sol (NPSL) 2 | RECAP
- Seattle Sounders 2 (USL) 4, Kitsap Pumas (PDL) 2, AET | RECAP
