Two USASA regions approaching final tourneys
<http://usopencup.com/home/241697.html> Region I and II will each send
a pair of teams to Open Cup
USOPENCUP.com <http://usopencup.com/>

USASA Region I Finals

Group N
Semifinals
May 4, 2008
Danbury United at Queen City FC
Massachusetts champion vs. Vistula Garfield SC

Group N Final
May 18, 2008
Winner qualifies for 2008 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

Group S
First round
April 27, 2008
Sport Club Portuguese vs. Aegean Hawks FC

Semifinals
May 4, 2008
SC Portuguese/Hawks vs. Baltimore Colts FC
Pancyprian Freedoms vs. United German Hungarians

Group S Final
May 18, 2008
Winner qualifies for 2008 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup


The Open Cup final qualifying tournaments for Regions I and II are
nearly set and are slated to kick off April 27, with the bulk of the
opening action set for the weekend of May 3 and 4. Of the 14 teams
determined so far for the two tournaments, seven have previously
qualified for the U.S. Open Cup.

In Region I, nine teams will participate in this year's tournament, and
looks to be one of the most competitive in regional history. Of the
eight teams already determined, none have finished lower than third in
the respective leagues.

Kicking things off on April 27, Champion League Soccer's Sport Club
Portuguese will face one of the teams that qualified for last year's
U.S. Open Cup, Aegean Hawks of the Washington Premier League. Sport Club
has won the CLS championship four years running, and are in a good
position to win their fifth, sitting five points behind leaders Garfield
Vistula SC. SCP defeated New York Salamina 5-0 to claim the CLS spot in
the finals. The Hawks are coming off a first place finish in the WPL
fall campaign, finishing 7-0-1. The team also will compete in the USASA
Region I Amateur Cup tournament, having defeated Reds United 4-0 in the
DC/Virginia Final in December.

The winner of the Aegean Hawks/Sport Club Portuguese match will move on
to the first round of Group S to face Baltimore Colts FC, who finished
third in the Maryland Major Soccer League fall season. The Colts
defeated the fall champions, Maryland Allyance, 4-0 in March to claim
Maryland's spot. Baltimore are looking to reach the U.S. Open Cup once
again, having previously qualified in 2005.

The other Group S semifinal match will pit United German Hungarians
against either New York Pancyprian Freedoms or New York Greek
American-Atlas. UGH currently are in third place in the United Soccer
League season, though they have two games in hand on leaders Phoenix SC.
The club from Oakford, Penn., won Eastern Pennsylvania's qualifying
tournament with a 1-0 win over PA Rush, and are looking to avenge last
year's elimination in the first round of Eastern Pennsylvania. Their
opponent will be the winner of the Eastern New York Open Cup final, to
be played in the coming weeks.

Their opponents, Cosmopolitan Soccer League West division leaders
Pancyprian Freedoms, won their berth in dramatic fashion. The Cypriot
club won the Eastern New York Final over bitter rivals New York Greek
American/Atlas 1-0 in extra time on April 16. Sebastian Alvarado Ralph
scored the winning goal in the final minute of extra time. The match was
the second of three scheduled meetings between the two clubs. the teams
to a 1-1 draw in league play, and will meet in the Manning Cup
semifinals on April 27. Winners of the U.S. Open Cup three times in the
early 1980's, the Freedoms' USASA team has never qualified for the U.S.
Open Cup in the professional era. However, they did make it in 1999 &
2002 when they fielded a team in the USL. In '99, they lost a narrow 2-1
extra time decision to Rochester in the Second Round, the Rhinos' first
opponent on their way to winning the '99 Cup.

On the other side of the bracket in Group N, the National Premier Soccer
League's Queen City FC will face Danbury United, while Vistula Garfield
SC will square off against the Massachusetts Open Cup champion, which
will either be Boston Olympiakos or Estrella Negra.

Buffalo's Queen City FC were the NPSL national runners-up last year, and
exited the 2007 U.S. Open Cup qualifying campaign in a bitter way, on a
90th-minute own goal against Emigrantes Das Ilhas. A major disadvantage
for Queen City will be the fact that their team will have a very short
time together before they face Danbury United on May 4. Danbury United
not only qualified for the 2007 tournament, but nearly pulled off a big
upset against the Western Mass Pioneers of the USL Second Division,
falling 3-2 in extra time. Danbury are strong again this year, having
won the Connecticut Soccer League's fall session.

On the other side of Group N, Garfield Vistula SC awaits the winner of
the Massachusetts qualifying tournament. Vistula are currently in first
place in Champions League Soccer with a 7-1-2 record, holding a
five-point lead over Sport Club Portugese with three games remaining.
Their Massachusetts opponents will be set in the coming weeks, as
weather has delayed the completion of their tournament. One of the
finalists in Massachusetts is Boston Olympiakos, the defending USASA
national Amateur Cup champions. The winners of Group N and S not only
qualify for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, but also will face each other
in the Region I final to determine who will advance to the USASA
National Cups finals this summer in Seattle.

Region II Finals

First round
May 3, 2008
RWB Adria at Carpathia Kickers
Missouri Arsenal at Des Moines Menace Reserves
AAC Eagles at Bavarian SC
Princeton 56ers at Bloomington Cutters

Semifinals
May 17, 2008
Winners qualify for 2008 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

In Region II, eight teams will kick off on May 3. Illinois' RWB Adria
are looking to make their way to the Open Cup once more, having
qualified in 2007. Adria put in a respectable performance last year,
losing 4-1 to the Carolina RailHawks of the USL First Division.
Champions of Chicago's National Soccer League in 2007, Adria won the
Illinois final with a 4-1 win over AAC Eagles. Their first-round
opponents will be the Carpathia Kickers, 2007 fall champions of the
Michigan Premier League and the MPL League Cup winners. The Kickers made
their way to the Region II finals by defeating AAFC Elite 4-1 in the
Michigan final last weekend.

One of the more-anticipated matches in the Region II finals is a clash
of two teams who are very familiar with the Open Cup. AAC Eagles, the
runners-up from Illinois, will travel to Milwaukee to take on Bavarian
SC. The Eagles are currently in first place in the Metropolitan Soccer
League in Chicago, and were the runners-up in last year's USASA National
Amateur Cup championship, losing to Boston Olympiakos.

As the Region II finals approach, Bavarian SC are near the top of the
Wisconsin Major Division. Both clubs have qualified on numerous
occasions for the U.S. Open Cup. The Eagles have qualified three times,
with their most recent entry coming in 2005. Bavarian SC qualified for a
record fifth time last year, reaching the second round, where they fell
to the Carolina RailHawks of the USL First Division. Their three Open
Cup victories are tied with Dallas Roma FC for the most wins for a USASA
club since 1995.

Also in Region II, the Princeton-56ers, defending NPSL Midwest
champions, take on Indiana's Bloomington Cutters. Last year, the
Princeton-56ers, from Madison, Wis., lost to Detroit United 2-1 on an
89th-minute goal in their Open Cup qualifying debut.

The fourth match will see a pair of teams that were the lone entries in
their respective states. The Des Moines Menace Reserves from Iowa will
host the Missouri Arsenal. This is the second year in a row that the
Menace Reserves have taken part in the tournament, having lost to RWB
Adria 1-0 in the first round in 2007.




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