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Utah pair makes unlikely run
BYU and Ogden defy the odds; Hammerheads and Riverhounds qualify for the Cup on final day
You see it all the time when a league is heading into the playoffs. The scenarios to get in are shown, and a couple of teams always seem to need to have all kinds of things happen for them to make the cut. Going into the final weekend of PDL Western Conference qualifying, the BYU Cougars and the Ogden Outlaws were in that very situation, needing all the right teams to win, and needing not only to win their own games, but to win them by enough goals for tiebreaker purposes. The first piece of puzzle came Friday night, when Orange County defeated the LA Storm 2-0, knocking the Storm out of the top two, and giving the Blue Star a seemingly good shot at claiming one of the two Cup spots. At the same time, Ogden and BYU were taking care of their business, with wins over Yakima and Tacoma FC, respectively. Come Saturday night, the two Utah teams needed Southern California to lose to Fresno, the Bakersfield/San Francisco match to end in a draw, or with only a one goal win. Add to the fact that BYU and Ogden also had to win by enough goals, and it didn’t seem probable that they would join the U.S. Open Cup field.
The first result came in, BYU defeated Yakima 3-1, enough to propel them into the top two, with a +4 goal difference. The next score arrived, San Francisco 2, Bakersfield 1, giving the Seals enough points, but still unable to catch Orange County on tiebreakers, so they were out. Then the final two scores rolled in, Fresno defeated Southern California 2-1, and Ogden defeated Tacoma FC 3-0, giving them a +3 goal difference, just one more than Orange County, enough to propel them into the U.S. Open Cup.
The Outlaws did it the dramatic way as well. Only up by a score of 1-0, both Ogden and Tacoma had players sent off in the 68th minute. Five minutes later, David Gates put Ogden up 2-0, still not enough to get the final Open Cup spot, though. With seven minutes remaining, Tacoma saw yet another player sent off, leaving them with nine men. A minute later, Carlos Baca stepped to the spot and converted a penalty, giving Ogden the goal they needed to boost their goal difference just enough to surpass Orange County. Both teams will be making their debut appearances in the U.S. Open Cup.
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On the final day of qualifying, the Wilmington Hammerheads (in blue) and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds narrowly beat out the Western Mass Pioneers (in red), to qualify for the 2006 U.S. Open Cup.
Photo: Mike Kujawski/Sageisland.com
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The Wilmington Hammerheads were on the brink of missing out on the Open Cup for the first time since 2002, until they defeated the Cincinnati Kings at home 4-0 on Saturday night. The Hammerheads took a 1-0 lead into halftime thanks to a Chris Bagley goal after 15 minutes. Jason Hotchkin, Anthony Maher and Bagley again (on a penalty) boosted Wilmington to a 4-0 win, and a spot in the U.S. Open Cup. The Pittsburgh Riverhounds claimed the 6th and final USL Second Division spot, playing to a scoreless draw at Harrisburg. With the nights results, Wilmington and Pittsburgh finish with points percentages of 41 and 40, respectively, just ahead of the 38% held by the Western Mass Pioneers.
For news from the other three conferences in the PDL, please check our "Cup Qualifying: The Home Stretch" story below.
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