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PDL qualifying summaries
Never a shortage of drama in PDL qualifying
Menace hit the lottery
Des Moines qualify for fourth time in last five years.
 The Des Moines Menace have won the lottery. PDL Qualifying came down to the final day, and when the dust settled, the Des Moines Menace and the Boulder Rapids Reserve found themselves tied, and the only way to separate them was by a lottery held by the United Soccer Leagues.
The Menace will be the second place team in the Central Conference and will take on the runner-up from the USASA’s Region II on June 7 in the U.S. Open Cup Qualifying Round.
Bucks return to the Open Cup
Win over Indiana forces lottery for 2nd place
The Michigan Bucks, who owe much of their popularity to the U.S. Open Cup will return to the tournament for the first time since 2003 after a 2-1 win over the  Indiana Invaders. Dolapo Olaoye opened the scoring in the 7th minute, and Bucks veteran Mychal Turpin added another just after halftime. The Bucks controlled the majority of the game, but the Invaders’ Leonardo Peirano cut the lead in half in the 86th minute. The game looked to be headed to full time but Michigan goalkeeper Dominic Cervi was forced to make a world-class diving save in the 89th minute to preserve the three points, and keep an unbeaten Open Cup qualifying run for the home side. This was the ninth time in the last nine years that the Invaders and Bucks have met in Open Cup Qualifying, with Michigan holding a considerable 7-1-1 advantage.
Michigan’s win over their rivals from South Bend, IN sets up a unique scenerio where the United Soccer Leagues will use a lottery to determine if the Des Moines Menace or the Boulder Rapids Reserve will be the Central Conference’s second representative. The winner of that lottery will face the runner-up from the USASA’s Region II in the Qualifying Round.
Laredo survive, qualify for Cup
Tornados dominate but Heat convert PK to win
Laredo Heat goalkeeper Ryan Shaughnessy made 10 saves as he carried the Heat to a 1-0 victory over their in-state rival, DFW Tornados. The win also earns Laredo the second Open Cup place in the Southern Conference. 
The lone goal came in the 28th minute when a foul in the box turned into a penalty kick goal by Juan de Dios Ibarra of Laredo. The Tornados controlled possession throughout the match, outshooting the Heat 27-7, but they couldn’t find the back of the net.
KC eliminated by Rapids Reserve
Central Conference clears up, final match, possible lottery to decide final two PDL Cup spots
The Kansas City Brass only needed to win on the road at Boulder to avoid all the  confusion and punch their ticket to the Open Cup. The Rapids Reserve had other ideas. Boulder eliminated the Brass with a 2-0 win, pulling themselves into an exact tie with the Des Moines Menace for second place in the Central Conference.
This result puts all of the weight of the Central Conference on the Indiana Invaders/Michigan Bucks game on Memorial Day (6:30 p.m. kickoff). Check with USOpenCup.com Monday night for LIVE SCORE UPDATES!
Here is how it can play out:
If Michigan wins: Michigan qualify, Des Moines and Boulder revert to lottery
If Michigan and Indiana draw: Michigan qualify, Des Moines and Boulder revert to lottery
If Indiana win by one goal: Michigan qualify, Des Moines and Boulder revert to lottery
If Indiana win by two goals: Michigan and Indiana qualify
If Indiana win by three goals: Indiana qualify, Des Moines and Boulder revert to lottery
Subs qualify for the Open Cup
Dominate first half leads to 2-0 win over Delaware
The Virginia Beach Submariners dominated the first half, and survived the second to  earn a 2-0 home victory over the Delaware Dynasty. PDL Team of the Week member Dave Horst opened the scoring in the 10th minute, and Daniel Haywood added another in the 26th to highlight a first half controlled by the home squad. The two expansion teams were battling for the right to be the second team to represent the Eastern Conference in the 2006 U.S. Open Cup. Virginia Beach finish qualifying 4-0-0, with victories over Albany, Brooklyn, Ocean City and Delaware. The game was being played as a makeup game from Friday, which was postponed because of lightning.
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.
Carolina clinch Open Cup berth
Dynamo secure spot with Cocoa’s draw at Augusta
 Last week the Carolina Dynamo all but clinched their return to the U.S. Open Cup, this week it was confirmed. The Dynamo, who have wrapped up their PDL qualifying campaign with a perfect 4-0-0 record, needed only a draw in tonight’s match between the Cocoa Expos and the Augusta Fireballs. At the end of the night, the Expos and Fireballs stood at 2-2, opening the door for Carolina’s Open Cup confirmation. The draw left only two other Southern Conference clubs who could match Carolina’s perfect mark, the El Paso Patriots and Laredo Heat. Since both clubs face each other Saturday night, only one could possibly remain on pace to match the 4-0-0 record of the Dynamo. Carolina’s last appearance in the U.S. Open Cup was in 2004, falling in the third round after a thrilling 4-3 defeat to the Atlanta Silverbacks.
At Augusta, Jordan Kelly opened the scoring in the 10th minute for Cocoa, only to see the scored equalized by Augusta’s Ryan Rouchandel 24 minutes later. Both teams stuck once each early in the second half. Tomek Charowski put Augusta up 2-1 in the 56th minute, thanks to an assist from former Cocoa Expo Fred Moojen. Former MLS regular Pete Marino scored the final goal of the match two minutes later. The draw leaves Cocoa 1-0-1, currently sitting third in the Southern Conference qualifying standings, and the match was the first in Augusta’s qualifying effort.
In other Southern Conference qualifying action, the Atlanta Silverbacks u23’s kept their slim Open Cup hopes alive with 3-0 win at home over Ajax Orlando Prospects. Damone Priestly scored twice for the ’Backs. Atlanta only have 6 points with one match remaining (Saturday vs. Cocoa), which may not be enough to secure the second spot in the Southern Conference, should they win their final match.
Other PDL results from Friday night....
Eastern Conference - Cape Cod Crusaders 4, Westchester Flames 0; Richmond Kickers Future 1, Albany Admirals 0; Deleware Dynasty 5, Vermont Voltage 1
Sill very early in Eastern Conference qualifying, with most clubs having only one or two games played thus far.
Central Conference - Des Moines Menace 3, Colorado Springs Blizzard 0; Boulder Rapids Reserve 2, Sioux Falls SpitFire 0; Kalamazoo Kingdom 2, Cleveland Internationals 1
Des Moines move into second with 6 points from 3 games, and need a win Saturday against visiting Boulder Rapids Reserve to boost thewir chances of qualifying.
Western Conference - Cascade Surge 2, BYU Cougars 0; San Fernando Valley Quakes 2, California Gold 1
The win by Cascade further tightens the race in the West, four clubs now sit on top with 6 points.
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