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Cleveland City grab Open Cup spot
Western Mass solidifies hopes with rough win over Harrisburg
 A night after the Harrisburg City Islanders claimed their first ever U.S. Open Cup berth, the Cleveland City Stars followed suit, with a 2-1 away win over the Cincinnati Kings. the hosts opened the scoring just before halftime, as Bret Jones fed Kwame Sarkodie to take a 1-0 lead. That lead stood until the 69th minute when the Stars Nigel Codrington scored an unassisted goal. Codrington struck again just three minutes later off an assist from Mark Schulte. Remarkably, Codrington is the first Cleveland City player to tally two goals for the season, despite the team scoring eight goals overall thus far. The loss severely damaged Cincinnati’s hopes of reaching the tournament this season, and the May 24 match vs. Wilmington may determine the final USL Second Division spot in the Cup. Cincinnati Match Report
Meanwhile in Ludlow, Mass., the Pioneers slugged out a 2-0 win over the Harrisburg City Islanders. The match saw a combined 47 fouls, 11 yellow cards, and two players from each team sent off. By the time Federico Molinari gave Western Mass a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute from the penalty spot, three yellow cards were already shown. Shortly after, Harrisburg’s Brian Ombiji was sent off for a tackle from behind, and Dustin Bixler’s game ended soon after with his second booking, leaving the City Islanders two men down heading into the break. The first half alone saw five cautions, two ejections, and 31 total fouls. Things did not calm down after halftime, as five more yellows were shown in the first fifteen minutes, one to the goalscorer Molinari and two of those to Jamie Sampson of the Pioneers. The game turned into a 9 vs. 9 affair with the expulsion of Everson Maciel in the 68th minute. The final 20 minutes went by relatively calmly, as Easton Wilson doubled the Western Mass lead in the 78th minute, only to be booked seven minutes later. The win gives Western Mass a good chance at qualifying for the 2007 Open Cup, and should have a chance to do just that next week, as they head to Harrisburg next Saturday, in what should be an interesting rematch. (PennLive.com match report)
In Baltimore, Crystal Palace USA continued their poor start, dropping a 1-0 decision to Richmond in the 90th minute. Trey Alexander scored for the defending USL-2 champions. While not mathematically eliminated, CPB’s hopes of an Open Cup spot are hanging by the slimmest of threads.
(USL-2 Qualifying Standings)
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