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El Paso, Long Island return to the Cup!
Ocean City finishes 4-0, Northwest down to the wire
The final weekend of PDL qualifying is under way, and two more teams have made the cut. A total of fifteen clubs are still in the running for the final five spots.
After a year’s absence, the El Paso Patriots and Long Island Rough Riders are making their return to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The Rough Riders found their way in without kicking a ball on Friday night, courtesy of a 1-1 draw between Cape Cod and Vermont. The draw left Cape Cod with seven points out of their four qualifying matches, not enough to catch Long Island’s nine. The Brooklyn Knights were the only team capable of equaling the Riders point total, but would have lost the first tiebreaker, head to head record, via a 3-1 loss on May 20. Long Island were last in the Open Cup in 2005 as a member of the USL Second Division, losing to the PDL Ocean City Barons 4-0 in the second round.
The El Paso Patriots took a more direct approach to qualifying, getting the result they needed on their own. With a 2-2 draw with the DFW Tornados. The Tornados were the only club in the Mid South division with a chance to catch El Paso, who will make their return to the Cup since last appearing in 2005, where they made it to the second round before falling to the USL Second Division’s Charlotte Eagles 3-1.
Elsewhere in the PDL, The Ocean City Barons took firm control of the top spot in the Mid Atlantic Division, with a 1-0 defeat of the Richmond Kickers Future. Byron Carmichael provided the Barons with the only goal they would need in the second minute, off a corner kick from Sean Boyle. The only club capable of denying the Barons a spot in the Cup is the Fredericksburg Gunners. the Gunners are sitting at 2-0, and have back to back games this weekend, Sunday hosting Reading, and away to Richmond Kickers Future on Memorial Day.
In the Southeast division, the Central Florida Kraze jumped to the top spot after thrashing the Cocoa Expos 4-0. Sasha Barber, Justin Cook, Tanner Wolf and Keith Savage lead the way with goals in the rout, eliminating the Expos. The Kraze will now have to hope for a draw in the Carolina Dynamo-Atlanta Silverbacks U23’s match on Saturday, as a result either way would vault the winner past Central Florida, while a draw will leave both teams short on points.
With only one match involving eliminated teams on Friday, the Heartland and Great Lakes divisions will look to further take shape on Saturday night. In what could be looked at as elimination games, the Michigan Bucks host Chicago Fire Premier, while Springfield travel to Kansas City. While all four teams are still alive, only Kansas City and Michigan will have a second chance should they lose tonight.
Finally, the Northwest division could come down the the same tangle of tiebreakers that last year’s Western Conference qualifying campaign saw. 2006 cup qualifiers Ogden played the spoiler role, defeating the Spokane Spiders 2-0. In Provo, Utah, the BYU Cougars topped the Yakima Reds 1-0, on Jacob Cavanaugh’s goal in the 36th minute. As it stands now, all four teams have a shot. For Tacoma to get in, they need a draw in the Spokane-BYU game, and a Yakima win over Ogden. A victory by either BYU or Spokane will get them in. Yakima needs the same combo as Tacoma, but they MUST defeat Ogden by at least three goals to qualify. If it ends in a four-way tie, both BYU and Spokane will be eliminated. A three way tie between Tacoma, Spokane and BYU will see Spokane through, based on goals scored, the fourth tiebreaker.
Below is a walkthrough of all the possible results and outcomes of tonight’s crucial matches in the Northwest.
Head to Head Results
Yakima drew Tacoma (0-0, May 11)
Spokane over Tacoma (3-2, May 12)
Tacoma over BYU (2-0 May 19)
BYU over Yakima (1-0, May 25)
Result - BYU-Spokane match does NOT end in a draw
BYU-Spokane winner qualifies
Results - Ogden d. Yakima, BYU & Spokane draw
Tacoma, Spokane, BYU tied
1. Head to Head
Tacoma 2-0 BYU
Spokane 3-2 Tacoma
Spokane D-D BYU
BYU 1-0-1, 4 pts
Spokane 1-0-1, 4 pts
Tacoma 1-1-0, 3 pts - eliminated
2. Total Wins
BYU & Spokane both have 2 wins
3. Goal Difference
BYU & Spokane both at 0
4. Goals Scored
Spokane over BYU, 5-3 (since their match would be a draw,
neither can improve over the other)
Spokane qualifies
Results - Yakima d. Ogden, BYU & Spokane draw
Four Way tie
1. Head to Head
BYU 2-0-1, 7 pts
Tacoma 1-1-1, 4 pts
Spokane 1-0-1, 4 pts
Yakima 0-1-1, 1 pt
Since the teams DO NOT have the same amount of games,
head to head tiebreaker IS NOT USED.
2.Total wins
All teams tied at 2 wins apiece
3.Goal Difference
Spokane & BYU eliminated (since their match would be a draw, neither can improve)
If Yakima wins by +3, Yakima qualifies
If Yakima wins by +2, Tacoma and Yakima both have +2, go to tiebreaker #4
If Yakima wins by +1, Tacoma qualifies
4. Goals Scored
Tacoma qualifies, the best Yakima can do is 4, while Tacoma has 5
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