"I need to play Emil Forsberg": US Open Cup Fourth Qualifying Round gets underway

Open Cup Digest #10

While the MLS Cup Playoffs are on pause due to the FIFA international break, high-stakes knockout soccer is still happening around the country this weekend. The 2025 US Open Cup qualifying rounds are back, with some teams just one win away from securing a spot in next year’s tournament.

In New York City, two teams from just outside the Big Apple’s borders will face off to claim one of the 14 tournament spots available at this stage. Two more spots are up for grabs in the win-and-you're-in matches featuring Tri-State Area teams going up against out-of-state competition.

One New York City side already qualified for the tournament. The New York Pancyprian-Freedoms of Astoria, NY won the National Amateur Cup back in July and will compete in the 2025 US Open Cup next Spring.

We'll start with the game featuring the two sides closest to New York City, who play on Sunday, November 17 over on Long Island. Then we'll go over the two other games featuring area teams who play on Saturday, November 16.

Here’s what you need to know about this weekend’s slate:

New York Regional Final

Last month, eight New York City area teams entered qualifying with the goal of competing in the US Open Cup. That group is now down to two: A former multi-time national champion trying to add to their USOC resume, and a newcomer looking to erase mistakes of the past.

Lansdowne Yonkers FC of the Eastern Premier Soccer League (EPSL) needs little introduction. Winners of the National Amateur Cup in 2017 and 2021, the team from just north of the Bronx are seeking their fifth-ever US Open Cup appearance, and their third in four years. While the team has been a bit quiet in terms of recent accolades, they look primed to compete against whatever competition they face.

The leading scorer this season is Ali Dawha, the former Iona Gail player and current Pratt Institute assistant men’s soccer coach (NCAA III), who has seven league goals this year — that goes up to nine if you include his two goals in USOC Qualifying. Former Rutgers University and Marist College player Kyle Galloway has five goals in the regular season and two more in USOC Qualifying after scoring in each game. Add to that midfielder Andrew Sousa, who was selected by the New England Revolution in the 2011 MLS Supplemental Draft and made his professional debut in the 2011 Open Cup against Sporting Kansas City.

This weekend will be Yonkers’s first match against a non-EPSL team, having beaten KidSuper Samba AC and Zum Schneider FC 03 in previous USOC Qualifying Rounds by a combined score of 9-2. The team is currently undefeated in the EPSL Metropolitan Conference (6W-2D-0L) and sits in first place.

They travel to face NY Renegades FC of the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL). Based out of Hicksville, NY, the squad has been near-dominant in the Northeast American Conference, finishing first in the North Division with eight wins in 10 games and reaching the Conference Championship game.

Forward Rances Radamel Reneau leads the team with 27 goals, while current Northeastern University forward Sebastian Restrepo netted 10. Many of the players involved previously played for another Long Island side, Oyster Bay United FC, which qualified for the 2022 USOC and went on to play Hartford Athletic of the USL Championship, a 3-1 home win for Hartford in the tournament's Second Round.

Like Lansdowne, Renegades aren’t afraid to mix high-quality local talent with former professionals. Center-back Samuel Cáceres played professionally with clubs such as the New York Cosmos, Club Nacional (Paraguay), and Portuguesa FC in Venezuela. Midfielder Omar Campos had a brief stint with Loudoun United FC of the USL Championship in 2019. Probably most interesting, 36-year-old José Nájera played over 100 games with Colombian side Real Cartagena and has a cap with the Colombia national team.

To reach this point the Renegades eliminated four-time US Open Cup champion New York Greek Americans in the Second Qualifying Round, 4-3, before knocking off Long Island side Leros SC in last month’s Third Qualifying Round, 6-0.

This is NYRFC’s second year competing in the Qualifying Round, and a win here could fully bury the memory of last year’s debut. After winning their first game in qualifying, the Renegades's run was abruptly ended when their game against the New York Pancyprian Freedoms was called off midway through the second half after a player allegedly threatened to stab the referee.

The player in question, midfielder Yohance Alexander, still plays for the club, but is currently serving a suspension by US Soccer because of that incident. The three-game punishment will be over after this match, meaning his next game could be in the USOC proper should the hosts win on Sunday night.

US Open Cup qualifier abandoned after player threatens to stab ref

New York Renegades midfielder allegedly tells ref “I will “f****** stab you” after game.

Hudson River BlueMichael Battista

Mid–Atlantic Regional Final

Across the Hudson River, another local club looks to finally clear the last hurdle and qualify for the US Open Cup after years of coming up short. They’ll host a well-traveled Baltimore side also looking to make their tournament debut in 2025.

New Jersey Alliance FC (Lyndhurst, NJ) was founded in 2012 by local entrepreneur Edgar Guardia, whose company Unified Home Systems is the main sponsor of the team. Since their inception, NJAFC have grown from playing in the amateur Garden State Soccer League to fielding four teams in the UPSL. That growth comes with success, including multiple UPSL conference titles and two championships of the now-defunct NISA Nation Northeast Region.

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The team finished first in the UPSL Northeast American Conference, South Division (6W-2D-2L), but recently fell in the conference semifinals to New York Braveheart SC (Central Islip, NY), 3-2. To reach this far in qualifying, NJAFC knocked off SC Vistula Garfield (Garfield, NJ) and Alloy SC (Lancaster, MD) in consecutive games. This is Alliance’s fourth straight appearance in qualifying, with the club nearly qualifying for the 2024 Open Cup before losing in penalty kicks to Pennsylvania side Vereinigung Erzgebirge featuring former Philadelphia Union star Antoine Hoppenot.

The continued growth is based on the club’s connection to the community. Sponsors are all local companies, the team will bring out food trucks to games to feed the fans and players, and the end goal has been opening pathways for men and women soccer players to be seen.

That outreach doesn’t end at Bergen County’s borders: The organization is looking to fly a team to Ecuador for a series of friendlies against professional sides. For all this work, you’ll find a dedicated set of fans in the Athenia Steel bleachers during most matches, chanting as if it was a South American derby match and holding tifos to rally the team on.

Emiland Elezaj, who scored two goals in the Alliance’s win over Alloy last round, spoke after the game with the media about what it would mean to play in America’s national championship.

“I'll be honest with you, I have goosebumps just thinking about it,” Said Elezagj, an Albanian native who grew up in Woodbridge, NJ. “We need to play (the New York Red Bulls). I want to...I need to play Emil Forsberg.”

Making the near-200-mile trip up I-95 will be Steel Pulse FC (Baltimore, MD) of the Maryland Super Soccer League (MSSL). Founded in 2016, the Pulse won titles in the highly competitive Maryland Major Soccer League (MMSL) and, more recently, the Maryland Super Soccer League (MSSL) which it joined as a founding member in 2021. Between all the leagues, the Pulse lay claim to ten championships and one Rowland Cup, Maryland's oldest cup competition.

In recent years that success led to growth, with the club partnering with National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) side Maryland Bobcats FC in 2022. This season in the MSSL the team finished second in the table (5W-3D-2L) and has a playoff semifinal coming up.

The Pulse’s high-powered offense helped carry them through qualifying thus far. They crushed Maryland Bobcats II (Montgomery County, MD), 7-0, in the Second Qualifying Round before getting past UPSL side VA Revolution Pro (Leesburg, VA), 4-2. Saturday’s Fourth Qualifying Round qualifying match will be their first road game of the tournament. The team has competed in qualifying four previous times dating back to the Fall of 2018.

Northeast Regional Final

There is one more game featuring an Empire State side, with a team from Western New York traveling to New England for a shot at the USOC.

FCY New York’s (Buffalo, NY) history dates back to the 1970s, with a deep connection to Yemeni immigrants in Western New York. Originally known as the Lackawanna Yemen Soccer Club, the organization has grown into a program that trains upwards of 300 soccer players a year. After dabbling in adult men’s soccer in recent years the club joined the UPSL in 2021.

The team isn’t currently competing in the UPSL Fall 2024 season. However, their campaign in the Spring campaign saw them finish second in the Western NY Conference with an undefeated record (5W-5D-0L). The team reached the conference championship game but fell to Rochester New York FC (Rochester, NY), 4-1. To reach this point in qualifying, FCYNY beat Roc City Boom (Rochester, NY) in the Second Qualifying Round before downing Pittsburgh Dynamo (Pittsburgh, PA) on the road off a stoppage time goal in the Third Qualifying Round.

A win on Sunday against Massachusetts amateur stalwarts Clube Desportivo Faialense (Cambridge, MA) of the Bay State Soccer League would catapult FCY into a long line of Western New York USOC teams. Dating back to the Niagara Falls Rangers reaching the semifinals of the first-ever tournament in 1913/14, the far-flung lands of the Empire State have long seen teams participating in the Open Cup. In modern times, another WNY city has become a place of USOC lore, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, 1999 tournament winners, are still the last non-MLS side to win the USOC since the league started in 1996.