Pairings Announced

Discussion in 'US Open Cup' started by kenntomasch, May 1, 2012.

  1. Mikey mouse

    Mikey mouse Member

    Jul 27, 1999
    Charleston, SC
    Club:
    Charleston
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I love this tourney, I just wish US Soccer did more to promote it.
     
  2. GIO17

    GIO17 Member

    Nov 29, 1998
    I agree Mikey. They have to promote this tournament some more and hopefully when it does happen, there will be more success.
     
  3. cleazer

    cleazer Member+

    May 6, 2003
    Toledo, OH
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    They were really able to keep the matchups local in the first round. The only one that even stands out is Jersey Shore Boca @ Michigan Bucks. Pretty darn good in the big scheme of things. (Looks like some SoCal to Seattle trips too once the USASA Region IV tourney is finally settled.)

    Second round is quite a bit uglier. Lots of ugly looking cross-country trips to Wilmington, Carolina, and Fort Lauderdale, and Orlando and Charlotte games don't look so great either. They did a good job of keeping most of the other matchups local, but I wonder if they'll be tempted to allow teams from the same league to play each other again next year. I guess they'll see how their bottom line looks a month or two from now. (Other than that, nothing can be done with the geography of the teams.)



    predictions for the 3rd round draw:

    Jersey/Michigan/Pittsburgh - Columbus (maybe Philly)
    Long Island/Sonic/Harrisburg - Philadelphia (maybe Red Bulls)
    ???/Kitsap/Wilmington - Portland
    ???/Portland/Carolina - Seattle
    Fresno/Satnislaus/Ft Lauderdale - San Jose
    KC/Real Colorado/Orlando - Rapids, RSL, or KC
    NYGreekA/Reading/Charleston - Red Bulls or New England (maybe Philly)
    Brooklyn/Portland/Rochester - Red Bulls or New England
    Tampa/Jacksonville/Orlando - Rapids or RSL
    Carolina/Richmond/AegeanHawks - DC
    Atlanta/Georgia/Mississippi - Chivas or LA
    New Stars/Laredo/San Antonio - Houston
    Dayton/Chicago/Croatian Eagles - Chicago, KC, or Columbus
    Minnesota/Des Moines/Milwaukee - KC or Chicago
    Charlotte/Rayados/El Paso - Dallas
    Ventura/Fullerton/LABlues - LA or Chivas
     
  4. Paulie4star

    Paulie4star Member

    Feb 18, 2012
    Chesapeake, Virginia
    Club:
    NSC Minnesota Stars
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Just a slight confusion. It's not a guarantee Minnesota (If they advance) will have to play Chicago or Sporting, is it? Can't it be any MLS team?
     
  5. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Those were predictions, right?
     
  6. newtex

    newtex Member+

    May 25, 2005
    Houston
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Theoretically it can be any MLS team but they almost always do the draw based on geography.
     
  7. SJJ

    SJJ Member

    Sep 20, 1999
    Royal Oak, MI, USA
    Club:
    Michigan Bucks
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'm a little miffed that my Michigan Bucks can't get a home match in the second round, but the Chicago Fire PDL team could. Couldn't Michigan/Jersey been paired with Dayton, instead of Chicago/Croatia? I understand how it fits geographically (a trip from Chicago/Milwaukee to Pittsburgh seems a little long.)

    And, of course, the other big question: will there be any Snooki impersonators at the Michigan/Jersey match?
     
  8. CopaMundial

    CopaMundial Member

    Sep 11, 2006
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Random is as random does.

    (source: http://thecup.us/more-details-revealed-on-new-us-open-cup-hosting-process/ )
     
  9. blueballs69

    blueballs69 Member

    Nov 1, 2010
    Club:
    Austin Aztex
    Someone needs to look into Cal FC. I heard the Barrera kid hasn't been cleared from Europe and isn't even cleared to play in the states until transfer window. Sounds like the same issue SD Flash had last year with a pro player. Or does wynalda have connections to get him cleared to play. He must be paying him good money!
     
  10. Bookmesir

    Bookmesir Member

    Oct 14, 2012
    Club:
    FC Aarau
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    With great retrospect, 1st round pairings Jersey to Michigan/ Brooklyn to Portland? (ok, so its Maine, not Oregon...still an 8-9 hour bus trip). How do these clubs fund these journeys? I'd think mostly out-of-pocket, players and or parents...
     
  11. olujosh

    olujosh Member

    Aug 23, 1999
    Ann Arbor, MI
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    USSF provides the traveling team with about $8,000, but especially if you have to buy plane tickets on short notice, doesn't really cover the cost, but it's certainly better than nothing.
     
  12. UnionFreak1

    UnionFreak1 Member+

    Oct 14, 2009
    Tucson, Baja AZ
    Club:
    FC Tucson
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    When will they announce the 2013 pairings? (I'm guessing May 1, 2013.)
     
  13. olujosh

    olujosh Member

    Aug 23, 1999
    Ann Arbor, MI
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Give or take. They haven't announced the dates for the qualifying deadlines yet, but I'm sure it'll be somewhere in that neighborhood.

     
  14. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well, they can't really announce them until (almost) all of the qualifiers are known, now can they?

    2012 - May 1
    2011 - June 1
    2010 - June 2
    2009 - May 27
    2008 - May 28
     
  15. olujosh

    olujosh Member

    Aug 23, 1999
    Ann Arbor, MI
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Now that they determine the PDL spots based on the previous year's results (assuming they continue to do that for 2013), then they don't have to wait for that, so that's a plus. The tournament (again, assuming they continue that as well...) starts earlier, so they have to get qualifying done earlier, which is challenging sometimes.
     
  16. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You still have the NPSL and USASA qualifiers, though, right? Or do they just slot those regardless of which teams fill the slots?
     
  17. olujosh

    olujosh Member

    Aug 23, 1999
    Ann Arbor, MI
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    USASA will definitely have qualifiers, but MOST of the NPSL last year followed the PDL's lead and just based their entries on the previous year's results. Which is smart because most teams depend on college players and most of them aren't available until mid-May, so qualifying in March/April is difficult. Not sure what the deal will be with US Club Soccer, they might have a little qualifying tournament again too.
     
  18. olujosh

    olujosh Member

    Aug 23, 1999
    Ann Arbor, MI
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Each "conference" in the NPSL apparently operates under their own set of rules (SEE: AL/NL baseball ... or more accurately state law vs. federal law) so if the teams in the Western Conference decide they want to have a qualifying tournament, they can just do that. There's no league control over that apparently. The league just says "you get to submit X number of teams ... figure it out"
     
  19. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Which, again, gives us scenarios where teams playing in the 2013 tournament aren't - in makeup, at least, in large part - necessarily the same teams that "qualified" for the tournament based on their performance in 2012.
     
  20. olujosh

    olujosh Member

    Aug 23, 1999
    Ann Arbor, MI
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Exactly. And while the overall benefit of compromising with MLS to get ALL the teams in the tournament (MLS wanted the tournament to start and end earlier) is much greater than having the first 4 PDL games have meaning (that was fun).

    Another way to look at it is this is a way for the 'rich' to get richer. So let's say you're the Michigan Bucks, who already do a great job of recruiting top notch college talent ... they win their division and qualify for the Open Cup for next year. So now, a team that is already successful by virtue of winning their division (and whatever playoff run they made), they now have "we are playing in the Open Cup next year" as a recruiting tool for next season.

    I'm not saying it's a good or bad thing ... there are definitely pros and cons to this system, but it puts an even greater value on regular season success for the PDL (and the NPSL too if they continue to use the same system ... except for the Western Conference)
     

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