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3-time Open Cup champs emerge from Region I
Pancyprian Freedoms qualify with first timer Boston Olympiakos
With the results of Sunday’s United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) Region I semifinals, two very different clubs have qualified for the 2008 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. It was a passing of the torch, in a way, as both Open Cup entrants from Region I last year (Danbury United, Aegean Hawks FC) lost to make way for this year’s entries.
Boston Olympiakos find themselves in the tournament for the first time ever after they defeated Danbury United, 1-0. In the other semifinal, the three-time U.S. Open Cup champion New York Pancyprian Freedoms outgunned the Aegean Hawks, 3-2. Both teams will advance to the USASA Region I Final, scheduled to be played on June 22, with the winner moving on to the USASA National Finals.
In Danbury, Connecticut, the visitors struck early when Will Mohammad put the ball into the net less than 15 minutes into the match. Mohammad dribbled the ball in from the left wing and from an acute angle, caught the goalkeeper off his line and fired a perfectly placed ball into the back of the net.
The remainder of the match, Boston held on defensively, thanks in large part to some big saves by Olympiakos goalkeeper Christopher Caarnecky. Reinforcements certainly helped the victors, as Boston started the match with only 11 players, but three reserve players arrived at halftime to give the club some fresh legs.
Olympiakos was founded as Boston United in 1990, and changed the name six years later. This will be the first appearance in the U.S. Open Cup for the club, despite a long history of success in the USASA Amateur Cup. The 5-time Massachusetts State Soccer League (MSSL) champions have qualified for the Amateur Cup finals in three of the last seven years, including winning it all last year.
In the other semifinal, the Pancyprian Freedoms took a 1-0 lead over the Aegean Hawks in the 25th minute. Former Major League Soccer player, Jeff Matteo’s free kick forced a rebound from Hawks goalkeeper Nick Carlin-Voigt, and Mahamadou Sempara was there to finish it for the visitors.
The Hawks would answer just before halftime when a Brett Myers cross from the right side found Carlos Garcia on the far post for a header. The keeper was able to get a hand on it, but it wasn’t enough to keep the ball from trickling in over the line.
Just after the break, Matia Damiani headed home a corner kick by Matteo from point blank range to put the Freedoms up 2-1.
Midway through the second half, the Hawks shifted to a 3-4-3 formation to seek out an equalizer, but they would get caught on a counter attack. Former Vasco De Gama player Julio DoSantos finished a one-timer sent in from the wing to put them up by two. It was another goal for DoSantos who scored 34 goals in 25 Cosmopolitan League games this season.
Anders Kelto would pull the Hawks within one with five minutes remaining with his third goal in as many games. The former Michigan State University standout played a cross into the box, and after the goalkeeper was unable to handle it, the ball pinballed around and finally squirted free and fell to the feet of Kelto who followed his shot, and he tapped it in to make it 3-2.
The Freedoms will participate in the Open Cup for the first time since 2002 when they were a member of the United Soccer Leagues’ D3 Pro League. The club’s greatest glory came in the early 1980s when they won three U.S. Open Cup titles in 1980, 1982 and 1983. They remain, to this day, the last club to win back-to-back championships.
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