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Meet the USASA: Lynch's Irish Pub
Florida club changes name, returns to the Open Cup
Lynch’s Irish Pub FC is the third team from this year’s USASA field to have previous experience in the Open Cup, along with RWB Adria and Bavarian SC. Don’t recognize the name? That’s because when we last saw the team in the Cup, they were knowsn as DS United. The club was founded in 1999, and began play in Jacksonville’s Beaches Adult Soccer League. In 2004, the team decided to take the name of one of their sponsors, although a team was still fielded under the name DS United. In fact, the two clubs actually met in group play in 2006 Region III qualifying, with Lynch’s prevailing 4-3. Lynch’s has won the Jacksonville’s Beaches Adult Soccer League title six times.
Seven minutes away from preventing history
Even before the U.S. Open Cup begins, Lynch’s has already pulled off the most shocking upset so far. After both teams defeated Georgia’s Saturn FC, Lynch’s and Dallas Roma, last year’s Cinderella darlings, met in the final Group A match of the 2007 Region III qualifying tournament in Fayetteville, North Carolina. In a result that shocked everyone at the tournament, Lynch’s stormed past Roma 4-0 to claim their spot in the U.S. Open Cup.
Playing Roma wasn’t a new experience for Lynch’s, however. In the 2006 Region III qualifying tournament, Lynch’s came within seven minutes of bringing an abrupt halt to what eventually became Roma’s historic run through the Cup. Playing with 10 men for over 60 minutes, Lynch’s held on desperately to a 1-0 lead. Everything came crashing down at the end, as Roma scored twice in the final two minutes to win the match 2-1.
Head coach Roberto Apunte said that since they had played them the year before, they knew what to expect from Roma, and were not in awe of their Cup run. In the Region III final, Lynch’s fell to Roma’s league rival Azzurri 7-0, although Lynch’s rested a number of their starters at the end of a tough weekend of play.
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| The club changed their name from DS United to one of their sponsors, a prominate pub in Jacksonville, FL. |
A little too young to drink at the pub
The roster for Lynch’s is quite young, with an average age of 20. One of Lynch’s brightest stars is Tony Alejandro, a 17 year old who Apunte is very high on, and is trying to secure him a spot on one of the U.S. youth national teams. Tommy Krizanovic, a native of Croatia who attended the University of Jacksonville, was drafted by FC Dallas and played under a developmental contract with the club for a short while. Also featured on the squad is veteran Mark Rowland, who has appeared in many U.S. Open Cup games with the El Paso Patriots and DFW Tornados, as well as recently playing with the Dallas Sidekicks of the Major Indoor Soccer League.
While Lynch’s has entered the U.S. Open Cup for the past nine years, USASA entries from the Florida region, like much of the rest of the country, have declined. In fact, Lynch’s were only one of two teams from Florida to enter this year. Apunte attributes this to the fact that some teams are turned off at the prospect of playing midweek matches should they qualify. State Cup Commissioner Jennifer Weston also notes that the distance teams would have to travel, just to the Regional tournament alone, also keeps clubs from entering.
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