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Pioneers' draw books them spot in Open Cup
Thursday's result also clinches a place for Crystal Palace Baltimore
Two more USL Second Division teams clinched a spot in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup ahead of this weekend’s schedule.  On Thursday, the Western Mass Pioneers punched their ticket with a 1-1 draw with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Joseph Zewe opened the scoring for the Riverhounds just after halftime, but less than 20 minutes later, the home side tied the game up with a goal by Jeff Deren. With the teams earning a point each, that brought Pittsburgh’s maximum points percentage down to 38%, while Western Mass’ minimum points percentage dropped to 47% - ensuring that the Pioneers cannot finish in last place in the USL-2 qualifying standings.
Pittsburgh’s draw also helped Crystal Palace Baltimore qualify for the tournament with a minimum percentage of 40%. The winless Riverhounds will have an opportunity to pull themselves out of the bottom half of the table as they travel to Bermuda to take on the Hogges on Saturday.
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