Two Wins Away: Local amateur teams enter Third Qualifying Round this weekend

Open Cup Digest #21

Two wins separate a handful of local amateur teams from advancing to the 2026 US Open Cup. The Third Qualifying Round continues this weekend with a pair of Final Fours set to place in both New York and New Jersey. In the mix are tournament regulars, tournament first-timers, and teams struggling in league but inching closer to playing up a level and taking the field against professional teams.

The American Premier Soccer League (APSL) are represented by four of the eight teams left in the region, while the national United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) have two. Teams from the United Soccer League of Pennsylvania and the upstart The League for Clubs round out the lineup.

Let's take a look at the games, how they got here, and what to expect.

New York Final Four

Fact: One of the four teams left from the Five Boroughs (and Long Island) will be playing soccer next March in the First Round of the US Open Cup.

But first up are two Third Round Qualifying games. Tomorrow, NY Renegades FC will welcome tournament veterans Lansdowne Yonkers FC to Central Long Island. These two teams last met in the Fourth Qualifying Round last year, when the NY Renegades beat Yonkers in a shootout to qualify for their first Open Cup.

A return to the Open Cup would do NYR well, especially after losing to Columbus Crew 2 in the First Round earlier this year. Since that game in March, the UPSL side from Hicksville, NY, have done well in league play, reaching the Northeast American Conference Final in the Spring 2025 season. Now in the Fall season, and with a split of the conference into North and South divisions, the Renegades are back in the conference final after finishing the regular season in 3rd Place.

The Renegades reached this point with two one-goal wins in the previous rounds. The side opened qualifying by beating ASC New York, 2-1, behind second-half goals from Oscar Rivas and Junior Rosero. Last round, Renegades beat four-time Open Cup champion New York Greek Americans, 3-2, marking the second qualifying tournament where the Hicksville side have beaten the historic Greeks. Goals came from centerback Ojai Bedward, left-winger Sebastian Ruiz, and Rosero on a night with 40 mph winds blowing across the Hofstra University field.

Since their year-long undefeated run between 2021 and 2022 – including a National Amateur Cup, league title, and a win in the Open Cup – Lansdowne have stumbled: Just one Metropolitan Conference championship in the APSL, no success in competitions (league, state, or national), and no appearances in the Open Cup since 2023. So far, this season in the Metro has been going better, with head coach Matt Kane and his group going undefeated through the first seven games of the 2025-26 season, good enough for 2nd Place in the conference.

Former Fordham University midfielder Liam Salmon and former Iona University midfielder Ali Dawha are tied for the most goals in all competitions with four each, followed by former FC Cincinnati forward Ben Stitz with three.

The road to the third qualifying round for Lansdowne Yonkers was aided by a controversial victory in the last round. After receiving a bye in Round One, Lansdowne faced APSL rival Doxa FCW on a rainy night in Yonkers. A fifth-minute goal from Ali Dawha appeared to enter the goal through a hole in the side of the net. However, the officials allowed the goal to stand, causing uproar from Doxa players and staff. Lansdowne got the win, 2-1, behind another first-half goal from Jared Juleaou.

Doxa went on to protest the result, which was officially denied by the US Soccer Federation.

Denied: Protest over goal shot through side netting rejected

The governing body ruled against Doxa FCW’s protest of a goal seemingly scored through the side netting, stating that the referee’s decisions “are final” and cannot be overturned by video evidence.

Hudson River BlueMichael Battista

Sunday will see the only one that will take place in New York City proper, though some might consider Roosevelt Island a strange place that doesn't quite feel like the Big Apple. It will feature two teams looking for their first Open Cup appearance: An older and wiser Zum Schneider FC 03 vs a young, eager Metropolitan Oval Academy.

Zum Schneider has been making the most of their time in the APSL Metropolitan Conference. Never the biggest dog in the group, the team built out a diverse squad that feature both youth and experience. Former Belize youth national team player Glenford Gentle leads the club in goals scored in league play this season, but the team are still trying to find consistency with only two wins through seven games so far in 2025.

Qualification for the US Open Cup would be Zum's biggest accomplishment in their two-decade history. The team came out of Zum Schneider, a German restaurant in the East Village which closed in 2020 — although pop-up events continue to this day, and a new location for the restaurant might be in the works.

Schneider are in the Third Round after besting NPSL side Osner's FC, 7-3, in early October. Down 3-1 late, Zum scored twice in the last ten minutes to force extra time. The group then exploded for four goals in extra time to advance, with the game-winner coming from Tom Hultsch of Lueneburg, Germany.

Metropolitan Oval enter their first US Open Cup qualifying tournament after their debut season as a senior men's team, which went pretty well all things considered. The team won The League for Clubs national championship in Frisco, TX, this past summer. As a new league, TLfC isn't as battle-tested as other leagues like the APSL or UPSL. Still, they showed themselves to be highly a competitive organization where a young team like Met Oval can perform.

New York’s Met Oval Wins Inaugural League For Clubs Championship

The Maspeth, Queens-based soccer club, Met Oval Academy, won the first-ever edition of The League For Clubs national championship on Saturday night, defeating Napa Valley 1839 FC 3-2 on penalties at the Toyota Soccer Center in Frisco, Texas. The game remained tied at 2-2 after extra time, before goalkeeper Costi

The Soccer TimesJames Nalton

Brooklyn native and recent University of Connecticut graduate Balthazar "Balthi" Saunders led Met Oval this season with six goals, enough to be tied for 3rd Place in the conference.

The Metropolitan Oval is one of the most historic venues in New York City. Built in 1925 in Queens, it previously hosted four Open Cup finals. But the Met Oval youth academy is much younger. Formed in 1999, the academy alumni list includes current New York City FC defender Justin Haak.

Technically, this will be Met Oval's first-ever US Open Cup Qualifying match. The team received a bye in the First Qualifying Round, followed by a forfeit win over Central Park Rangers FC in mid-October.

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Hudson River BlueMatthew Mangam

Garden State vying for a spot

On the other side of the Hudson River, three New Jersey teams are still alive and playing for a place in the 2026 tournament. They are joined by a Philadelphia-area side to form a “New Jersey - Pennsylvania Region” that will see one team advance.

The first kickoff on Sunday will take place close to the suburbs of Philadelphia, when Oaklyn United FC, from the borough of the same name in Camden County, will try to qualify for their first tournament when they face Vereinigung Erzgebirge, better known as VE Club, as they try to get back to the Open Cup for the second time in three years.

Oaklyn are not having a great start to the 2025-26 season in the APSL. The team sit 9th Place in the 11-team Delaware River Conference after six games. Oaklyn are here thanks to a 2-0 win over Kearny Scots-American AC last round in South Jersey, with goals scored by Jason Mancuso and Gabriel Freitas. The team serves as a developmental team to USL League Two side Ocean City Nor'easters.

They play host to VE Club, which was founded as a German social club 93 years ago in Warminster, PA. A founding member of the United Soccer League of Pennsylvania, they have a successful men's senior program that regularly competes in high-level amateur competition. Former Philadelphia Union forward Antoine Hoppenot was rostered by the team in recent years.

Closer to New York City, Bulldogs SC and SC Vistula Garfield will face each other at Capelli Sports Complex in Tinton Falls, NJ.

It's been a rough time for the Bulldogs since they joined the UPSL. Playing in both the Spring and Fall seasons this year, the Old Bridge, NJ, side have only won two games in 20 matches played. The Bulldogs originally began as a much smaller club that competed in Garden State Soccer League's lower divisions, and an appearance in the USOC would be the greatest accomplishment in the team's 16 years of existence.

Bulldogs forward Joel Quist leads the team with seven goals — his professional resume includes stints with Hartford Athletic, and a recent stop with LA Force, where he scored two goals in the final to win the 2025 NISA Pro Cup in Michigan earlier this month.

The Bulldogs are here thanks to a Second Qualifying Round win over FC Monmouth, 3-1 extra-time win. After falling behind early, defender and current Alvernia University assistant men's soccer coach Ryan Kuster found the equalizer to make it 1-1. Deadlocked after regulation, Monmouth lost two players to red cards in extra time, which allowed Gilberto Ferreira and Oluwaferanmi Omidiran to send the UPSL side through.

They face a much older club in SC Vistula Garfield, which were founded in 1952 by Polish immigrants. Vistula is best known as a youth training academy aligned with national powerhouse Players Development Academy Soccer, better known as PDA. The men's senior team have played consistently in local and regional leagues for decades, continuing a tradition of ethnic clubs in the area.

Vistula is currently last in the APSL Metropolitan Conference, with one win and no draws through six games. Player-coach and former New York Red Bulls Reserves player Christopher Karcz leads the team in league goals with three scored.

The last time Garfield was close to qualifying was during the 2023 qualifying tournament, where they lost a win-and-you're-in match against Lansdowne Yonkers FC.

2023 US Open Cup Qualifying: Lansdowne Yonkers tops SC Vistula Garfield for 2nd straight berth

Lansdowne Yonkers FC qualified for its a second consecutive US Open Cup with a 2-0 win over SC Vistula Garfield in New Jersey on Saturday.

Michael Battista

Vistula reached this point by beating Ironbound SCP at home last round, 2-1. Goals came from Paul Kondratowicz and Kevin Valdivia, the latter of whom scored the game-winner with a bicycle kick goal in the second half. Goalkeeper Aldo Munoz, who played professionally with New Amsterdam FC in the National Independent Soccer Association, played a huge role in keeping his team in the lead with multiple stellar saves.

Sharktopus Swims On

Qualifying for the 2026 US Open Cup is also happening in other corners of the country this weekend. One of these games features a team you won't soon forget after hearing their name: Sharktopus FC.

The amateur side from Seattle, WA, is in the Third Qualifying Round playing against defending USL League Two National Finalist, Ballard FC. But a week ago, Sharktopus were officially out of the tournament.

The team's match against Bellevue Athletic FC ended with Sharktopus losing 4-3 in extra time. However, after the match it was revealed that the game's main official had been rostered by Bellevue previously, and played for their reserve team as recently as earlier this year.

Local U.S. Open qualifier protested over ref assignment

Sharktopus is alleging the referee in their match against Bellevue Athletic had “conflict of interest.”

Sounder at HeartMichael Battista

After an official protest was filed, US Soccer sided with Sharktopus and ordered the match replayed. Earlier this week, Sharktopus beat Bellevue on Tuesday night, 5-0, to advance in the tournament.

The entire situation was both an embarrassing one, something USSF probably doesn't need on their record when official bias is a heightened issue. But it's also one that garnered a lot of fan traction — mostly because people loved the name Sharktopus FC.

From a story on ESPN by Jeff Carlisle, to a relaunch of their kits by Olive & York, the US Open Cup and Sharktopus took center stage. Glaring conflicts of interest by the referee aside, it was fun — something I think people forget can happen in soccer.

If you'd like to learn more about Sharktopus FC, I'll refer you to my story for US Soccer from October 2023, where looks at the mysterious origins of the name, and reveals that one of their players helped the New York Red Bulls beat New York City in a 2018 US Open Cup match.

Bonding & Growing Under the Banner of Sharktopus FC | U.S. Soccer Official Website

Michael Battista takes us down deep for a closer look at Seattle amateurs Sharktopus FC, who’ve caught the imagination in a big way in the 2024 edition of the U.S. Open Cup Qualifying Rounds

U.S. Soccer