Good morning! The U.S. Open Cup delivered a magical moment last night when Detroit City FC from the USL Championship (formerly of the NPSL and NISA) knocked off the defending champion Houston Dynamo in a shootout after a wild 3-3 tie. Nine more games (streaming info) are scheduled for tonight, including four MLS vs. USL tussles (and one USL Championship vs. MLS Next Pro matchup).
Soccer America Daily is edited by Paul Kennedy and Mike Woitalla.
U.S. OPEN CUP
Vive Le Rouge! Detroit City FC’s comeback for the ages
The Houston Dynamo, granted special entry into the 2024 U.S. Open Cup as the holder, fell in the first game of its title defense.
In one of the greatest comebacks in Open Cup history, Detroit City FC became the first USL team to knock off one of the MLS entrants in the 2024 edition when it came back from 2-0 (after 31 minutes) and 3-2 down in regulation and 4-2 in the shootout to eliminate the Dynamo 10-9 on penalty kicks.
• Hamtramck hero: In the 11th round, DCFC keeper Carlos Saldana stopped the attempt by Houston keeper Andrew Tarbell, one of the stars of the 2023 Cup campaign, and then converted the winning shot himself.
In his Detroit debut after three seasons as mostly the backup at Sac Republic FC and before than a stint in Mexico’s lower divisions, Saldana kept Le Rouge alive in the fifth round of the shootout when he stopped Ibrahim Aliyu, who had a chance to win the match for the Dynamo.
Three MLS teams pull through on second-half goals
The other three MLS vs. USL battles were decided in favor of the Division I teams, all playing at home and all pulling through on goals in the second half.
• Atlanta United 3 Charlotte Independence 0: Nick Firmino scored a pair of goals while Daniel Ríos added a third goal. Josh Cohen earned the shutout in goal in his Atlanta debut.
• FC Dallas 1 Memphis 901 0: Rookie Logan Farrington came off the bench to score his first professional goal in the 76th minute.
• San Jose Earthquakes 1 Oakland Roots 0: The Quakes won the battle of the Bay on Ousseni Bouda’s in the 76th minute.
AMERICANS ABROAD
Keyrol Figueroa, 17, signs Liverpool pro contract
Keyrol Figueroa, who starred for the U.S. U-17 national team in 2023, has signed his first pro contract with Liverpool.
Figueroa, who joined the Liverpool academy at the age of 14, scored eight goals in 11 matches for the USA in the 2023 U-17 World Cup qualifying and finals.
The 17-year-old forward is the son of former Honduran star Maynor Figueroa, who spent eight seasons in England with Wigan Athletic and Hull City and seven seasons at the end of his career in MLS (Colorado, FC Dallas and Houston).
MLS NEXT PRO
Robin Fraser joins CT United FC as sporting chief
CT United FC appointed Longtime MLS coach Robin Fraser as chief sporting advisor to oversee all sporting aspects of the MLS Next Pro expansion team, including initial staffing decisions for both CT United and its academy program.
Fraser spent 10 seasons as a player in MLS, earning Best XI honors five times, and coached in MLS over 17 years, most recently serving as the head coach of the Colorado Rapids (2019-23).
CT United FC is slated to begin play in 2025 and has its sights on building a stadium in Bridgeport.
• USL Super League: Michael Dickey has been named the first head coach of Lexington Sporting Club’s entry in the USL Super League, which will begin play this summer. He spent many years in the U.S. women’s youth national team program and most recently directed the Mockingbird Valley Premier.
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Reus and Hummels ‘close the circle’ with Dortmund’s return to Wembley
Eleven years after losing 2-1 to German rival Bayern Munich in the 2013 UEFA Champions League final, Mats Hummels, Marco Reus and Borussia Dortmund are heading back to Wembley.
A 1-0 win at Paris Saint-Germain completed a 2-0 aggregate win in the semifinals, making Dortmund the most unlikely Champions League finalist since Tottenham in 2019.
• Trivia: PSG hit the woodwork four times in the second leg and six times over the two legs. It finished with 12 shots off the woodwork in 12 games, the most in a Champions League season in more than 20 years.
ENGLAND
Nottingham Forest loses appeal against Premier League points penalty
Nottingham Forest failed in its appeal against a four-point penalty for breaching Premier League financial rules.
The club was hit with the sanction by an independent commission in March for breaching the profitability and sustainability rules threshold of £61 million ($76 million) by £34.5 million.
Relegation battle (Premier League):
17. Nottingham Forest (29 points).
18. Luton Town (26 points).
19. Burnley (24 points).
20. *Sheffield United (16 points).
*Relegated.
SOUTH AMERICA
Crime deterring return of players from abroad
A wave of crimes against South American soccer players has underscored the risks faced by players loath to return home from overseas clubs to a region where they, or their loved ones, risk being kidnapped, blackmailed or targeted by gangs with a message to send.
In recent months, the sport has been rattled by threats against the family of Argentine forward Angel Di Maria, the kidnapping in Colombia of Luis Diaz’s father, and the blackmailing of Peruvian striker Paolo Guerrero’s mother in a region of the world ravaged by drug trafficking and gang violence.
WEDNESDAY MORNING: WHAT WE’RE READING
1. U.S. Open Cup at a crossroads: What’s next for the tournament? By Cesar Hernandez (ESPN)
2. John Kennedy, a staple of Las Vegas’ soccer community, hangs up his whistle after 40 years By Ray Brewer (Las Vegas Sun)
3. Soccer or football, the world’s most popular sport has its own day for fans to celebrate — May 25 By Edith M. Lederer (AP)