US Open Cup

Reading United won its first US Open Cup match in five tries on Tuesday night, defeating New York Greek American Atlas, 2–1.

A rebounding shot from Ryan Finley found Pedro Ribeiro to put Reading on the board in the 37th minute. Finley would give Reading the 2–0 in the 55th minute when a foul from former Philadelphia Union defender Christian Arrieta resulted in a free kick delivery from Steven Neumann.

New York got a goal back in the 64th minute before the match was suspended for 75 minutes because of lightning. When play resumed it would be a diving save from Emmanuel Martin that would prevent a New York equalizer and put the PDL club through to the second round for the first time. They face USL PRO’s Charleston Battery next Tuesday evening in Charleston, South Carolina. The winner of that match will face an MLS team. (More on Reading’s win here.)

Two other area teams also saw first round Open Cup action on Tuesday night, albeit with less satisfying results. FC Sonic fell 2–0 to Long Island Rough Riders in Bethlehem while Jersey Shore Boca was defeated in Pontiac by Michigan Bucks, 6–0. Long Island will play Harrisburg City Islanders next Tuesday at the Skyline Sports Complex at 7pm. The winner will face a MLS team.

For recaps of each of the first rounds 16 matches, which included a number of upsets, go to the excellent thecup.us.

Philadelphia Union

Still no new information on the rumored Danny Califf trade.

Lionard Pajoy has been named to MLSsoccer.com’s Team of the Week. Freddy Adu earned an honorable mention despite his 43rd minute dismissal.

Pajoy comes in first in the Castrol Weekly Top 20, which says his performance may “give Philly fans the hope that their season will be more than just a series of defensive actions.” In the Full Castrol Index, Pajoy is now at No. 33, followed by Zac MacMath (69), Brian Carroll (78), Sheanon Williams (86) and Gabriel Gomez (153).

Kevin Kinkead reports that, before his red card on Sunday, the Union technical staff had given Adu the freedom to roam.

More power rankings: ESPN LA drops the Union from 15th to 17th and says, “First Sebastien Le Toux, then Faryd Mondragon. Now Danny Califf? Union faithful are ready to dump Peter Nowak.” ProSoccerTalk also has the Union at No. 17 and says, “There will or won’t be an announcement today (or yesterday) of a trade that sends captain Danny Califf to Chivas USA, depending on which report you believe. We’ll see. But as we ponder Juan Pablo Angel’s possible arrival upon Union soil, let’s ask this: Who will partner Carlos Valdes in central defense at PPL Park? Because surely using right back Sheanon Williams is just a stop-gap, right?” (Links in the originals.)

SI says of the Califf talk and the events that proceeded it, “The core of a club seemingly on the rise after a bright 2011 is disintegrating bit by bit” for another a two spot drop to 17th. The biggest drop is from 14th to 17th at MLSsoccer.com, who say, “Hard team to rate right now…With more lineup changes to come (aren’t there always?), they’re more likely to head down than up.”

More on the upcoming Sons of Ben documentary, the teaser trailer of which we linked to last week.

Union Tally has more on the fan conduct program we first told you about on April 18.

It seems that simmering frustrations in Chester are continuing to come to a boil with the Union described as part of the problem. A post on the Chester City Blog says that “Several concerned citizens of Chester” are organizing a protest on May 20 to voice displeasure with the recent re-branding of the Harrah’s casino to Harrah’s Philadelphia. The post says, “The name change of Harrah’s Chester to ‘Harrah’s Philadelphia,’ along with the ‘Philadelphia’ Union soccer team operating in Chester and the Chester-Upland School District threatening to be shut down are all issues which are making Chester residents hot underneath the collar.”

The post contains two paragraphs that are proceeded but not ended with quotes so it’s difficult to determine if those paragraphs are the words of the author of the post or one of the concerned citizens. The final paragraph concludes, “We want to impress upon businesses that we want our voices heard and recognition of the City of Chester and its residents is mandatory and not an option!”

The trial of two Chester men accused of murdering a former roommate and dumping the body in an empty lot near PPL Park in 2011 began this week.

Local

Harrisburg City Islanders host cross-state rivals the Pittsburgh Riverhounds tonight at 7pm.

Ocean City FC, the parent organization of PDL’s Ocean City Nor’easters, has formed a partnership with Global Premier Soccer to launch Jersey Premier Soccer. A press release from the club states, “Expanding and enhancing Ocean City FC’s current programs, JPS will offer a wide range of soccer products and services and will introduce the School Of Excellence Program to townships with a view to creating an improved player development environment in New Jersey primarily via curriculum, coach education and year round coaching from professional coaches.”

Jersey Premier Soccer next announced a partnership with AC Premier Soccer Clubs. “ACP is already established as a leader in girls soccer within southern New Jersey,” said JPS General Manger Neil Holloway. “By combining resources and becoming part of a bigger network with GPS we will create new opportunities for ACP players and indeed all players within southern New Jersey, specifically in the Atlantic and Cape May counties territory.”

MLS

Sebastien Le Toux is interviewed at FIFA.com, who say, “Philly’s loss was Vancouver’s gain.”

Reigning MLS champs LA Galaxy were welcomed to the White House on Tuesday. President Obama referred to the team as the “Miami Heat of soccer.” I wish that reference meant something to me. Anyway, he also joked with David Beckham about his underwear line.

LA manager Bruce Arena believes loans to Europe in the MLS offseason harmed the start of the Galaxy’s campaign.

If the IFAB approves goal-line technology, all MLS needs to implement it is a majority vote from the owners. Says MLS executive vice president Nelson Rodriguez, “Our ownership has in most decisions been very close to unanimous and I would expect nothing different here.”

Some moron at NPR says MLS should get rid of ties.

Women’s Soccer

The Philadelphia Fever have their home opener on Sunday in WPSL Elite League play against New England Mutiny and PSP was given an exclusive look at the team’s roster.

US

Jurgen Klinsman announced an initial 16-player USMNT roster composed mainly of foreign-based players who will begin training for the upcoming friendlies and World Cup qualifiers. As many as 13 players, “a mixture of domestic and foreign-based players to round out the training camp,” will be announced on May 20. The final 23-player roster will be announced on May 25.

The biggest surprise seems to be the omission of Timothy Chandler from the roster. Said Klinsman,

“I have had long conversations with Timmy about where he is in his professional career and his commitment to playing international football He has expressed his appreciation for all the opportunities we have given him, but he also feels at this point he needs to take a break. It’s disappointing not having him as a part of the team at this important juncture of building our team, but ultimately a player must decide what is best for him. The door is certainly not closed on Timmy, but in the moment we move on without him.”

ProSoccerTalk reminds everyone, “But recall that last summer he kept his distance from the U.S. camp. And more importantly, recall that he has yet to play in an official FIFA tournament. That means he’s still eligible to appear for Germany. And at 22 years old, it’s quite likely that he’s still holding out hope of appearing for his native country.”

Soccer America says Chandler needs to explain himself.

You can reserve a spot to watch the USWNT train at PPL Park on Saturday, May 26 fro, 11:30am-12:30pm. US Supporters Club members will enjoy on-field access. for themselves and up to three guests.

The USWNT is looking for revenge in London during the Summer Olympics.

Elsewhere

Brazilian newspaper Fohla has published portions of a FIFA report which describes the stadium situation for the 2014 World Cup as “critical.” The report says five World Cup stadiums may not be ready without major delays and that one new stadium may not be ready in time for the World Cup at all.