WHO: Reading United AC
WHAT: A second round U.S. Open Cup match
WHEN: Wednesday, May 15, 2019, 7:00 p.m.
WHERE: Lynn Stadium on UofL’s campus. You know the one.
WATCH: It’s only streaming on ESPN+, which, given the early-round history of this tournament, is frankly pretty awesome. No TV broadcast, and I haven’t heard anything about radio yet. I kind of doubt that’s in the cards.
MARCH: I’m not aware there’s any special plans for the march other than the usual one. Folks will likely be tailgating and congregating in the parking lot on Floyd Street right next to Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium and march from there. Just listen for the yelling and the drumming and you’ll be there.
WHO, AGAIN? The Open Cup is BACK, BABY! There admittedly hasn’t been a whole lot of fanfare around this year’s contest as far as Morados are concerned, largely because of their struggles in the early phase of the Championship. However, the Lamar Hunt Trophy waits for no one, and so here we are with a mid-week match against a USL League Two opponent with only two games under its belt in all of 2019. AMERICAN SOCCER FEVER! CATCH IT!
Reading United AC qualified for this year’s tournament on the back of last year’s qualifying cycle, as is the case for most amateur and semi-pro teams. Also like most amateur and semi-pro teams, this year’s team is not made of the same players as last year’s squad, so whether they’re worth of the qualification is anyone’s guess. Reading seems to make the Open Cup fairly regularly, however, so we can probably expect a challenging match from them.
Reading United are from Reading, PA, as Brian Davis and I joked with Ben Lundt on Barrel Proof a few weeks ago. Neither Brian nor I could look at a map of the Keystone State and tell you where Reading was, however. But Google Maps knows, and it says it’s right between Shillington, Jacksonwald, and Abernothy. Only one of those town names is made up. In reality, it’s between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, has existed by one name or another for nearly 100 years, and has produced quite a few quality soccer players as a development club. Ben Lundt, Brian Ownby, and Napo Matsoso all spent at least a little time in the middle of nowhere, PA, as did Ben Sweat, Corey Hertzog, CJ Sapong, and Jimmy Ockford.
So far this season, Reading is 2-0, having survived its first round cup opener against Philadelphia Lone Star 2-1. They also had a 5-2 banger in their USL2 opener against Lehigh Valley United, who are not to be confused with Bethlehem Steel, which also played in Lehigh Valley until this season. They’ve got a dangerous right winger in Khalid El Medkhar, a promising University of Kentucky talent, and a decent striker in Jeremy Rafanello who scored twice against Lone Star. Other than that, I literally got nothing.
The better question is who suits up for City this game? That’s an interesting proposition given that you can only have five international players on your team in Open Cup games, and City’s still plagued by injuries. We might see the return of Brian Holt in goal, and even a Taylor Peay/Sean Totsch back line if we’re trying to rest guys for the league match against St. Louis on Saturday. Might Elijah Wynder get his first ever minutes in purple? Maybe Geoff Dee? Richie Ballard? Pat McMahon at fullback? The possibilities aren’t endless! But I wouldn’t hate to see a completely new-look team out there right now, given what all else has befallen Morados physically this season.
Either way, it’ll be fun. Get out there. VAMOS MORADOS.
