On Sunday, Capo FC defeated neighboring Orange County side OCFC in a penalty shootout to pass the last US Open Cup qualifying stage.
On a chilly afternoon at the OC great park in Irvine, Ca, two of the county’s hottest teams were set to face off to get a spot in the US Open Cup. As mentioned in a pre-game story earlier in the week, both teams were coming off hot streaks in their perspective leagues and are a wrecking force in the SoCal amateur scene.
The 1st half was evenly matched for both sides, with Capo (in dark blue) and OCFC (in light blue) getting chances and close calls. However, the boys in light blue forced more turnovers and transitioned to attack more often because of their high pressing off the ball. Sadly no one was able to convert their chances into a goal.
The second half saw more of the same as the 1st half, with more close calls for both sides. Capo got an open net chance outside of OCFC’s box within five minutes, but the shot was lazy and went wide. Shortly after, OCFC gets a chance off a poor clearance from a defender’s back pass to his goalkeeper. That chance ends in a free kick outside the box, but the shot for the goal goes wide.
Later, Capo FC’s goalkeeper again slipped up to clear a defender back pass but fortunately stopped the chance for OCFC. His frustration was evident, and OCFC knew it.
Most of the second half was back and forth, with both teams playing a similar strategy of going on a counterattack after winning the ball and running down the wing. Both teams didn’t waste time passing backward to slow the pace, as both sides knew this tournament was a win-or-go-home scenario.
OCFC would get two notable chances at goal near the half-hour mark with a shot that hits off the post and in stoppage time, where an OCFC player’s shot gets saved by the Capo GK legs before the final whistle.
The 1st and 2nd extra periods were a continuation of the match; neither team changed their game plan or showed fatigue and played hard like in the world cup final that happened earlier. Both teams were knocking on the door, desperately looking for the winning goal with chances nearly missing the mark or goalkeepers making great saves.
The final whistle blew to a 0-0 result after 120 minutes of gameplay, and now players could rest and await their fate in their Open Cup journey by penalties.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Capo FC | O | O | X | O | X |
| OCFC | O | O | X | X | X |
Capo FC celebrates their last significant win of the year, continuing their dominance and going to the first round of the US Open Cup in 2023. OCFC’s run at the USOC ends in the final round of qualifying. They will put all their time and energy into another knockout match, the UPSL fall 2022 national round of 32, vs. LA Galaxy Academy on January 7th.