Amateur
West Chester United unable to overcome early goals in U.S. Open Cup clash with Loudoun United
Two early goals off blistering counter attacks were enough for USL Championship side Loudoun United to claim a first round victory over cupset-minded West Chester United on Tuesday night at YSC Sports near King of Prussia.
Loudoun beat the local amateur powerhouse 3-2 last year but looked like they may run away with the rematch, taking a 2-0 lead through counter attack goals from Marcos Dias and Elvis Almoh inside the first half hour.
If they were fazed by the early deficit, West Chester didn’t show it. Rather than retreat, West Chester turned up the pressure and had plenty of bright moments going forward. Loudoun goalkeeper Ethan Bandré had other ideas and was there to deny a big chance from Jackson Martin in front of goal and keep prolific goalscorer Ridge Robinson off the board on another opportunity in the box to preserve the 2-0 lead heading into halftime. Luca Mellor also had a couple of opportunities in the box that could’ve changed the game.
“West Chester put up a really big test against us, and gave us a lot of challenges and things to work on,” said Bandré, who returned to the area after a preseason stint with Philadelphia UnionII. “It was a great experience for us to get out here and play 90 minutes against a really good team.”
West Chester, the reigning National Amateur Cup champions, had stalwarts like Robinson and Mellor in the lineup but also recently graduated a number of players to the professional ranks, some who were part of last year’s game against Loudoun and others who were major factors in their first ever National Amateur Cup trophy. Five players from Princeton University came in to reinforce the squad on Tuesday and it was Martin and Bardia Hormoza who asked the most questions of Loudoun.
Bardia created a number of chances in the second half and registered 8 shots on the night while Martin finally found the back of the net on a scrum in front of the box in the 85th minute. Andrew Samuels made a massive save late when West Chester was pressing for an equalizer to keep the belief alive to the final whistle.
“We didn’t win tonight, but we won the second half,” West Chester head coach Blaise Santangelo said. “The fact that we’re able to still win in our competitions and be right there with a team like Loudoun when 10 kids from 2025 got a pro contract, I think that’s really saying something.”
Martin’s goal was payoff for a strong effort and is a credit to a team around him that refused to give in down a pair of goals.
“It felt good to get some more momentum into the game,” Martin said. “And I feel like we really pushed them towards the end and almost got it done.”
Loudoun United earned a ticket to the next round of the U.S. Open Cup but West Chester doesn’t have to wait long for another knockout game. They play this weekend in the Region 1 Amateur Cup and take on rivals
Vereinigung Erzgebirge in a cup final for a second time this month on March 29.
“It’s a national stage, so it’s prominent for our crest and to be out here playing a pro team, to be in this tournament is a really special thing we don’t take for granted,” Santangelo said. “But we also still have a lot to play for, a lot of big games coming up, so we move on to the next.”
West Chester United Lineup
GK: Andrew Samuels, Luke Thomas, Ammit Bhogal (Mason Miller 80′), Luca Mellor, Roka Tsunehara (August Axtman 61′), Liam Beckwith, Marcus Brenes, Jackson Martin, Bardia Hormozi, Owen Slack (Troy Amspacher 61′), Ridge Robinson
