USL clubs shatter goal-scoring records in U.S. Open Cup

By CHARLIE CORR - charlie.corr@uslsoccer.com

The volume of the USL teams’ goal-scoring during the Second Round of the 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup marked a new peak for several clubs who advanced in the tournament with some record-shattering numbers.

Three sides posted a single-game record for goals during Wednesday’s matches to move on to the Third Round on June 1.

Leading the charge were the defending USL champion Rochester Rhinos who bounced Southie FC 7-0 at Rhinos Stadium in Rochester, N.Y. That seven-goal effort, led by Asani Samuels’ hat trick, topped the organization’s previous high of five goals during the 2006 U.S. Open Cup, when the then-named Raging Rhinos defeated the New Hampshire Phantoms 5-1 on July 12 of that year.

Wilmington Hammerheads FC also changed its Open Cup record books with a dominating 6-0 victory against the NPSL’s Miami Fusion, with Austin Martz and Kyle Parker recording braces.

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FIFA U-20 World Cup-bound Tommy Thompson's game budding

U.S. U-20 MNT's Tommy Thompson

Former Sacramento Republic FC loanee Tommy Thompson was named to the U.S. U-20 Men’s National Team’s World Cup roster earlier this month, and his first inclusion with the U-20s was a hectic experience.

Thompson made his U-20 debut at the 2014 National Training Center Invitational in mid-July, but he was not an original part of that tournament. Thompson was an alternate, and he was in the early stages of his USL loan with Republic FC when he received a call-up in the midst of the NTC Invitational.

“We had just played Richmond and I was on the bus when I got a phone call from an unknown number,” Thompson said. “I was on my way to play the Charlotte Eagles at the time, and the Federation asked me if I wanted to fly to L.A. to play with the U-20s against Bermuda and Australia. I said yes, if you can get me out there. So after the game against Charlotte, I booked a flight out directly after that game, took a cab, flew straight to L.A. and started against Bermuda.”

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