CHICAGO (April 1, 2025) – As it has done for decades now in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, El Farolito once again made the most noise.
Tuesday night, the 1993 tournament champions and defending Open Division top-finishers out of San Francisco headed south down the California coast to write their latest Cinderella chapter, a 2-1 comeback victory at USL Championship side Monterey Bay FC that stole the headlines from a memorable first night of 2025 Open Cup Second Round action. This marks the second consecutive year the amateur club repping perhaps America’s most legendary burrito joint advanced to the tournament’s Third Round – and, like last year, they again did the deed with two road victories over professional clubs, stacking tonight’s result on top of a 3-1 added time win at Real Monarchs in the First Round.
As thrilling as El Farolito’s second half comeback was, the most drama-filled game of the night went down in Georgia. USL League One side South Georgia Tormenta FC pulled ahead on three different occasions en route to dispatching Dallas amateurs FORO SC, 3-2, the last coming four minutes deep into stoppage time. Not even four months removed from a six-goals-in-six-games outburst that spurred the Vermont Catamounts’ underdog run to the NCAA College Cup national championship, forward Yaniv Bazini rekindled his clutch play in knockout contests with a late go-ahead goal and an assist on Sebastian Vivas’ winner. The performance was a sweet bit of justice in a full-circle year for the 25-year-old, who scored Vermont Green FC’s lone goal in a 1-2 loss against Carolina Core FC in a Second Round contest 363 days ago.
Speaking of Core FC, their tournament run ended in a Tar Heel State showdown at Charlotte Independence, which needed added extra time to advance for the second straight round, this time doing so with a 2-1 triumph. The night’s other all-Division III tilt pitting USL League One against MLS NEXT Pro also needed 30 minutes of bonus soccer – and every minute of it at that, as Jimmie Villalobos’ 120th minute rebound on the doorstep of Luca Mastrantonio’s shot off the crossbar gave AV ALTA FC a similar 2-1 scoreline over LAFC 2. The exhilarating game-winner was immediately preceded by a red card shown to ALTA coach Brian Klebian, who was leaving the sideline before he decided to join in the goal celebration – which led to a second yellow card shown to Villalobos and his subsequent ejection, scenes in total that only “Open Cup After Dark” could ever hope to produce.
MLS NEXT Pro and USL Championship split a pair of inter-league affairs, starting with Columbus Crew 2’s efficient 3-0 takedown of Lexington Sporting Club in Ohio’s capital city. Miami FC evened the score for USL’s top flight in a tight Miami Derby, Francisco Bonfiglio’s 84th minute tally doing all the work necessary for a 1-0 away win at Inter Miami CF II.
The Second Round will conclude Wednesday night with the remaining ten contests taking place from coast to coast, all of which can be viewed live via streaming broadcasts at the @USSoccer YouTube channel.
The Second Round winners will move on to the Third Round (April 15-16), where they will be pitted against 16 teams from the Division II USL Championship. The draw for the Third Round is set to take place this Thursday, April 3, at 1 p.m. ET.
Beginning with the Third Round, CBS Sports will provide live match coverage of the Open Cup across its linear and digital platforms, with every match streaming live on Paramount+. CBS Sports’ coverage will include every match from the Third Round onward to the Oct. 1 Final, with select matches simulcasting on CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network.
Columbus Crew 2 3-0 Lexington SC
South Georgia Tormenta FC 3-2 FORO SC
Charlotte Independence 1-1, 2-1 (aet) Carolina Core FC
Inter Miami CF II 0-1 Miami FC
Monterey Bay FC 1-2 El Farolito
AV ALTA FC 1-1, 2-1 (aet) LAFC 2
Portland Hearts of Pine (USLL1) v. Hartford Athletic (USLC) – 6:30 p.m.
Loudoun United FC (USLC) v. Virgina Dream FC (USASA) – 6:30 p.m.
Greenville Triumph SC (USLL1) v. One Knoxville SC (USLL1) – 7 p.m.
Chattanooga FC (NP) v. Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (USLL1) – 7 p.m.
Westchester SC (USLL1) v. New York Pancyprian Freedoms (USASA) – 7
p.m.
Forward Madison FC (USLL1) v. FC Tulsa (USLC) – 7:30 p.m.
FC Naples (USLL1) v. Little Rock Rangers (USLL2) – 7:30 p.m.
Des Moines Menace (USLL2) v. Union Omaha (USLL1) – 8:30 p.m.
Tacoma Defiance (NP) v. Spokane Velocity FC (USLL1) – 10 p.m.
Ventura County FC (NP) v. El Paso Locomotive (USLC) – 10:30 p.m.
Columbus Crew 2 (NP) 3-0 Lexington Sporting Club (USLC)
Owen Presthus scored early in the first half and Cristian Ortiz and Brent Adu Gyamfi added some insurance in the second as the third division side pulled off the cupset at Lower.com Stadium. The hosts drew first blood in the seventh minute. On a scoring sequence started by Elliot Quinton's throw-in from the right side, the ball was worked to Chase Adams, who set up Presthus' 19-yard shot past goalkeeper Brooks Thompson into the lower right corner. Ortiz doubled Columbus' pleasure in the 65th, intercepting a pass and firing a six-yard strike into the lower right corner. Substitute Brent Adu Gyamfi made it 3-0 from six yards off another Chase feed, four minutes into stoppage time. Lexington hit the woodwork in each half. Braudilio Rodrigues powered a 12-yard blast off the crossbar in the 23rd minute, and Eliot Goldthorp drilled the ball off the bar and then the post before it was caught by keeper Luke Pruter in the 57th minute. Lexington head coach Terry Boss, trying to put some spark into his team, shook the dice by making four halftime substitutions. But those fresh legs could not turn around the visitors' fortunes. Pruter saved Cory Burke's 14-yard effort in the 86th to secure the clean sheet.
South Georgia Tormenta FC (USLL1) 3-2 FORO SC (UPSL)
Tormenta FC’s YanIv Bazini came off the bench to notch a late go-ahead goal and assist on the eventual game-winner in stoppage time, driving the Pelicans to a dramatic 3-2 win over feisty UPSL side FORO FC at Tormenta Stadium in Statesboro, Ga. Tormenta midfielder/coach Aaron Walker started the scoring in the 38th minute, when he fought through traffic at the six to nod home Joseph Perez’s driven cross from the right channel. FORO arguably held more of the play with nothing to show for it, that is until Gibran Rayo stroked a first-time curler from the edge of the area into the upper left corner to equalize in the 67th minute. That goal came with Tormenta a man down seconds after Niall Reid-Stephen left the pitch, but his replacement Bazini stepped on and then stepped up, his 85th minute finish restoring Tormenta’s lead at 2-1. Things looked destined for an extra 30 minutes after FORO’s Brayan Padilla finished off a penalty kick he himself drew to bring the Dallas side even two minutes into stoppage time, but a Bazini cross set up Sebastian Vivas to head home the winner two minutes later. The result gave South Georgia Tormenta FC multiple wins in the competition for a third time in their last four appearances.
Charlotte Independence (USLL1) 1-1, 2-1 (aet) Carolina Core FC (NP)
Charlotte scored in the second minute of regulation and third minute of added extra time, the latter proving enough to down nearby nemesis Carolina Core FC at the Mecklenburg County Sportsplex in Matthews, N.C. Luis Alvarez’s high pressure 90 seconds turned into an early smash and grab for the home-standing Jacks, his pick-pocketing of Core netminder Andrew Pannenberg at the top of his area resulting in an empty netter that set a frantic early tone. By the time Joshua Rodriguez equalized for Core FC in the 10th minute with his fifth Open Cup goal in as many tournament appearances, the visitors had already forced Independence ‘keeper Matt Levy into a 1-v-1 save. The match would settle down sharply after the half hour mark, and it was Rodriguez somehow missing wide in the 88th minute that marked the biggest chance down the stretch for either side. The 30 minutes of bonus soccer began with Cameroonian international Souiabou Marou putting Charlotte quickly ahead once again, as he tracked down Jon Bakero’s ball over the top and opted for a chipped finish from a slight angle once Pannenberg abandoned his right post.
Inter Miami CF II (NP) 0-1 Miami FC (USLC)
Forward Francisco Bonfiglio, who converted a brace in Miami FC's 4-2 first-round triumph over Naples United FC last month, needed just one goal to decide this affair in the Miami Derby at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Bonfiglio flicked home a backheel shot off a corner kick at the left near post past goalkeeper Matias Marin in the 84th minute. The visitors, who are winless (0-4-0) in the league, have recorded two victories in the Open Cup. Marin, 17, was magnificent, making several huge saves. That included a kick save and a diving stop within seconds in the 32nd, and Matias Romero's close-range header in the 68th. Miami FC goalie Bill Hamid wasn't tested as much but he produced a fine, two-handed save off forward Yuval Cohen's 22-yard free kick in the 53rd en route to the shutout.
Monterey Bay FC (USLC) 1-2 El Farolito (NPSL)
Whether in The City or down by the Seaside, El Farolito knows how to feed itself when it gets late. Andres Zuluaga and Edgard Kreye scored in the second half as El Farolito SC ate up another opportunity against a professional club, this time beating Monterey Bay FC at Cardinale Stadium in Seaside, Calif. Monterey Bay FC, which reached the Round of 32 last year, grabbed a 1-0 lead on a first half penalty kick from Xavi Gnaulati in the 28th minute. But the ‘Flying Burrito Bros.’ came out hungry in the second half. Zuluaga tucked in a free kick from Gabriel Arias at the far post to equalize in the 57th minute for El Farolito as the reigning NPSL champions again outplayed a professional side late in an Open Cup match. Pushing for the lead, Edgard Kreye finished off a crazy sequence and cleaned up his own rebound to score the match-winner in the 83rd minute for El Farolito, which survived six minutes of added time to move on to the Third Round for the second consecutive year.
AV ALTA FC (USLL1) 1-1, 2-1 (aet) LAFC 2 (NP)
In what was a fairly disjointed match through the first 63 minutes, it was LAFC2 who broke through in the 64th minute on a goal from Guatemalan and 2024 MLS Next All-Star Decarlo Guerra to give the visitors a 1-0 advantage. AV ALTA leveled the match in the 80th minute following a free kick just outside the box that bounced around and found the right foot of forward Emmanuel Alaribe. Both sides played out the remaining 10+ minutes, but could not find the go-ahead goal. Just when it appeared the match was headed to penalty kicks, Jimmie Villalobos put ALTA ahead in the 120th minute off a corner kick that was initially cleared by LAFC2 ‘keeper James Romero off the crossbar. Similar to Alaribe's goal, Villalobos found himself in the right place at the right time and slammed home the winning goal. With the win, the Open Cup magic continues for ALTA as the newcomers advance to the Third Round of the competition.
Now in its 110th edition, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup has crowned U.S. Soccer’s national champion since 1914. The history-filled tournament is conducted on a single-game-knockout basis and is open to professional and amateur teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. In 1999, the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the U.S. was renamed to honor American soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.
The 2025 U.S. Open Cup winner will earn a berth in the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup and have its name engraved on the Dewar Challenge Trophy – one of the oldest nationally contested trophies in American team sports – now on permanent display at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Frisco, Texas. The 2025 tournament features a total purse worth $1 million that includes a $600,000 award for the champion.
Los Angeles Football Club of MLS is the defending Champion. The 109th edition of the tournament concluded on September 25, 2024, with LAFC beating four-time Champions Sporting Kansas City 3-1 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles to become Open Cup Champions for the first time.
The official website of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is ussoccer.com/us-open-cup. Fans can also follow the competition on X/Twitter and Instagram @OpenCup and Facebook @OfficialOpenCup.