After promising to file a formal protest last week after losing their first round 2016 U.S. Open Cup match 2-1 to the Ventura County Fusion, local UPS
After promising to file a formal protest last week after losing their first round 2016 U.S. Open Cup match 2-1 to the Ventura County Fusion, local UPSL side LA Wolves FC were reinstated in the competition by U.S. Soccer, and will now host the Orange County Blues in the second round of the competition on Wednesday.
The dispute stemmed from the fact that a Fusion player, Gabriel Gonzalez, had played for Cal FC last year during 2016 USOC qualifiers, including a game against the Wolves. U.S. Soccer rules state that players, including those participating in qualifiers for the Open Cup, are cup-tied to the original team they played for in a given tournament.
The Wolves successfully appealed to have the result overturned on Friday, and in turn Ventura County vowed to protest their disqualification, saying their roster had been cleared by U.S. Soccer ahead of last week’s game.
But U.S. Soccer announced on Monday that Ventura County’s appeal had been denied, officially knocking them out of the tournament and keeping the Wolves in for the second round.
As a result, LA Wolves will host the OC Blues on Wednesday at Banning High School in Wilmington. The game will kick off at 8 pm PT, and we’ll have more coverage of that game and other local Open Cup happenings this week.
