This round the second and third tiers of the US Soccer pyramid enter the fray as NASL and USL Pro begin play. We're pretty much out of local teams until MLS joins in the next round, as the Kitsap Pumas were eliminated in the last round by Eric Wynalda's Cal FC and the Portland Timbers U23s were similarly upset by USASA's PSA Elite last week. Even the Real Colorado Foxes were upset by a USASA team, so the nearest team still in action might be Fresno.
The most interesting match will be between the Atlanta Silverbacks and the Georgia Revolution. Originally it was reported that Seattle would travel to Atlanta to play their third round match if the Silverbacks won. However, as we posted earlier it now sounds like Seattle may be hosting regardless. Anyway, the winner of that match will be our opponent.
The Sounder at Heart US Open Cup Pickem also enters its second round. Hardworking reader Derek R was kind enough to setup a spreadsheet to keep track of the scoring, which you can view here. Currently last year's winner Dizzo is tied on 7 points with mrbs, who went with an all-PDL strategy, perhaps on the assumption that at least one round of likely wins against amateur teams should rack up some points. Unfortunately for that strategy, there was a surprising number of upsets in round 1 that left the field of PDL teams smaller than you'd expect, and now they begin playing up against the big boys (meaning the boys who actually get paid). Last season's strong contender bmvaughn comes in at 3rd with 6 points and, most importantly, I'm in 4th with 5 points. Thanks for asking.
The round kicks off at 4pm, with the Atlanta/Georgia match kicking off at 4:30. Your best coverage is on TheCup.us. The NPSL Georgia Revolution are streaming the match. Crush their interwebs peoples.