Grand Blanc, Mi –
The Flint City Bucks pulled off the cupset! Thursday evening, March 19, The Flint City Bucks knocked off the professional USL League One, Forward Madison FC, 2–0 in the opening round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
Starting in 1914 the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is the oldest continuously running sports tournament in the United States. It’s a single elimination tournament where pre professional or amateur teams can face off against professional clubs for a chance to be crowned U.S. Open Cup Champion and for a berth in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
The team hasn’t played in the tournament since 2018 due to the legendary Atwood Stadium needing to remain winterized during this part of the season. This year the Flint City Bucks made the tough choice to host their leg of the tournament in Grand Blanc, at Don Batchelor Field which drew roughly 3,027 fans in their first match per ESPN.
This victory marks their 11th all-time win over a professional team in the tournament, an impressive number for a “pre” professional club.
With only 12:27 into the first half, The Flint City Bucks forced a Madison own goal off of the leg of Madison’s Stephen Gyamfi, putting the Bucks ahead. Madison pushed to respond and applied steady pressure but could not break through.
In the second half, Jordy Lopez came off the bench and delivered a dagger into the top left corner of the net, sealing the 2–0 victory.
For a freshly formed USL League Two club to take down a USL League One opponent this convincingly says a lot about the Bucks’ organization, coaching staff and team building ability.
How many more giants can the Bucks slay?
Stay tuned for updates on the next round.
