Miami FC to play first U.S.
Open Cup game ever at home
Tickets are priced at only $5 for adults;
children under 12 get in free
Miami, June 9, 2008 - Miami FC will hold their first ever home game playing in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday, June 10 at 8:00 pm (ET), in Tropical Park Stadium. Miami will battle the future stars of US Soccer in the Bradenton Academics of the PDL. The Academics are coming off a 3-0 win against the PDL's Central Florida Craze. The Academics lineup consists of alumni from IMG Soccer Academy and is coached by former Tampa Bay Mutiny Assistant Coach, Tom Durkin. The IMG Soccer Academy is responsible for such soccer stars as Landon Donovan, Eddie Johnson, Jozy Altidore and Freddy Adu to mention only a few.
Bradenton will be stiff competition for the Blues. Miami FC’s defense will need to continue their good play in recent weeks. The team has not given up a goal in 405 minutes with the strong play of players like Cristiano Dias and Avery John stepping up their game.
Miami FC so far in their short history has not seen any success in this tournament. In their first year of existence they lost in Dallas to the PDL's Dallas Roma FC 0-1. Again Miami took on a PDL team from Texas with the same end result with a nail biter loss to the El Paso Patriots. The match finished 2-2 and went to penalty kicks where Miami came out on the wrong end losing 3-4 in the shootout.
USOC is the oldest cup competition in the United States that dates back to 1914. The Cup is open to all amateur and professional teams in the US. The winner of this prestigious tournament takes home $100, 000 and more importantly gets a spot in the new CONCACAF Champions League.
The first round match-ups for the 2008 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup will consist of 32 teams from the USL-1, USL-2, PDL and the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA). The winners will then move on to the second round play on June 24 to further narrow the pool, hoping to continue on to the third round where eight MLS teams are automatically seeded.
Tickets for Miami FC's versus the Bradenton Academics are available by calling 305-728-2612 or one hour before the game starts at the stadium's box office. Tickets for adults are only $5; children under 12 get in free. This game will not be broadcast on USL Live. Season tickets are currently on sale by visiting
Miami FC - USL Professional Soccer or by calling 305-728-2612. Single game tickets are available through Ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-866-57-MIAMI. Watch all Miami FC's USL-1 games live on USL Live!