For the second time in three years, the Ocean City Barons have pulled off an upset in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at the expense of the USL Second Division’s Crystal Palace Baltimore. The Barons used a pair of first half goals from Byron Carmichael (Marshall / Lumberton, NJ) and a J.T. Noone (Temple / Harrisburg, PA) tally late in the game to eliminate the professional side at Carey Stadium, the same place they pulled off their 2007 upset. With the victory, the Barons will host another USL-2 team, the Real Maryland Monarchs, next Tuesday at 7 p.m. The winner of that match will travel to Boyds, MD to take on D.C. United of Major League Soccer at the Maryland Soccerplex in the Third Round. 

Barons Lineup	School / Hometown
GK - Tunde Ogunbiyi	Boston College / Gwynedd, PA
DEF - Jamal Neptune	Hofstra / East Windsor, NJ
DEF - Kevin Curran	Loyola / Upper Township, NJ
DEF - Jimmy Davis	LaSalle (’09) / Pittsgrove, NJ
DEF - Joe Banks	Drexel (’07) / Sicklerville, NJ
MID - Karl Reddick	Boston College / Pottstown, PA
MID - Neal Melchionni	Lehigh / Marmora, NJ
MID - Rory McCrea	Hofstra / Leeds, England
MID - William Swetra	James Madison / Egg Harbor, NJ
FWD - J.T. Noone	Temple / Harrisburg, PA
FWD - Byron Carmichael	Marshall (’03) / Lumberton, NJ
Substitutes
Ryan Richter	LaSalle / Southampton, PA
Kyle Miller	Holy Cross / Woodbury, NJ
Tyler Bellamy	St. Bonaventure / Hammonton, NJ
Scoring Summary
9th (OCEAN CITY)	Byron Carmichael (Neal Melchionni)
34th (OCEAN CITY)	Byron Carmichael (William Swetra)
78th (OCEAN CITY)	J.T. Noone (Ryan Richter)
Game Stats	OCEAN CITY						CP BALT
Shots	9						4
Saves	4						5
Fouls	9						12
Offsides	4						3
Corners	4						5

In the lone upset of the Open Cup’s First Round, the Barons become the first amateur team to eliminate a pro team in the 2009 edition of the event. It was the third Open Cup win over a pro team in club history, with all three coming at The Beach House against USL-2 opponents (2005 - Long Island Rough Riders, 4-0 & 2007 - Crystal Palace Baltimore, 1-0).

Real Maryland won their First Round game 1-0 over amateur side the Dulles Sportsplex Aegean Hawks in a game that had to be called off in the 74th minute because of lightning.

With the Carey Stadium field still recovering from the heavy rains that forced the game to be postponed from the day before, it would be Barons goalkeeper Tunde Ogunbiyi (Boston College / Gwynedd, PA) who would set the defensive tone early. In the opening minutes, Palace’s Pat Healey was led forward on the right wing. He found separation from his defender and fired a shot to the far post, which was stopped and gathered by Ogunbiyi. It was one of his four saves on the evening in his Open Cup debut.

In the 9th minute, much like he did in the 2007 matchup between these clubs, Byron Carmichael opened the scoring early.
 
"We wanted to attack them from the start and put them under pressure," said Barons head coach Neil Holloway. "We knew the first 15 minutes would be important, and it went according to plan ... the team was pretty comfortable from there on out."

Karl Reddick (Boston College / Pottstown, PA) started the play by sending a ball on the ground from midfield to a heavily defended Neal Melchionni (Lehigh / Marmora, NJ) near the penalty spot. Melchionni lost control of the ball but it fell to an onrushing Carmichael who blasted it from point blank range into the back of the net. 

At the 20 minute mark, USL veteran Val Teixeira, the leading scorer for Palace, nearly equalized as he received a through ball down the left wing. His shot from a bit of an angle was well-struck, but Ogunbiyi was able to get enough of his hand on it to deflect it off the crossbar where it was eventually cleared by the Barons’ backline.

 

 

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Second Round Real Maryland Monarchs at Ocean City Barons Tuesday, June 16 Carey Stadium - Ocean City, NJ 7 p.m. | Tickets $10 / $4

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Carmichael would add a second in the 34th minute with another impressive display of ball control by the Barons midfield. The ball was stolen by Melchionni near the center circle who fed the ball to Reddick who began a quick transition play by hitting William Swetra (James Madison / Egg Harbor, NJ) in stride with a through pass down the middle of the field. Swetra quickly touched it forward to Carmichael in behind the defense and he fired it past Baltimore keeper Brian Rowland to make it 2-0.

The second half was much of the same as Crystal Palace pushed to cut the lead in half. In the 78th minute, it was J.T. Noone who would put the game out of reach. Barons super sub Ryan Richter (LaSalle / Southampton, PA) came on in the second half and made the play happen by dribbling through the defense. Once he got to the edge of the penalty area, he backheeled the ball to Noone who struck a shot toward goal that took a deflection in front and found it’s way into the back of the net. 

A few minutes later, CPB tried to cut into the lead when recent signing Machel Millwood found himself one-on-one with Ogunibiyi. The Boston College Eagle stood tall, saved the shot and his clean sheet, his fourth in all competitions this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

MVP Byron Carmichael with OCB President John Granese

"Tunde really played his part tonight, making some massive saves," said Holloway. "Byron was hands down the MVP though. He scored the two goals, as he usually does for us in big games and he was a threat all night long."

Ocean City captain Joe Banks (Drexel / Sicklerville, NJ), in his sixth season with the club, led a stubborn defensive effort. Banks and Carmichael are the only two players who have been with the club for all of their Open Cup games as a PDL team. At the game, the club honored the 10-year anniversary of the Barons’ first youth academy team of which Banks was a part of.

"It’s such a huge opportunity for us as a club and especially for these young guys, who have a chance to really get noticed," said Banks who debuted for the Barons in 2004 after being a part of the youth academy since 1999. He now coaches in that same youth academy for the Under-13 and Under-16 Girls. "I came back to help make this happen for them because if you do well in this tournament, you’re going to get a look."

He added, "It’s great to be a part of the history of this tournament, even with the game that we lost (In 2005, the Barons lost 8-4 to the Richmond Kickers of the USL First Division. It remains the highest scoring Open Cup game during the Professional Era), scoring the most goals, it was a great game and it will be remembered."

"Now we’re one game away from playing an MLS team," said Holloway. "We’re creating history for the Barons club and we deserve everything we get. The lads have worked extremely hard and they executed the game plan tonight perfectly."

The Barons will try to carry the momentum from the Open Cup win into their next league match, this Saturday. They will travel to New York to take on the Westchester Flames, a rematch of the season opener at Carey Stadium that was cut short because of bad weather, finishing in a 1-1 draw.

Tickets for next Tuesday’s Open Cup game are $10 for adults and $4 for kids. For more information on the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup visit TheCup.us.