In a match destined for the history books, Chula Vista FC and the Rebels Soccer Club will meet in a 2020 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup first qualifying round match Saturday, Sept. 21, at Terra Nova Park. Kickoff is 4:30 p.m.
The winner of Saturday’s match advances to the second qualifying round Oct. 19-20.
Eighty-eight teams are entered in the 2020 tournament.
Chula Vista FC has an eventful history in the U.S. Open Cup, reaching the third round in 2015 to make national headlines and advancing to the second round in 2016.
The club, which competes in the SoCal Premier League, an amateur men’s soccer league affiliated with the United States Adult Soccer Association, advanced to compete in the USASA National Amateur Cup championship tournaments in both 2014 (in Utah) and 2015 (in Virginia) to further buttress itself as one of the top amateur teams in the nation.
This is the Rebels’ first foray into the U.S. Open Cup, though the teams do have some history together after meeting in the group stages of the Cal South Adult State Cup in February, with Chula Vista FC winning 3-0.
Chula Vista FC, which added its senior men’s team in 2011, won the 2018 Cal South Adult State Cup Open Division title and finished runner-up in the Premier Division this past April to Mesoamerica at Citrus College.
By finishing runner-up in this year’s Adult State Cup final, Chula Vista FC pocketed $10,000 in prize money.
New horizons
The Rebels Soccer Club began in 1982 as a youth club and added a senior men’s team in 2018. The senior men’s team is competing in its inaugural season in the United Premier Soccer League, a professional development league with regionalized conferences throughout the United States.
Jesus Acevedo serves as the UPSL team’s general manager while Matt Emmert serves as head coach.
The Rebels kicked off their inaugural UPSL season Sept. 8 with a 3-2 loss to San Diego Internactional FC.
The Rebels will host White Tigers FC in a UPSL match Sunday, Sept. 22, at 6 p.m. at Southwestern College’s DeVore Stadium. Admission to the game is free.
Acevedo called the Rebels’ UPSL debut one of missed opportunities.
“It was actually a great match for our very fist UPSL game,” Acevedo said. “Unfortunately, it was a game of missed opportunities.”
The Rebels started off with a bang by scoring 45 seconds into the match on a goal by David Melendrez. The Rebels tacked on a late goal in the game by Carlos Castro but the team fell short by a goal in the match. Both assists in the debut match came from Pablo Vázquez.
The buzz around the team will be huge this weekend with the U.S. Open Cup match against Chula Vista FC and the UPSL home opener.
“We are very excited to make our first appearance in U.S. Open Cup qualifying and our goal is to make it into the first round of the tournament proper,” Emmert said. “I’m grateful to the Rebels as a club for making it possible to enter the Open Cup qualifying as well as to compete in the UPSL.
“I believe we can challenge near the top of the division while giving young players from the South Bay an opportunity to develop against high level competition. As a group we have taken big steps in the past several months and will continue to grow.”
Terra Nova Park is located at 450 Hidden Vista Drive, Chula Vista.
REBELS SOCCER CLUB 2019 UPSL SCHEDULE
September
22: Rebels vs. White Tigers FC, 6 p.m. at Southwestern College
28: Rebels vs. San Diego Pro Premier, 5 p.m. at Lincoln High School
October
6: Rebels vs. PSC San Diego, 6 p.m. at Southwestern College
13: Rebels vs. Santos FC, 6 p.m. at Southwestern College
19: Rebels vs. San Diego Pro Premier Academy, 7 p.m. at Lincoln High School
27: Rebels vs. San Diego Internacional FC, 6 p.m. at Southwestern College
November
3: Bye
10: Rebels vs. White Tigers FC. 4 p.m. at Ramona High School
17: Rebels vs. San Diego Pro Premier, 6 p.m. at Southwestern College
24: Rebels vs. PSC San Diego, 6 p.m. at Southwestern College
30: Rebels vs. Santos FC, 8 p.m. at Lincoln High School
December
8: Rebels vs. San Diego Pro Premier Academy, 6 p.m. at Southwestern College
