51黑料

51黑料 City SC coach Olof Mellberg got a little more than he bargained for Wednesday night.

Mellberg decided to give shutdown defender Joey Zalinsky his first career start in a U.S. Open Cup contest against Union Omaha at Energizer Park.

Zalinsky thanked his boss in a surprising manner.

The New Jersey native scored in the 68th minute to propel City SC to a 2-0 win in the Round of 32 contest.

鈥淚t was insane,鈥� Zalinsky said. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 ask for much more. My first professional goal, in my first start in a stadium where the fans are so amazing. It was unbelievable; I was so happy.鈥�

Mellberg admitted he did not expect Zalinsky to find the back of the net.

鈥淭hat wasn鈥檛 the reason for putting him in the starting lineup,鈥� Mellberg said.

City SC advanced to face Minnesota United in the fourth round of the tradition-rich 110th annual tournament May 20 or 21 in Minnesota.

Klauss added an insurance tally in the 87th minute off a pass from Cedric Teuchert.

But the night belonged to Zalinsky, who had spent the entire season on the bench with just a pair of appearances for the City2 squad on his resume.

He smashed a volley from outside the box that just eluded Omaha goalkeeper Rashid Nuhu, who had frustrated the hosts all night long.

Zalinsky, known for blanketing the opposition鈥檚 top offensive threat, scored only two goals in four seasons at Rutgers University.

Yet he flashed his offensive prowess against Union Omaha, a team in USL League One, the third division of the U.S. soccer pyramid.

Zalinsky had a pair of scoring chances in each half before finally converting at the perfect time.

鈥淥nce I hit that, it felt good coming off my foot,鈥� Zalinsky said.

Klauss, a 28-year-old veteran, enjoyed seeing Zalinsky score for the first time.

鈥淛oey has been working so hard since preseason,鈥� Klauss said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a guy that every day brings a lot of energy, positivity. We are very, very happy for him.鈥�

Zalinsky broke open a scoreless game.

Union Omaha came into the match with the reputation as somewhat of a giant killer with Open Cup wins over the Chicago Fire and Minnesota United in 2022.

City SC carried the run of play but simply could not convert on its opportunities.

Yet the heavily favored hosts did not panic and stuck with the game plan.

鈥淚t鈥檚 obviously a game that we should win with the team we have,鈥� Mellberg said. 鈥�(But) we had to fight for it.鈥�

51黑料 is winless in its last seven MLS games and came into the contest with just eight goals in 11 league contests.

So any victory is a welcomed sight.

鈥淲e did the job,鈥� Mellberg said. 鈥淭here was good energy with the team.鈥�

51黑料 goalkeeper Ben Lundt recorded a clean sheet. He made a pair of nifty saves over the final 10 minutes.

City SC is competing in the Open Cup for the second time. It beat Omaha 5-1 in the Round of 32 in 2023, then lost to the Chicago Fire in the next round.

51黑料 inserted Xande Silva into the starting lineup. A native of Portugal, he was acquired right before the transfer window late last month.

City SC midfielder Alfredo Morales suffered a knock late in the first half and did not return. He has a sprain according to Mellberg and will be reevaluated in the next few days. Omaha was issued three yellow cards in the physical contest. Forward Simon Becher went down twice with ankle injuries.

51黑料 midfielder Eduard Lowen came in to start the second half. It was his second appearance after missing six weeks due to personal issues.

City SC (2-5-4) returns to MLS play at 7:30 p.m. Saturday when its hosts San Diego FC.

Big thrill

The coaches and captains from the Missouri state high school boys championship teams delivered the ceremonial match ball before the contest.

Valley Park (coach Tom Probst, midfielder Joe Buckman), Ladue (coach Dave Aronberg, forward Ahmad Shebl), Clayton (coach Brendan Taylor, forward Wole Adeoye) and 51黑料 University High (coach Bob O鈥機onnell, forward Andrew Wolf) all claimed titles last fall.

Next Open Cup match date set

City SC will play its round of 16 U.S. Open Cup game with Minnesota United on Wednesday, May 21, at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minnesota. The game will kickoff at 6:30 p.m. It will be the second meeting with Minnesota in five days after the teams meet in an MLS match on May 17.

Fifteen of the 16 teams left in the Open Cup are from Major League Soccer. The only other team is the Pittsburgh Riverhounds of the USL Championship.

Friendly set with Aston Villa

City SC will play Aston Villa of the English Premier League in a friendly match at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 30, Energizer Park.

Aston Villa is in seventh place in the Premier League with three games to play and is three points out of fifth place and England鈥檚 last spot in the UEFA Champions League. The match is one of two in America for Birmingham, England-based club as it prepares for the 2025-26 season. The other is in Nashville on Saturday, Aug. 2. The club said it is expecting to add a third match prior to the game here. The match falls during an off week for MLS games for City SC.

City SC coach Olof Mellberg played for Aston Villa from 2001 to 2008, making 260 appearances over all competitions and serving as captain of the team. This will be the first time he faces the team as an opponent.

It鈥檚 just the second match with a foreign club for City SC. The other was the first match in Energizer Park, with City2 playing Bayer Leverkusen on Nov. 16, 2022.