Oh yeah!
We are back to having 7 home games in the regular season :-)
More Buffalo = more fun!
The bleachers will go back to being one long set. The center section will be reserved for Season Ticket holders. You may sit anywhere in that center section. The Season pass and gift will be ready to hand out during the first US OpenCup Game on March 22nd.
2022 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup
In the 107th edition, US Open Cup will feature a total of 103 teams, 71 of which are professional and 32 of which are amateur. There will be 10 teams from USL League Two.
We are hosting the First Round on Tuesday, March 22nd at 7:00 PM.
The Buffalo will play Orlando FC Wolves in the First Round. The Wolves are an amateur soccer team that competes in the Central Florida Soccer League.This game is Free to attend. We ask that everyone bring their own chairs as we will not have bleachers until the start of the USL2 season.
The winner of this game will play the Tampa Bay Rowdies on April 5th in Tampa. It will be the second time we are hosting a US Open Cup game. The first time was in 2016, our inaugural year when we played Kraze United to a 1-0 win that advanced us to the next round. That year we played at The Villages® PoloClub, this will be our first year playing US Open Cup at The Villages SC Complex.
Players for the Cup
Getting players to play this early in the year has made the recruiting process abit more difficult.Many of our players are playing high-level soccer at their Colleges andUniversities. NCAA doesn't allow players to participate in any non-school competition before May 1st.
This is usually not an issue as our regular USL2season doesn't start until mid-May but the new US Open Cup schedule begins 2 months prior to the time our players are available. The following USL2 teams have declined spots due to the March start date affecting roster eligibility.
Kalamazoo FC, Long Island Rough Riders, Mississippi Brilla FC, South Georgia Tormenta FC 2, Boston Bolts (USL2).
It does make it more challenging but - We are the Buffalo - and we plan to give all we've got.
The plan right now is returning players that have already graduated will be a major part of the tactical plan as well as those Coach Anderson hopes to add with partnerships with other local amateur teams.
The roster for this tournament will look very different than the USL2 Season's roster but at the end of the day, a Buffalo is a Buffalo is a Buffalo!
