OMAHA, Neb. – Dion Acoff scored the only goal of the game as Union Omaha maintained its perfect record against USL Championship opposition in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, taking a 1-0 victory against San Antonio FC at Caniglia Field on the campus of the University of Nebraska Omaha to advance to the Round of 32 for the third time in its history.

San Antonio had the first good opportunity of the night a quarter of an hour in when Jorge Hernandez’s free kick from the right was turned onto the near post by Juan Agudelo. Omaha carved out a big opportunity of its own 11 minutes later when Charlie Ostrem got in behind the SAFC back line in the left channel but had his near-post effort saved by San Antonio’s Richard Sanchez.

Nine minutes before halftime, however, Acoff found the net as he latched onto a ball down the right by Isidro Martinez, cut inside onto his left foot in the penalty area and shot low past Sanchez. SAFC tried to hit back in the second half as Luis Paredes forced a save from Omaha’s Rashid Nuhu just past the hour mark, but Los Buhos were able to see out the remainder of the contest to preserve the shutout and advance.

AV ALTA FC 2 (4), ORANGE COUNTY SC 2 (2): AV ALTA FC advanced in a penalty shootout against Orange County SC as goalkeeper Denzil Smith made a key save moments after being brought on late in extra time before Miguel Pajaro rounded out the shootout as the hosts advanced at Lancaster Municipal Stadium.

AV ALTA had an early opportunity to take the lead as Sebastian Cruz shot high but in the 15th minute Orange County took the lead. Off a short corner from the left, Ousmane Sylla received a return pass near the goal line and after weaving past one defender fired home into the roof of the net from an acute angle with a right-footed shot.

OCSC maintained its lead into the second half, but midway through the second half AV ALTA hit back as Luca Mastrantonio got on the end of a corner kick from the left by Eduardo Blancas and headed home into the right corner of the net. The hosts then took the lead with 15 minutes to go when Emmanuel Alaribe shot home into the right corner after the ball fell to him on a deflected pass inside the penalty area.

Orange County leveled the game again with seven minutes to go in regulation, however, as Mouhamadou War rose highest to head home a free kick from the right by Sylla, and after a scoreless pair of extra time periods, the game headed to a shootout.

After each side converted in the opening two rounds, the turning point came to lead off the third when Smith got down to deny Orange County’s Kyle Scott on a low shot to the left, turning it around the post. Antelope Valley’s Sebastian Cruz cemented the advantage, putting his side ahead, and OCSC’s Nico Benalcázar then shot over the crossbar to put the hosts on the brink. Pajaro converted to the right corner, sending the League One side through before another jubilant crowd at The Hangar.

RHODE ISLAND FC 2, PORTLAND HEARTS OF PINE 1: Titus Washington scored in the second half to try and spark a rally, but Portland Hearts of Pine fell to New England rival Rhode Island FC at the Franklin Athletic Complex in Lewiston, Maine to bring the club’s inaugural run in the Open Cup to an end.

Hearts of Pine created a good opportunity in the 19th minute when Ollie Wright moved forward on a counterattack and forced a low save by RIFC’s Jackson Lee, but the visitors took the lead when Clay Holstad met a chipped cross from the left by Joe Brito with a sharp back-post volley that tucked just inside the right post.

RIFC doubled its lead in the 37th minute when an angled free kick into the Portland penalty area wasn’t cleared by the hosts, allowing Frank Nodarse to volley home from six yards out. Hearts of Pine attempted to rally back in the second half, and cut into the deficit in the 65th minute when Washington surged forward in the left channel and shot home low to the near post. Each side was reduced to 10 players with Rhode Island’s Karifa Yao being dismissed in the 78th minute and Portland’s Mikey Lopez in the 87th minute for their second yellow cards of the night.

The hosts then had a chance to level in stoppage time, only for Lee to turn aside a first-time finish by Nathanial James in the eighth minute of stoppage time before Patrick Langlois’ last-gasp effort didn’t find the target.

NORTH CAROLINA FC 3, CHARLOTTE INDEPENDENCE 1: Jon Bakero scored early in the second half to put the Charlotte Independence ahead, but North Carolina FC rallied three three goals inside the final 20 minutes to claim the first Dogwood Derby since the 2023 USL League One Final at the Sportsplex at Mathews.

After an even first half, the Independence grabbed the lead four minutes after the break when Luis Álvarez led an attack down the right side and delivered a low cross that was deflected into the path of Bakero, who finish calmly from close range.

North Carolina hit back with 19 minutes to go, however, when Oalex Anderson sharply volleyed home from the top of the six-yard area after Jaden Servania’s cross from the left had been flicked on at the near post by Pedro Dolabella. Three minutes later, Da Costa put the visitors ahead with an acrobatic volley into the left corner, redirecting home a cross from the right by Mikey Maldonado.

Da Costa wrapped up the result in the 77th minute as Anderson beat his marker on the right byline and cut back a cross that the Brazilian struck first-time into the top-left corner, sending NCFC into the Round of 32 for a second consecutive year.

CHARLESTON BATTERY 4, SOUTH GEORGIA TORMENTA FC 0: South Georgia Tormenta fell victim again to MD Myers of the Charleston Battery, who had a hat trick as Mason Tunbridge missed a key penalty kick for the visitors at Patriots Point, resulting in Tormenta bowing out of the tournament.

After a quiet opening to the game, the Battery took the lead just past the half-hour as a corner kick from the left came to Chris Allan at the top of the penalty area, allowing the midfielder to fire a shot that took a wicked looping deflection to drop just inside the left post. Tormenta got the chance to equalize in first-half stoppage time from the penalty spot after Niall Reid-Stephen was brought down, but Tunbridge’s shot was turned wide of the left post by Garner. Off the ensuing corner the Battery doubled their lead as Johnny Klein combined with Arturo Rodriguez before setting up Myers for a low finish to the right corner.

Myers, who also bagged a hat trick against Tormenta in last year’s Open Cup, added his second on the night seven minutes into the second half when South Georgia goalkeeper Austin Pack was unable to corral a cross from the left by Josh Drack, allowing the center forward to clean up the rebound. The 24-year-old then wrapped up his hat trick with 20 minutes to go, again in the right place to put home the rebound after Rodriguez initial effort was parried.