Real Md. to play in U.S Open Cup

Open to teams from Major League Soccer all the way down to amateur club teams, the U.S. Open Cup give eight the of 10 USL-2 teams automatic bids. Real Maryland’s two wins are ahead of Harrisburg City, Pittsburgh and Wilmington, all of whom are winless this spring.

‘‘This is a great accomplishment for Real Maryland,” said Real general manager Bienvenido Martinez. ‘‘It’s really a showcase for our team so everyone can see the talent in our players. It’s a very prestigious thing.”

The Cup allows for some unknown — or less prestigious, at least — teams to prove their mettle. The 2007 tournament was a prime example of this, with USL-2 teams serving the role as overachieving underdogs. Two of the league’s Second Division teams reached the Cup quarterfinals by defeating MLS squads in the third round, with the Richmond Kickers ousting the Los Angeles Galaxy, 1-0, and Harrisburg City topping D.C. United, 1-0.

Martinez, who worked in the D.C. United marketing department for six years, knows all too well that the Monarchs have the capacity to compete with even the best MLS clubs.

‘‘It really shows that the there’s not much of a difference between MLS and USL,” he said. ‘‘There’s not too much of a separation, except they have a lot of money. There’s the SuperLiga [North American soccer tournament featuring teams from Canada, Mexico and MLS], and I think they like to say this isn’t as important, because they can look bad. They can get their asses kicked by USL teams.”

A Cup schedule has yet to be finalized as of this past Thursday, but the opening rounds generally commence in Mid-June.