Contra Costa FC qualified for the U.S. Open Cup for the first time in club history on Sunday afternoon, but it took 90 minutes of regulation time, 30 minutes of extra time, and nerve-wracking tiebreaking shootout to do it.
Contra Costa won the 10-round penalty shootout by a score of 8-7, after the match ended in a 1-1 draw. With the loss, Metro’s head coach Rose Shoen was at least temporarily denied the chance to achieve a major milestone, becoming the first woman to manage a team in the 107-year-old history of the U.S. Open Cup.
Contra Costa had much of the early possession, but Metro got on the board first, when Matt Fondy muscled his way through a crowd of players in the box to score in the 24th minute. Fondy’s professional resume includes winning the USL’s Player of the Year Award in 2015 and scoring 5 goals in 8 matches with Oakland Roots in 2020.
Metro spent the rest of the half searching for a second goal and were able to put the ball in the net just before halftime, but the goal was nullified for offside. They also threatened early in the second half, with a shot in 46th minute that hit the post and another effort from Fondy nine minutes later that went wide.
Contra Costa’s Roberto Gonzalez was the spark that helped his club get back into the match. He nearly scored in the 57th minute, shooting wide after Metro goalkeeper Brian Ginell left his net to try and collect the ball. He then evened the match in the 61st minute, converting a penalty kick after Metro defender Justin Bethke took down a Contra Costa striker in the box.
Contra Costa was the better team for the remainder of the second half, including a shot that hit the post in the 74th minute. Metro did have a chance to win the match on a Fondy counterattack up the left side in the 88th minute, but his shot went wide.
Metro’s defenders visibly tired in the extra session, but Ginell helped keep Contra Costa off of the scoreboard. He made a diving save on a shot by Octavio Munoz in the 103rd minute and stopped a shot from Cristian Garcia from point blank range in the 107th minute, redirecting the ball over the crossbar for a corner kick.
Contra Costa had one final opportunity in the 118th minute. Gonzalez hit a curving free kick from close range that cleared Metro’s wall, but hit the side netting.
In the penalty shootout, Contra Costa goalkeeper Carlos Herrera gave his team the advantage in the first round, making a diving save on a shot by Seyed Amir Razavi. But Ginell answered in the third round with a kick save on a shot by Kevin Navarrete.
Herrera made saves in the 4th and 6th rounds, but the official ruled that he left his line too early. He also received a yellow card after the second infraction.
Herrera scored on his penalty attempt in the sixth round and was able to get a hand on Jacob Butler’s try in the 7th round and redirect the ball away. Erik Montes then had the chance to win the match for Contra Costa, but his shot went wide.
In the 10th round, it was Ginell’s turn to take a kick and his shot went wide. Fernando Lara converted his kick for the win.
Contra Costa now joins 55 other teams in the first round proper of the tournament, to be played on March 22 or 23, 2022.
