All 7 NASL teams that were paired with USL sides lost to those sides, with only 2 of those needing extra time. This comes on the same day as the Chairman of the NASL Board of Governors was arrested as part of the FIFA corruption stuff from this morning. This not only is an embarrassment for the league, but it's an embarrassment for all those who believe that NASL is the rightful potential D1, even though they can't even beat D3.
Of note, the 2 sides that won (Cosmos and Atlanta) played against non-league sides, and Atlanta barely beat Chattanooga, and both go on to take on Manchester City New York and Red Bull's NY team respectively.
Here's a solution that can get NASL teams to stop choking against USL: Fine every team that loses, and give the proceeds to a charity of the team's choice. Not only does it foster goodwill between each NASL team and their communities, it also gives them a chance to make amends for losing to those teams.
Another, more radical solution: Have the league take the 2 weekends surrounding USOC week off to focus on the competition, making the teams field their strongest available XIs. For the teams that end up losing, their game on the Saturday following Cup day is still on, as long as their scheduled opponent is also eliminated. All moved fixtures would be made up later in the season. To be fair to Ottawa and Edmonton, I'd advocate doing the same for them while they're in the Canadian Championship.
Also, as another reward for any NASL team that wins, I would give a NASL side that wins US Open Cup $3 million, and schedule modifications for CONCACAF Champions League group stage.
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