We’re breaking format, y’all! Each time that the USL pauses the regular-season schedule and shifts into Jagermeister Cup mode, Backheeled will dive into the biggest Winners and Losers from all the action.
What is the Jagermeister Cup, you ask? It’s an in-season tournament that includes every team from both the USL Championship and League One. Every team plays four group stage matches, eight teams advance to the quarterfinals, and it’s a single elimination tournament from there. These cup games don’t count towards the regular season standings, but there is some cash on the line.
In our first taste of the group stage this week, League One’s best teams proved their mettle, pairs of brothers stood out across the Cup, and so much more.
John Morrissey
Winner: FC Naples
After an unbeaten start to life in USL League One, Matt Poland and FC Naples finally took their lumps by losing back-to-back matches against Tampa Bay in the U.S. Open Cup and Knoxville in the league. Even with those losses, they still aren’t ripping up the blueprint. Faced with a brutal visit from the second-division Charleston Battery on Saturday in the Jagermeister Cup, the expansion side stuck to their principles and pulled off a statement win because of it.
