Villages SC, Lakeland Tropics no strangers to each other or U.S. Open Cup play

AUBURNDALE, Fla. – When the Lakeland Tropics and Villages SC Buffalo meet in the opening round of the 2019 U.S. Open Cup Tuesday night, they won't be strangers to the sport's national championship tournament, or each other. 

The May 7 matchup will be the fourth straight time The Villages SC have earned a berth into Cup play, while the Tropics will be making their second straight appearance. In fact, both franchises have earned invitations every year in which they have been eligible. Both found their way into the field by virtue of their 2018 records in USL League Two. The teams both finished 9-2-3, but the Buffalo earned the Southeastern division's second playoff spot on a tiebreaker, and actually advanced all the way to the League Two final four before falling. 

Lakeland's first Cup appearance came in 2018, but it was a long way from central Florida. With no in-state teams left in the first-round pool that hadn't already been matched up, the Tropics were shipped all the way to Midland, Texas, where they lost 3-0 to the Midland-Odessa Americans.

Last spring, The Villages SC fell to the Jacksonville Armada U-23, 2-1, in the first round of Cup play, with Gabriel Torres getting the lone Buffalo score in the second half. In 2017, the two teams also matched up, with a similar 2-1 scoreline in favor of Jacksonville. Erickson Alves scored in the first minute to give the Buffalo an early lead that they could not hold. 

The Villages lone Cup win came in 2016 over Kraze United, 1-0, with Pedro Ivo Dias -- who now plays for the Lakeland Tropics sister franchise the Tropics SC in the United Premier Soccer League – getting the only goal in second half stoppage time. 

In regular season play, the Tropics and Buffalo have met four times in the past two years, with Lakeland holding a 2-1-1 edge. The Tropics inaugural game, in the spring of 2017, drew over 6,000 fans to historic Bryant Stadium, with the home side taking a 4-3 win over The Villages SC. Ricardo Diegues, Ramzi Toure and Victor Rojas all scored in the first half and Rojas added the winner in the final 45 minutes. 

The Tropics took a 3-1 win on the road later in the season, with Deigues, Rojas and Juan Tejada finding the back of the net.

In 2018, the teams battled to a 1-1 tie in Lakeland, with Juan Tejada getting the only Tropics goal. In the rematch, the Buffalo took a 2-0 decision.

Diegues has led the Tropics in goals and in scoring both outdoor and indoor with the Florida Tropics of the Major Arena Soccer League. This past season, he scored 24 goals in 19 games to lead the team. Victor Parreiras led the team in total points with his 17 goals and 13 assists.

In four years in the MASL, three each with the Tropics, Diegues has 79 goals and 34 assists in 67 games played, while Parreiras in 80 games played has 70 goals and 40 assists.

Outdoors, both had abbreviated seasons for the Tropics in 2018 because of injury, after big years in 2017. Diegues was the team's leading scorer that year with 10 goals and two assists, while Parreiras had three goals and a team-best five assists. In 2018, in seven games, Diegues had three goals and three assists while Parreiras made just five starts and had two goals and an assist.

As teammates at UT-Brownsville, Diegues netted 64 goals in 57 games over three seasons (2012-2014), while Parreiras had 34 goals and 45 assists in his four years there (2011-2014).

Tuesday's winner will move on to take on the USL Championship League Tampa Bay Rowdies on Tuesday, May 14 at Al Laing Stadium in St. Petersburg. That game will be free for fans to attend, and would be especially meaningful for Rowdies forward Juan Tejada, who was the Lakeland Tropics leading scorer last year, and who signed with the Rowdies in the past  off-season. 

Both games will be broadcast live on ESPN+. For more information, visit www.lakelandtropics.com.