Having received a berth in the US Open Cup, Minneapolis City has been busy preparing for its qualifying run.
To land a qualifying round berth, the club used its organizational ties to Stegman’s SC (formerly Stegman’s Old Boys). Minneapolis City’s reserve side Stegman’s City won both the Minnesota Amateur Soccer League’s first division and the Minnesota Cup. That, in combination with Minneapolis City finishing in third place in the Premier League of America’s West Division gave Stegman’s SC—and their top side Minneapolis City—a strong case for entrance as a successful amateur team in an established league.
So strong was Stegman’s and Minneapolis City’s combined bid, the team was awarded a first-round bye.
City has opted to play its qualifying campaign at the National Sports Center in Blaine. Its friendly on Saturday will be played on the U2 field, which sits in the grassy bowl next to the main stadium, while its October second qualifying round game will be held in the main stadium. Schedule congestion at South High School’s Les Barnard field, with school now back in session, was a motivating factor. In addition to field availability, the NSC also meets the requirements the USOC has for facilities.
Putting together the roster
Last Tuesday, at Minneapolis City’s year-end meeting for dues-paying members, goalkeeping coach Adam Pribyl—also Director of Student Activities at DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis—was promoted to head coach for the upcoming Premier League of America season. Pribyl will transition into his new role over the winter, leaving sporting director Jon Bisswurm at the helm for the Crows’ cup run.
Bisswurm has recruited retired professional Dustin Branan—who made 67 league appearances for the Minnesota Thunder and one league appearance in MLS for the Kansas City Wizards—to assist him with coaching the team.
“I’m bringing in a guy like Dustin to help me with building a team for a tournament, as he’s done this before,” said Bisswurm. “I’ve also played on teams that did just this—put together a tournament team and made a run at it. So I have a little bit of a background in this as well.”
With City’s focus on developing young Minnesota talent for collegiate and professional soccer, a number of players that were mainstays in the Grumpy Cats’ lineup over the summer have returned to school, but some familiar faces remain.
Among the returning players, both goal keeper Matt Elder and midfielder Ben Wexler were named to the PLA’s West Division Team of the Year. First-choice right back Aaron Olson will also suit up for the Crows in the cup, as will defensive midfielder A.J. Albers and forward Tim Wills. Experienced forward Andy Lorei will not take part, having chosen to take some time away from the game this fall.
“Wills was more of a fringe player for us this summer, who has done the work throughout the whole training process to really be pushing for a starting position,” said Bisswurm. “He may be the main target forward we’re going to use, which was something I think we lacked at times in the summer.”
To bolster its roster, the Crows recruited a number of players presently residing in Minnesota. With PLA captain Trey Benhart back at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay and Nate Engel recovering from injury, center back Joey Gustafson was recruited after playing with FC Duluth in the American Premier League over the summer.
“Joey is a carbon copy of [Benhart and Engel], and the type of person we want to marshal a back line,” offered Bisswurm.
Bisswurm singled out midfielder Martin Browne among the players recently added to City’s cup roster. Browne was injured, but trained with the Minnesota United Reserves this summer.
“Very excited to have Martin Browne, to be honest with you,” Bisswurm said. “I think he’s more mature than some of the players we’ve had in the past, and a former professional. He definitely has a pathway to be a professional soccer player, and coming back from injury, we’re the perfect rehab assignment for him.”
Browne will be joined on City’s cup roster by his brother Whitney, who also played for the Reserves this summer.
In addition to Martin Browne, City has brought in other players with professional experience. Forward Keido “KP” Toure has recently returned from a stint with the club Persik Kediri in the Indonesian first division, and veteran defender Landy Mattison spent time with the Nashville Metros, Atlanta Silverbacks, Chicago Fire, and Wilmington Hammerheads from 2003 to 2009.
Had City been drawn to play in the first qualifying round, it may have been able to host its opponent this Saturday, directly before Minnesota United’s home game against Ottawa Fury. When asked if the club was disappointed to miss out on a significant marketing opportunity, Bisswurm said, “How we looked at it was that it gives us more time to have the guys play together. We’re going to be building a system of play which is specific for this tournament, which is do-or-die. We’re still going to host a friendly at NSC on the 17th to get these guys playing in game conditions. So we’ll engage fans that day, and hope there is traction for when we play in the Cup on October 22nd.”
Minneapolis City U.S. Open Cup Roster
| Player | Position | Recent Club |
| Charlie Adams | M/D | MNUFC Reserves |
| A.J. Albers | M | Minneapolis City |
| Emmanuel Brown | D | Minneapolis City |
| Martin Browne | M | MNUFC Reserves |
| Whitney Browne | M/F | MNUFC Reserves |
| Ryan Cammarota | M | Stegman’s City |
| Chase Carey | F | Minnesota TwinStars |
| Brian Chapman | D | MNUFC Reserves |
| Tom Corcoran | M | Duluth FC |
| Matt Elder | G | Minneapolis City |
| Arinze “Ace” Ezirike | D/M/F | Stegman’s City |
| Joey Gustafson | D | Duluth FC |
| Abbai Habte | M/F | MNUFC Reserves |
| Nick Hutton | M/F | Stegman’s City |
| Landy Mattison | D | Wilmington Hammerheads* |
| James Neher | G | Stegman’s/Minneapolis City |
| Aaron Olson | D | Minneapolis City |
| Keido “KP” Toure | F | Persik Kediri |
| Miles Stockman-Willis | D/M | MNUFC Reserves |
| Ben Wexler | M | Minneapolis City |
| Tim Wills | F | Stegman’s/Minneapolis City |
| Evan Wright | D | Stegman’s City |
*Mattison trained with Minneapolis City this summer.
Minneapolis City will play a friendly against FC Minneapolis at 5:00 PM this Saturday on Field U2 at the National Sports Center, immediately preceding Minnesota United’s home game against Ottawa Fury. The game coincides with Stegman’s fourth-annual Free Beer Night in partnership with Summit Brewery.
City will host its second qualifying round game on October 22nd at 2:30 PM in the National Sports Center’s main stadium, facing the winner of this weekend’s first-round game between Ann Arbor FC (PDL) and Oakland County FC (PLA).
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