Stefan Dimitrov didn’t move to the United States from his native Bulgaria until he was 20 years old and the rich history between the Pancyprian Freedoms and the Brooklyn Italians, especially in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, wasn’t ingrained in him.
But the former Chicago Fire forward and All-American at Concordia placed his stamp in the rivalry’s lore, scoring a brace to lift the Pancyprians to a 2-1 first-round win at Belson Stadium on the campus of St. John’s University last night.
The Pancyprians advance to the second round and will host FC New York, 3-0 winners over the Western Mass Pioneers, next Tuesday at Belson Stadium. Jhonny Arteaga netted a hat trick for F.C. New York in a match played at the Met Oval in Queens.
“It doesn’t matter if we are playing a professional side, we are looking forward for that game and I think we’re going to come out ready,” Dimitrov said. “They better be ready because we’re going to be there.”
Dimitrov and the ageless Julio Cesar Dos Santos have combined to score six goals in two USASA Region I qualifying matches to enter the main draw and again were huge against the Brooklyn Italians.
“He’s been doing a great job on top working together and he creates the space for me to run into and we started to read off each other pretty well,” Dimitrov said. “This game I scored two goals, a different game he scores the two goals and I assist him. We are trying to help each other on the field.”
Dos Santos was clearly the most dangerous player on the field and it seemed only a matter of time before he helped the Freedoms break through. That happened finally in the 65th minute when he ran into space and sent a cross in the box to Dimitrov who beat Brooklyn Italians goalkeeper John Connolly to snap a tense scoreless draw.
“We felt we were creating more of the chances, controlling the game,” Dimitrov said. “We felt we had to score and it was coming.”
The Brooklyn Italians, which qualified by beating Western New York and defending NPSL champions Sonic Lehigh Valley, nearly equalized in the 74th minute when Kordell Samuel’s attempt was saved by Pancyprian keeper Chad Calderone and caromed off the crossbar.
Six minutes later, though, the Trinidadian wouldn’t miss and leveled the match at 1.
While it appeared momentum had switched to the visitors, the Pancyprians wrestled it right back a minute later when Dimitrov tapped in a cross from Stelios Andreou to put the Freedoms back in front.
“That was really crucial and it showed our character, that we can be really focused and pursue our goal, which is to win the game,” Dimitrov said. “We turned around, shook off the last goal they scored on us and we capitalized for the win.”
It was a nice change of pace for the Pancyprians, who have made a habit of rallying late to get results recently.
“It’s everything because it puts us back in the original situation and he made a great play to do it,” Calderone said of Dimitrov’s second goal. “I’m just happy because honestly lately we’re used to playing from a couple of goals down. It’s really comfortable to play this way.”
Calderone has done his homework and read up on the rich history of both the Brooklyn Italians, two-time winners of the tournament, and the Pancyprians, who won back-to-back titles in 1982 and 1983. They’ve met five previous times in the Open Cup, with Brooklyn winning the last match in 1981.
Now the Freedoms are looking to make new history against F.C. New York, in its first year as a USL Pro squad. The winner could meet the Red Bulls in the third round.
“It’s in the back of all of our minds to have that opportunity,” Calderone said. “Once that game comes along, no motivation is needed. That would be great, but I don’t want to look ahead.”
