USOC Qualifying: Mass Premier Wins Mass. State Final

Tyler MacNee’s overtime strike sent Mass Premier Soccer to its second straight U.S. Open Cup State Final win after beating Valeo Sports 2-1 at Clemente Field in Boston on Sunday.

MacNee scored from a corner with about 10 minutes remaining in overtime, while Ben Shuleva’s goal right before the interval put Mass Premier on the board following Marillo Zanetti’s opening strike.

With the win, Mass Premier will advance to the USASA Region 1 tournament, which will kick off next spring.

Originally, Sunday’s contest was set to pit Mass Premier against Mass United FC. But due to a roster violation discovered prior to the match, the Riders were disqualified, and Valeo, which lost 4-1 to Mass United two weeks ago in the state semis, was given a spot in Sunday’s final.

According to TheCup.us contributor Hank Alexandre, the 11th-hour switch forced Valeo to assemble a makeshift roster to field a team in time for Sunday’s contest.

Nevertheless, Valeo found the board first after Zanetti’s singular effort inside the Mass Premier end allowed him to beat keeper Jeff Newman.

But the defending state finals champs responded before the half when Shuleva, formerly of FC Dallas, scored from close range to level it.

The battle for the game-winner bled into overtime, where Mass Premier would stake its flag. MacNee, who scored in last year’s state final against East Providence Sports, struck again on Sunday when he capitalized off a corner to give his club the win.