The last of the First Round got going this morning as #15 FC Stolpen Steamroller did its job at home and defeated #2 Swampdragons FC 3-1 in Saxony. After trading goals in the opening half, Alfred Dull connected on a header in the 59th that got past dragons goalie Issiar Fillel for the game winner. Rey Jaime added a bit of insurance late to give the lower seed a 2-goal cushion going into tomorrow's return game, where the Canadian club will be heavy favorites on their home field.

The Bums 8/9 series starts this afternoon and I'll post that result this evening. The 7/10 Bums matchup has yet to schedule...just a friendly reminder.

The Bums Bracket is officially underway as English side #8 FC Not Very Athletic played host to #9 FC Cackalacky. The crowd of 49,000+ didn't witness a lot of scoring, thanks to some stellar goalkeeping. The two teams combined for 20 shots, 13 of which were on target but Athletic's Derrick Richardson and Cackalacky netminder Tommy Peters were easily the two best players on the pitch. Only a 30th minute goal by Magne Persson saw paydirt as Cackalacky walked away with a very hard-fought 1-0 win. The teams travel back to the US tomorrow where Cackalacky will have the home field and that tenuous 1 goal differential.

The last First Round game in the main draw is also tomorrow, meaning the quarters are right around the corner.

The 8/9 Bums series wrapped up this morning with #8 FC Not Very Athletic turning the tables on #9 FC Cackalacky and winning the series after a 4-1 victory. Cackalacky took the first game 1-0 and held the home field, extending the aggregate to 2-0 when Emile Vessels knocked one in in the 6th minute...but Athletic responded 30 seconds later when the ensuing restart saw Ross McEntee score from a header and off to the races Athletic went. Finn McRickard tied the aggregate at 2-2 in the 16th and a couple of 2nd half put Cackalacky away, Kenderick Keriell's 78th minute score to the far corner closed out the 4-2 aggregate series win.

The main playoff game between #2 Swampdragons FC and #15 FC Stolpen Steamroller is in a couple of hours, which I'll post in the evening. If no sudden death game is needed, the Quarterfinals will begin tomorrow.

The First Round of the knockouts was concluded with a commanding performance by #2 Swampdragons FC, who overcame a 3-1 deficit to defeat #15 FC Stolpen Steamroller in Canada this afternoon by a 6-3 aggregate. Everything seemed to be breaking for Stolpen as they held the dragons scoreless in the opening half but the plan started to unravel as the 2nd stanza began. Bothain MacAlonie scored the first of his two goals in the 47th on a shot that caught Steamroller goalie Sein Flórez out of position and things just got worse from there. Charlie Bardon tied the series at 3-3 five minutes later and when MacAlonie scored his 2nd in the 66th, Swampdragons took the lead and never looked back en route to a 5-0 win at home to advance to the quarterfinals. Stolpen's tournament comes to an end as they take the long flight home back to Germany.

I'll set up the Quarterfinals this evening so that scheduling can get underway tomorrow. As far as the Bums are concerned, I'll give 7/10 matchup another 24hrs to schedule before I declare a forfeit.

The Quarterfinals have been set and you may schedule at your leisure. The time frame to schedule the home and away is Feb 15th thru Feb 25th. Ties will be decided on the field with an extra game or games.

What was once 28 is now down to 8 but, like Highlander, there can only be ONE.

Well, I don't quite know what happened in the Bums but sometimes life gets in the way and hopefully everything is OK. With that said, I have declared #7 Hardknocks F. C. to be the winner of the Bums 7/10 series and the Quarterfinals are now official.

The home and away games can start to be scheduled. Best of luck in the chase for 17th place.

Just a note; World 62 is about to rollover, so might be a slight delay before I can schedule things out. Will do it ASAP. Thanks

Posted by spdracer on 2/16/2026 10:17:00 AM (view original):
Just a note; World 62 is about to rollover, so might be a slight delay before I can schedule things out. Will do it ASAP. Thanks

No problem. Thanks for the heads up.

Challenge sent to Not Very Athletic in the Bums Bracket.

Posted by KSBeachBums on 2/16/2026 6:04:00 PM (view original):
Challenge sent to Not Very Athletic in the Bums Bracket.

Challenge accepted, and returned.

And, from Not Very United, challenge sent to Hardknoxs.

Both halves of the Quarterfinal brackets had their opening game this morning, so this will be the lone update for the day. In the main draw, #5 Holbæk Idrætsforening continues its impressive Cup debut as it played at home and beat #13 the crutchanators of soccer by a score of 3-1. Damien Elsinger wasted no time after the referee blew the whistle by dribbling the ball downfield, splitting the defenders and giving crutchanators goalie Rueban Lazar no chance to react to put the Danes up 1-0 in the 1st minute, delighting the 48,793 fans in attendance. After Raymond Vela scored in the 29th to keep crutchanators in touch, Elsinger scored his 2nd of the game to ice the contest and give Holbæk a 2-goal differential heading into the return match on the 20th. That additional goal was enough to send Swiss forward to the top of the Golden Toe leaderboard as Elsinger now has 11 for the tournament, one clear of FC Kingston's Alvaro Bownell.

The Bums got underway when #6 Swamp City Dragons defeated #3 Club Deportivo Baile Brian 3-2 in a game both sides had real chances to win. The Dragons owned the first 20 minutes, scoring a pair of goals, capped off by Stephen Gregorin's unassisted effort that redirected off the leg of a Baile Brian defender. Then, the Irish club had its period of dominance when it tied the contest at 2-2 when Avel Christofis elevated above the crowd in the 50th to head home a corner cross. But all of this simply set the stage for 119 year old Arley Movsisyan to do what nobody else has done more of in Cup history...knock one home...as he found an opening in the 63rd and hit a ball that hit off the hands of Baile Brian goalie Bilal Noblit and then off the underside of the crossbar for the game winner.

The main has another couple of games tomorrow when #3 FC Winnipeg Royal Lions and #11 Rushmore FC play their entire series in a day.

Posted by pubmonkey on 2/17/2026 10:54:00 AM (view original):

Posted by KSBeachBums on 2/16/2026 6:04:00 PM (view original):
Challenge sent to Not Very Athletic in the Bums Bracket.

Challenge accepted, and returned.

I don't find it. Could you please resend your challenge?

#11 Rushmore FC seems to be coming into form at the right time in this tournament. After a rather pedestrian Group B performance, Rushmore has reeled off three consecutive wins to open the playoffs with another 4-0 result as they take the opening game at home against #3 FC Winnipeg Royal Lions. Nathan Wyard scored his 9th goal of Cup XVIII to move into solo 3rd in the Golden Toe as Rushmore put the game away by halftime. Frustrated by his team's poor performance, star forward Firenze Széll picked up a couple of cheap yellows within 10 minutes midway through the 2nd half and was sent to the showers to end any chance of Winnipeg to come back or even dent the differential. The Royal Lions have no time to think about it as the return game in Manitoba is this evening.

I'm heading from KC to Springfield (MO) in a few minutes and won't be back until fairly late...so the evening update will be delayed. I'm also filling up the tank at Buc-ee's and the wife has a small shopping list for me to pick up. If you've been to a Buc-ee's, you'll understand.

Posted by KSBeachBums on 2/18/2026 4:13:00 PM (view original):

Posted by pubmonkey on 2/17/2026 10:54:00 AM (view original):

Posted by KSBeachBums on 2/16/2026 6:04:00 PM (view original):
Challenge sent to Not Very Athletic in the Bums Bracket.

Challenge accepted, and returned.

I don't find it. Could you please resend your challenge?

No problem. Challenge resent.