Singleton’s slotted goal made sure the Saint Petersburg Kickers became the only team from Florida ever to win a U.S. Open Cup. It’s a record that stands strong to this day, with MLS’ Orlando City looking to put it to the test with a run to this year’s Semifinal. “I earned a nickname that day, the Gimpy Sub, and it stuck to me,” said Singleton 30 years later at an impromptu reunion in a barroom in Tampa Bay. It was a time to remember that moment when a group of friends – most born and raised in the area and energized by the NASL’s Rowdies of the 1970s and early 80s – carved out their own little piece of American soccer history.

“The game was a battle,” said Fossett, the team’s holding midfielder who happily did the dirty work for star player and 1989 Open Cup MVP Tony Valenti, a former USA youth international and twice an All-American at Duke University. “It was hot and the grass was long and nothing was easy that day. The game was right in the middle of the summer. But we were younger and fitter and I think that played into it. You’re fighting for the ball all the time and the grass is heavy and we fought for everything we got.”

After a rout of Genesis FC of Georgia and then FC Dallas, the Kickers were up against two grizzled veteran teams from up North in the Semifinals and the Final. Their Semifinal game was played at home against the Chicago Eagles, a team that would go on to win the 1990 Open Cup and boasted a raft of Polish ex-pros and old campaigners. “That Semifinal must have been played in 410-degree heat,” said Fossett with a laugh about the game that finished 1-1 after overtime and needed a penalty shootout – and a heroic performance by Kickers goalkeeper Brett Phillips – to seal a spot in the Final. “And we made sure that kick-off was right around noontime so the guys from Chicago felt it. They were probably ten years older than us on the average and individually they were definitely better than us.”