The W-League announced its Team of the Week for the first week of the 2012 season today, honoring Victoria Highlanders FC forward Lindsay Hoetzel as Player of the Week after she came off the bench to score twice in her team’s thrilling 3-2 victory against Vancouver Whitecaps FC Sunday.

The Ventura County Fusion set a modern-era U.S. Open Cup record by scoring four goals in overtime to take a 6-2 victory against the Fullerton Rangers in the first round of the 2012 Lama Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday night at Santa Ana Stadium in Fullerton. The Fusion had taken an early 2-0 lead, Michael Roman and Frankie Lopez each scoring by the midway point of the first half, and they would carry that lead to halftime.

United Soccer Leagues released the U12 age group qualification allotments today for the 2012 Super Y-League North American Finals presented by Umbro. The 2012 SYL season marks the second year of the U12 age group’s inclusion. A total of 12 boys’ teams and eight girls’ teams from the Mid Atlantic, Midwest, South Atlantic, and Southeast divisions will meet at IMG Academies in Bradenton, Florida, from December 7-11 to compete for the Super Y-League championship.

The dark rain clouds that circled Fleetwood’s Ray Buss Stadium on Tuesday night were generally associated with the dark and ominous, something the United had gotten used to in their previous U.S. Open Cup experiences. Losing a lead late against Harrisburg last year, losing in double overtime to Real Maryland FC, such has been the recent track record of the United in the Cup. Five years, five losses. But Ryan Finley’s goal and assist kept history from repeating itself in Reading’s 2-1 victory against the New York Greek American Atlas on Tuesday night.

During the next few months USLsoccer.com will highlight the on-the-field stars of the W-League by getting to know their personalities off the field. Up next: Sarah Huffman of the Pali Blues. On Sunday night, Huffman scored in Pali’s 2-0 season-opening victory.

The Michigan Bucks opened their 17th season with a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup victory against the Jersey Shore Boca on Tuesday night at Ultimate Soccer Arenas in Pontiac. The 6-0 shutout puts the Bucks into the second round on Tuesday, May 22 in Pittsburgh where they take on USL PRO's Pittsburgh Riverhounds for a 7 p.m. kickoff. The Bucks and Riverhounds last met in round two of the 2006 US Open Cup when the Bucks upset the professional team 2-0 in a thrilling match at Stoney Creek High School in Rochester.