From Harrington Park to the U.S. Open Cup: D'Feeters Kicks Soccer Club ready for biggest stage yet

Before D'Feeters Kicks Soccer Club's men's team was in the U.S. Open Cup, before linking up with one of Dallas-Fort Worth's fast-rising youth clubs, before the team even existed — there were just a bunch of guys playing soccer at a park.

What could be more simple? What could be more common?

Edgar Hernandez grew up in a soccer family. He looked at this casual group of guys meeting up to play at Marcus Harrington Park in Duncanville and wondered if he could turn them into a team that could play in an organized league.

"It was more of a 'why not?' Try it out, see how it goes," said Hernandez, whose DKSC will go against the Denton Diablos in the first round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday.

It went well. The team was called FC Harrington, named after the park where they'd come together and competed in the UPSL, twice winning the conference.

As the club continued to grow and attract more talented players, program director Hernandez, his dad and others around the club felt it made sense to join forces with an organization pulling in the same direction. They went under the DKSC umbrella but stayed in the same competitions, including The Roja League, the competition launched by Diablos ownership that would eventually provide the club its path to the USOC.

"We made the decision of, you know, merging into DKSC the biggest club where we felt they shared the same mission and values as us: Hispanic, local community you know, they're growing in ECNL with both boys and girls," Hernandez said.

As the men's team prepares to join UPSL, Hernandez said the club also is preparing for the launch of a women's team.

For now, the focus is on Tuesday when the team will make its USOC debut — though it had to fight through qualification to get there. DKSC needed extra time to beat the Houston Hotshots in the second qualification round but dispatched with El Paso's Southwest Football Club in 90 minutes to secure the berth in the tournament proper.

Hernandez likes his attacking line. All-time leading goalscorer Sebastian Mendez, Miles Byass, who was UPSL final MVP
with Foro, and Devin Vega, the Puerto Rico international who came through the FCD youth system, are among the players looking to put DKSC through for a meeting with San Antonio FC next round.

But regardless of the result, taking this group into the USOC is a reminder to local fans of the sport that there is high-level soccer to be found in more places than Toyota Stadium on an MLS matchday.

"I think it's a big platform for our guys to go out and show that there's not just one team in our community. There's this other group of guys that have put something special together, and we can demonstrate we can compete with the big boys." Hernandez said. "There's not just one option in Dallas where you can go play. There's us or the UPSL champs (or others).

"It's a special day, something we've been working for the past two years. Finally, we get to go out there and compete. It's going to be a celebration, for sure. Hopefully we get a win because it's 90 minutes, knockout, win or go home. Anything can happen."

That is the magic of the Cup. The guys who, a year ago, were playing at your neighborhood park have a shot at winning it all.