Six USL Teams Prep for MLS Competition In U.S. Open Cup
Six teams from the USL gear up for the fourth round of the 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup as they prepare to face MLS competition this week. The Rochester Rhinos will be the lone USL club to host its match versus the New York Red Bulls with matches being played Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, which is usually referred to as the U.S. Open Cup, is a chance for all teams to test out their skill in a knock-out competition. It is the oldest national soccer competition in the USA and the world’s third-longest-running open soccer tournament. It is a chance to dream, to prove your abilities and most of all — for teams in the lower leagues to challenge themselves and prove they can beat — maybe — an MLS pro franchise.
Soccer News: The USL’s six remaining teams in the 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is set to face the tournament’s top professional tier when Major League Soccer competition joins the field in the Fourth Round this Tuesday and Wednesday.
One USL side is hosting a match as the Rochester Rhinos welcome in the New York Red Bulls at 7:05 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Rhinos Stadium. The match will be broadcast live on U.S. Soccer’s YouTube channel.
In addition to Rochester, the USL group includes Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, the Harrisburg City Islanders, OKC Energy FC, San Antonio FC and Wilmington Hammerheads FC. Wilmington and Colorado Springs will play their matches against Real Salt Lake and the Colorado Rapids, respectively, on Tuesday night and the other four USL sides compete on Wednesday.
“It will be a great opportunity for our players to compete against a team from the top level in America – a team doing very well in the top level,” said Wilmington Head Coach Mark Briggs, who as a Hammerheads player defeated MLS’s Chicago Fire during the 2009 tournament. “We have no pressure on us.”
This week’s winners will advance to the Open Cup’s Fifth Round, which will be held on Wednesday, June 29. The draw for that stage will be held later this week following Fourth Round play.
Fourth Round Matches
Tuesday, June 14
Colorado Rapids vs. Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, 9 p.m. ET, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo.: The first meeting between the Switchbacks and Rapids occurred during last year’s Open Cup, with the host MLS team prevailing 4-1. Because the match included a sending off of Switchbacks defender Josh Phillips in the 62nd minute, the final score line probably did not paint the most accurate picture. Down 4-0 heading into stoppage time, Jordan Burt did manage to find a shorthanded tally to get the Switchbacks on the score sheet. This year, the Switchbacks are coming off a dominant 3-0 win against fellow USL side Arizona United SC in the Third Round, with Luke Vercollone recording a brace. Colorado Springs opened the tournament with a 1-0 win against Harpo’s FC, thanks to an early Davy Armstrong tally. The Rapids’ best Open Cup finish was a runner-up showing in 1999, falling to 2-0 to the Rochester Rhinos in the title match.
Real Salt Lake vs. Wilmington Hammerheads FC, 10 p.m. ET, Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah: The Hammerheads go up against a side they have faced before in this tournament, and this year’s Wilmington club is enjoying one of its best Open Cup runs in the past seven years. Wilmington will need another stellar performance going up against a Real Salt Lake team that has advanced to the quarterfinals or further in three of the previous five tournaments. The Hammerheads are searching for their first win against an MLS side in the tournament since the 2009 Open Cup, when Wilmington defeated the Chicago Fire 1-0 in the Third Round. That Hammerheads team included current Head Coach Mark Briggs. Wilmington held off Miami FC for a 2-1 victory in this year’s Third Round, preceded by a 6-0 victory against Miami Fusion FC in the Second Round. Real Salt Lake’s best Open Cup was in 2013, a second-place finish to D.C. United. The lone goal during D.C. United’s 1-0 win against RSL in the title match was scored by current Orlando City B midfielder Lewis Neal. RSL and Wilmington met in the Third Round of the 2011 U.S. Open Cup, where Salt Lake posted a 2-0 victory at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Wednesday, June 15
Philadelphia Union vs. Harrisburg City Islanders, 7 p.m. ET, Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pa.: Harrisburg has had a knack for Open Cup upsets against MLS competition over the years, posting a 4-4-1 record against the top tier. The four victories have been against D.C. United (2007), the New York Red Bulls (2010) and twice against the New England Revolution (2009 and 2012). The City Islanders had a bit of a scare in the Third Round, overcoming a halftime deficit for a 2-1 victory against Chattanooga FC on goals from Aaron Wheeler and Paul Wilson. Harrisburg and the Union have faced each other on multiple occasions during the Open Cup, most recently in 2014 as Philadelphia rallied from a first-half deficit to post a 3-1 overtime victory. Harrisburg was minutes away from advancing through the Fourth Round with a 1-0 lead in Chester, Pa., but Maurice Edu notched an 89th-minute equalizer and Andrew Wenger recorded a brace in OT. That 2014 Union team and the following year’s squad both posted runner-up finishes in the Open Cup.
Rochester Rhinos vs. New York Red Bulls, 7:05 p.m. ET, Rhinos Stadium in Rochester, N.Y.: Rochester has been the toast of the tournament for the USL thus far with a flawless 9-0 scoring margin through the Second and Third Rounds. However, the MLS competition is a massive step up after facing a pair of USASA sides thus far. The Rhinos are coming off a 2-0 victory against the Lansdowne Bhoys FC on June 1, preceded by a 7-0 win against Southie FC on May 18. Having won the 1999 U.S. Open Cup against the Colorado Rapids, this stage against MLS is when the Rhinos are front-and-center, being the only non-MLS organization to win the tournament since the league joined the competition. For this year, Asani Samuels has had the standout performance with three goals during the win against Southie. Christian Volesky and Andre Fortune II have notched a goal in each of the first two Open Cup matches. NYRB’s top Open Cup performance came when the club was previously known as the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, advancing to the 2003 final but falling 1-0 to the Chicago Fire in the title match.
FC Dallas vs. OKC Energy FC, 8:30 p.m. ET, Westcott Field in Dallas, Texas: For a second straight Open Cup, Energy FC squares off against FC Dallas with the hopes of vastly improving from the meeting a year ago. FC Dallas stormed out to a three-goal lead by the 36th minute, eventually earning a 4-1 win in Fort Worth, Texas. OKC’s Danni Konig notched a late goal in the second half, but the damage had already been done. Energy FC had one of the more memorable Third Round efforts of the 2016 Open Cup, rallying for a 2-1 victory against Rayo OKC in overtime, thanks to Kyle Hyland’s 107th-minute winner. FC Dallas, formerly known as the Dallas Burn during their early MLS years, won the 1997 U.S. Open Cup, defeating D.C. United 5-3 in a penalty kick shootout.
Houston Dynamo vs. San Antonio FC, 8:30 p.m. ET, BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas: San Antonio represents the remaining USL expansion side in the tournament as the club has posted some late-game results during its first Open Cup. Jacques Francois has been SAFC’s Open Cup catalyst, scoring the game-winner to lift his side to a 2-1 victory against the Des Moines Menace in the Third Round and previously recording a second-half brace during the Second Round 3-1 win against Corinthians FC of San Antonio. This marks SAFC’s first matchup against an MLS team in the Open Cup, and the club goes up against a Dynamo side that has never advanced past the semifinal stage. Houston’s last semifinal appearance was in 2009 as the club fell in overtime to eventual champion Seattle Sounders FC. The Dynamo had a decent run last year, making it to the quarterfinals where they fell to 2015 Open Cup champion Sporting Kansas City.
Source/Photo Credit: United Soccer League
