Several MLS teams took place in the 3rd round of the US Open Cup today. A few of those teams will play again in the 4th round - several will not.
Defending MLS Champions Columbus Crew went to OT and then to PKs against the always dangerous Rochester Rhinos. The Rhinos came out on top in PKs at 5-3 to move on.
The Chicago Fire have been hot in MLS play - but they couldn’t keep it up against Wilmington Hammerheads. The only goal of the game went to the Hammerheads in the first half. Four time US Open Cup champions Chicago Fire can now focus on the MLS regular season.
Chivas USA was the third MLS side to fall to a lower division opponent. They ran into the Charleston Battery and went home 3-1 losers.
Some MLS teams did advance out of this round. DC United beat the Ocean City Barons 2-0 and The Kansas City Wizards snuck out of Minnesota with after winning 4-2 on PKs after a 3-3 draw.
A couple teams will still be in action on July 1st. The Houston Dynamo will be playing at the Austin Aztecs while Seattle Sounders FC will be playing at their old USL rivals Portland Timbers.
We will have one MLS team and one USL team in the US Open Cup Final this year. Two MLS powerhouses will play each other in one semi-final while two USL teams will do battle in the other semi-final.
The New England Revolution beat Crystal Palace Baltimore on PKs after a 1-1 draw to move into the semis with DC United who beat fellow MLSers Chicago Fire.
On the other side of the tournament we had the Charleston Battery beat FC Dallas 3-1 and the Seattle Sounders beat the Kansas City Wizards 6-5 on PKs after a scoreless draw.
This will be only the 3rd time since the beginning of Major League Soccer that a non MLS team has advanced to the final. In 1996 DC United beat the Rochester Raging Rhinos 3-0 in the final. Three years later the Rochester Raging Rhinos made it to the final again and this time came out victorious with a 2-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids. Since that game the final has seen nothing but MLS teams - until now.
A couple MLS teams dropped out of the US Open Cup last night to lower league opponents. Here are all the results:
Crystal Palace Baltimore 2 -0 New York Red Bulls
Richmond Kickers 0 - 3 New England Revolution
Cleveland City Stars 1 - 4 Chicago Fire
Rochester Rhinos 0 - 2 DC United
Miami FC Blues 1 - 2 FC Dallas
Charsleston Battery (4-3 on PKs) 1 - 1 Houston Dynamo
Carolina Railhawks 2 - 4 Kansas City Wizards
Seattle Sounders 2 - 0 Chivas USA
So we are left with 5 MLS teams, a single USL-2 team and a pair of USL-1 teams. This is what the quarterfinals look like for next week. Both the Revolution and DC United will not host these games at their normal home field. Dallas will be at Pizza Hut Park for their game.
Crystal Palace Baltimore at New England Revolution
Chicago Fire at DC United
Charleston Battery at FC Dallas
Kansas City Wizards at Seattle Sounders
The third round of the US Open Cup is upon us. There are 8 MLS teams remaining in the tournament - each of which will face a non-MLS team.
Three teams from the USL Second Division have made it to the round of 16. These teams all face MLS teams in this round. Here are those matchups:
Crystal Palace Baltimore vs. New York Red Bulls
Richmond Kickers vs. New England Revolution
Cleveland City Stars vs. Chicago Fire
The remaining lower level teams all came from the USL First Division:
Rochester Rhinos vs. DC United
Miami FC Blues vs. FC Dallas
Charsleston Battery vs. Houston Dynamo
Carolina Railhawks vs. Kansas City Wizards
Seattle Sounders vs. Chivas USA
The previous round saw the exit of 8 more USL First and Second Division teams along with the only team from outside USL to make it that far - Hollywood United. Hollywood United are a part of the United States Adult Soccer Association.
What MLS teams may fall to their lower league opponents?
The newly created San Jose Earthquakes team just finished up the Carolina Challenge Cup, an annual pre-season tournament featuring 4 teams. This year along with the Earthquakes the New York Red Bulls, Toronto FC, and home team Charleston Battery. San Jose went a perfect 3-0 to win the tournament while the USL team went 1-1-1 which was good enough to finish in 2nd place above the other 2 MLS teams.
Usually pre-season results don’t mean much - but that hasn’t been the case of the Carolina Challenge Cup. Each of the past 4 years the winner of the Challenge Cup has gone on to see great results in the MLS regular season. The winner has either won the MLS Cup or the MLS Supporters’ Shield in each of the past 4 years.
Which will it be for the Earthquakes?
