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U.S. Open Cup Fourth Round Recap: MLS bounces back from early upsets

MadsStokkelienNewYorkCosmos1-NewYorkRedBulls (AP)

By TATE STEINLAGE 

The fourth round of the 2014 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup appeared as if it was going to be a rough go for Major League Soccer early. However, a quality finish on the final two days of action sees 12 teams from the top division through to the next round.

The New York Red Bulls will not be one of those 12 teams though after it was shutout by an impressive New York Cosmos effort.

Advertised as the first New York derby, the match ended up being a one-sided affair. The Cosmos, in front of more than 9,000 fans at James Shuart Stadium, jumped on the shorthanded Red Bulls early and often on its way to a thrilling 3-0 victory.

Cosmos forward Mads Stokkelien scored in the 7th and 73rd minute before teammate Alessandro Noselli piled on a third and final goal late in the contest. In total, the Cosmos outshot the Red Bulls 21-3, including 9-0 in a second half of total dominance.

The Red Bulls were forced to finish the match with 10 men after defender Chris Duvall was handed a red card in the 87th minute, but the game was well over by then and the Cosmos were too good for any sort of comeback.

Here’s the the entire recap of the fourth round Open Cup games:

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES 2, SACRAMENTO REPUBLIC 1 — JUNE 11

A lackluster first half hour was quickly forgotten after both sides found a goal in the final three minutes of the opening 45 minutes. Sacramento Republic scored first in 42nd minute when midfielder Chad Bartlome crossed to forward Justin Braun who put a header on frame and into the back of the net to give the USL PRO side a 1-0 lead.

The Earthquakes would response just three minutes later following an awkward sequence inside the Sacramento penalty area that appeared to give the visitors the equalizer. Instead, the referee pointed to the spot and Earthquakes midfielder Khari Stephenson made the most of the opportunity to knot the match at 1-1 heading into the halftime break.

The Earthquakes’ game winner would come more than 25 minutes later on a perfectly-placed shot between the goalkeeper’s legs by midfielder Cordell Cato. Sacramento Republic’s desperate attempt to equalize would be crippled in the 77th minute after Batlome was sent off after picking up his second yellow.

HOUSTON DYNAMO 1, LAREDO HEAT 0 — JUNE 11

Tally Hall is no stranger to saving the day for the Houston Dynamo, but even he had no idea he’d play a role in Houston’s 1-0 victory over the Laredo Heat.

Hall was called into action after starting Dynamo goalkeeper Tyler Deric was shown a red card for handling a ball outside the box in the 52nd minute. The decision evened the contest, as just 12 minutes earlier Heat defender Matthew Braem was sent off for picking up his second yellow.

The PDL side ran with the decision and pushed forward in hopes to find a equalizer. Hall made two big saves in the match’s dying moments to preserve the shutout victory.

Dynamo midfielder Alexander Lopez scored the lone goal for either sides in the 38th minute with a beautiful chip over the head of Laredo goalkeeper Jorge Ortega. Forward Omar Cummings was credited with the assist for playing a pass to Lopez prior to the shot.

CAROLINA RAILHAWKS 1 (3), CHIVAS USA 1 (2) — JUNE 14

A shorthanded Chivas USA couldn’t come up two goals in 120 minutes and the Carolina RailHawks took advantage.

The NASL side had the first and last laughs, scoring the game’s opening goal in the 29th minute before taking the shootout 3-2 to advance to the fifth round.

Chivas USA responded to forward Zack Schilawski’s opening tally for the RailHawks with a goal of its own 11 minutes later. Tony Lochhead crossed a perfect ball into the box and found a diving Ryan Finley for the equalizer.

That would be all the scoring fans would see in 120 minutes. Both teams would line up at midfield to see who’d take the game in gritty fashion. The shootout would go seven rounds before RailHawks goalkeeper Scott Goodwin stoned Marky Delgado and Daniel Jackson finished to give the hosts the upset win.

ATLANTA SILVERBACKS 2, REAL SALT LAKE 1 — JUNE 14

The Atlanta Silverbacks haven’t had much success in previous U.S. Open Cup campaings, especially against MLS squads. The Silverbacks have only won more than two games in the tournament once and are 0-4-1 when playing teams from the top division.

That record is now 1-4-1, as the Silverbacks caught Real Salt Lake at the right time and ended its Open Cup run prematurely with a 2-1 victory.

The Silverbacks capped off a dominating performance with a gaming-winning goal in second-half stoppage time. Midfielder Kwadwo Poku provided the heroics with a 25-yard blast into the back of the net. Fellow midfielder Junior Burgos provided the opening score in the 33rd minute.

RSL felt the blow of at least six key absences. Chances were few and far between, especially as the game wore on, and its lone goal was merely the result of a SportsCenter “Not Top 10” play involving Silverbacks goalkeeper Derby Carrillo whiffing on a kick.

PHILADELPHIA UNION 3, HARRISBURG CITY ISLANDERS 1 — JUNE 17

“Better late than never” was the phrase of choice for the Philadelphia Union in its fourth-round meeting with USL PRO affiliate Harrisburg City Islanders.

The Union scored an equalizer in the 89th minute to send the match into extra time where it would tack on two more goals en route to the 3-1 victory.

Islanders midfielder Jason Pelletier scored on a rebound in the 38th minute to put his side up 1-0. That appeared to be more than enough as the Union struggled to break down its affiliate. However, midfielder Maurice Edu made sure the Union’s Open Cup run would go on for at least 30 more minutes with a goal right before second-half stoppage time.

The extra periods were all Union and, specifically, Andrew Wenger. The forward scored in the 110th and 117th minute to put the game out of reach. The attack ended up forcing Islander goalkeeper Brian Sylvestre to make 10 saves, many of which came in the two 15-minute periods.

ROCHESTER RHINOS 1, D.C. UNITED 0 — JUNE 17

D.C. United has been eliminated from 2014 U.S. Open contention just eight months after winning last year’s tournament.

The Rochester Rhinos topped a United squad starting mostly reserves 1-0 in a matchup that proved to be less-than-stellar from both sides.

The game’s only goal came in the 27th minute when Rhinos forward Colin Rolfe was able to get enough of a foot on a cross to tap it past D.C. United goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra to put the Rhinos ahead 1-0.

Things only got worse for D.C. United from there. In the 60th minute, defender Steve Birnbaum picked up his second yellow, leaving D.C. United down a man for the remaining half hour.

COLUMBUS CREW 2, INDY ELEVEN 1 — JUNE 17 

It was an up and down game for the Columbus Crew — one it probably should not have won seeing as it finished with nine men on the field.

Don’t tell the Crew that, though, because it survived both red cards and a second-half Indy Eleven goal to win 2-1.

The Crew got out to a fast start — scoring a goal in the fourth minute on a Bernardo Anor header — but was grounded by halftime when forward Adam Bedell was shown a straight red card for a serious challenge.

The Elven would use the man advantage to equalize in the 62nd minute, forcing the game into extra time.

It was there that things started to go south again for the Crew. In the 110th minute, midfielder Dan Paladini was sent off for fighting, leaving the Crew to deal with an Indy attack with just eight field players.

However, four minutes later the Crew would see a major call in its favor — a penalty kick called after midfielder Ethan Finlay was taken down inside the box. Substitute forward Jairo Arrieta stepped up and scored the penalty, giving the hosts their game winner.

FC DALLAS 2, SAN ANTONIO SCORPIONS 0 — JUNE 17

It took more than 70 minutes, but FC Dallas made sure the San Antonio Scorpions would not knock off its second MLS team from Texas in two years.

Midfielders Fabian Castillo and Andrés Escobar scored for FC Dallas in the 74th and 81st minute respectively, helping the MLS side advance to the fifth round where it’ll meet in-state rival, the Houston Dynamo.

COLORADO RAPIDS 5, ORLANDO CITY SC 2 — JUNE 17

The Rapids exacted revenge on Orlando City after getting bumped from last year’s U.S. Open Cup in Orlando.

Colorado stormed back from a goal down to score four goals of its own within a 20-minute span, including three from forward Deshorn Brown. Midfielders Nick LaBrocca and Dillon Powers rounded out the five-goal evening.

Orlando City saw goals from midfielder Adama Mbenge and defender Luke Boden in the first and second half respectively.

PORTLAND TIMBERS 3, ORLANDO CITY U23’s 0 — JUNE 17 

It was easy going for the Portland Timbers against Orlando City’s inexperienced U-23 squad.

A Gastón Fernández brace helped the Timbers advance with a 3-0 shutout. Defender Taylor Peay joined Fernandez in the scoring department, rounding out the goals for Portland in an all-around dominating performance.

RICHMOND KICKERS 2, NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION 3 — JUNE 18

The New England Revolution outlasted the Richmond Kickers’ best effort, taking the contest 3-2 with goals from defender Stephen McCarthy, midfielder Steve Neumann, and forward Patrick Mullins. [RECAP]

SPORTING KC 2, MINNESOTA UNITED FC 0 — JUNE 18 

Sporting Kansas City used a 50th minute red card to its advantage, getting goals from forward Soony Saad and midfielder Alex Martinez in the final half hour to beat Minnesota United FC 2-0. [RECAP]

SEATTLE SOUNDERS 5, PSA ELITE 0 — JUNE 18 

The Seattle Sounders were too much for its USASA opposition. Forward Kenny Cooper scored a brace to help the Sounders cruise to an easy 5-0 victory. [RECAP]

CHICAGO FIRE 2, PITTSBURGH RIVERHOUNDS 1 — JUNE 18 

The Chicago Fire did enough in horrid weather conditions to get by the Pittsburgh Riverhounds.

Grant Ward and Mike Magee gave the Fire an early 2-0 lead after the game was delayed for more than two hours due to a consistent downpour. Pittsburgh did fight back to within one goal before halftime, but during the break another front moved in and provided enough rain for the official to abandon the match.

Per U.S. Open Cup regulations, since Chicago was leading at half, it advances to the fifth round to play the Columbus Crew.

ARIZONA UNITED 1, LA Galaxy 2 — JUNE 18 

Gyasi Zardes to the rescue.

The 22-year-old forward helped the LA Galaxy come back from down a goal with a brace of his own to give the MLS side a 2-1 victory.

Arizona United midfielder Matt Kassel gave the home team the early lead in the 37th minute, but 14 minutes later Zardes put in his first goal of the day to give the LA Galaxy the momentum it needed to push forward and take back the game.

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What did you think of the fourth round results? Surprised more MLS team weren’t upset? Too many top division teams ousted this early?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. It’s tough to take this competition seriously as it is, but then they schedule it during the world cup which guarantees that no one is paying attention and that mostly reserves will play. Too bad because this could be a good competition.

    Reply
  2. I want to love this tournament but it is so hard when MLS teams do not care about it. I would prefer to see my team make a run at MLS Cup instead of wasting energy on a deep run into an insignificant tournament.

    Reply
    • Galaxy started their entire senior team except for the 3 dps, one of whom has a pretty good excuse – he’s currently in Brazil being ignored by Der Kaiser. Galaxy want to participate in, and win, Champions League – they state that as a goal every year. They’re knocked out this upcoming one, so they’re focusing on US Open Cup this year not just to win the trophy, but as another way into CL.

      Reply
    • It sounds like you are the one who does not care about it. Reserve team players featuring in these types of competitions is necessary to a.) give first team players a much-needed break, and b.) to give young players an opportunity at first team action.

      Reply

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