Drama, penalties and weather were the three main themes of Wednesday’s action in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
A night after Real Salt Lake and the LA Galaxy were pushed to the brink of elimination before surviving, five Major League Soccer sides went into extra time on Wednesday. An additional two teams participated in a match in which late second-half goals were scored.
The MLS clubs, who started their respective competitions in the fourth round, suffered from the two-week Copa America Centenario break and a lack of some major international players.
Despite all the wild events across the nation, only two MLS sides dropped out of the competition on Wednesday. D.C. United and New York City FC joined the San Jose Earthquakes, who lost to the Portland Timbers on Tuesday, as the only eliminated clubs from the top flight.
NYCFC suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of the rival New York Cosmos on the campus of Fordham University. Danny Szetela’s 88th-minute goal sent the Cosmos through to the fifth round of the competition.
D.C. fell in heartbreaking fashion in a penalty shootout against the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers. The Black and Red were up 3-1 in penalties before two misses handed the visiting Strikers a chance to win. Matheus Carvalho’s penalty kick in round five made the Strikers the second NASL team to qualify for the fifth round. No other clubs from the lower divisions made it past the fourth round.
FC Dallas and the Chicago Fire needed penalties to dispense of the OKC Energy and Indy Eleven, respectively. Colin Bonner knocked in the winning spot kick for Oscar Pareja’s side after Cyprian Hendrick missed in round seven for OKC. Chicago benefited from a pair of Matt Lampson saves to distance itself from Indy. David Accam scored the winning penalty for the Fire at Toyota Park.
Defending champion Sporting Kansas City came out on top in extra time against Minnesota United, while the New England Revolution outlasted a weather delay and 120 minutes of soccer to down the Carolina RailHawks 1-0.
Two-time runner-up Philadelphia conceded twice in the final 10 minutes, but the Union avoided extra time thanks to Roland Alberg’s game-winning free kick.
The Houston Dynamo unleashed a fury of goals on San Antonio FC at BBVA Compass Stadium. Mauro Mantoas, Alex, Raul Rodriguez and Leonel Miranda scored a goal each in the 4-0 rout. Columbus, who had to wait two hours to play at Ohio State University due to poor weather, also used tallies from four different scorers to knock out the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
The New York Red Bulls and Orlando City picked up 1-0 wins over the Rochester Rhinos and Jacksonville Armada, while the Seattle Sounders closed out the night with a 2-0 victory over PDL side Kitsap Pumas.
The draw for the fifth round will take place on Thursday at Noon ET.
Wednesday’s Fourth Round Results
Philadelphia Union 3-2 Harrisburg City Islanders
Jacksonville Armada 0-1 Orlando City
Columbus Crew 4-0 Tampa Bay Rowdies
D.C. United 0-0 Ft. Lauderdale Strikers (Ft. Lauderdale wins on penalties, 4-3)
New York City FC 0-1 New York Cosmos
Minnesota United 1-2 Sporting Kansas City
Chicago Fire 1-1 Indy Eleven (Chicago wins on penalties, 4-3)
Houston Dynamo 4-0 San Antonio FC
FC Dallas 2-2 OKC Energy (FC Dallas wins on penalties, 6-5)
Carolina RailHawks 0-1 New England Revolution
Seattle Sounders 1-0 Kitsap Pumas