DC United struck early in both halves, then held on to defeat the Harrisburg City Islanders for the second year in a row in the US Open Cup Quarterfinals, this time by a 2-0 tally. Branko Boskovic struck in the first minute, and Thabiso Khumalo doubled the lead at 47′.

Boskovic, playing in his second game since being signed from Rapid Vienna, struck 40 seconds into the game, taking the feed from Santino Quaranta and bouncing it past City Islanders keeper Danny Cepero into the net. DC kept control throughout the rest of the half, outshooting Harrisburg 8-3 and never giving the visitors any room.

The second half began in much the same fashion, as Bill Hamid slotted the ball in for Khumalo, who put the ball past Cepero for a 2-0 lead two minutes in. Harrisburg struggled to mount an effective counterattack, and their hopes of getting back into the game were dashed at 75′. Tyler Ruthven committed a hard foul on DC United’s Khumalo, earning a straight red card and leaving the City Islanders a man down. DC easily controlled the rest of their match, earning a third straight trip to the Semifinals.

DC United will host fellow MLS club Columbus Crew in the Semifinals at 7:30 PM on Wednesday, September 1. This will be the team’s 17th straight home US Open Cup game (including MLS qualifiers), with their only loss in that stretch coming during last year’s final to Seattle Sounders FC. Harrisburg earns a $10,000 prize for being the USL-2 club advancing the farthest. Though both the City Islanders and Charleston Battery were eliminated in the Quarterfinals, Harrisburg earns the money based on winning their Third Round game against the New York Red Bulls outright, while Charleston drew the Chicago Fire before defeating them in Penalty Kicks.

Scoring:
DC — Branko Boskovic (Santino Quaranta) 1
DC — Thabiso Khumalo (Bill Hamid) 47

Misconduct Summary:
HAR – Jason Pelletier (caution; reckless foul) 23
HAR – JT Noone  (caution; reckless foul) 33
DC – Barry Rice (caution; tactical foul)62
HAR – Tyler Ruthven (ejection; dangerous foul) 75

Lineups:
DCU: Bill Hamid, Stephen King, Devon McTavish, Carey Talley, Barry Rice, Branko Boskovic (Clyde Simms 67), Thabiso Khumalo, Kurt Morsink, Santino Quaranta (Jordan Graye 89), Danny Allsopp, Pablo Hernandez (Jaime Moreno 67)

HAR: Danny Cepero, Dustin Bixler, Anthony Calvano, Tyler Ruthven, Jerritt Thayer, Geoffrey Bloes, Jason Hotchkin, Kai Kasiguran (Mpho Moloi 70), Jason Pelletier (Vince Petrasso 79), JT Noone (Dominic Oppong 83), Sheanon Williams

Referee: Hilario Grajeda
Referee’s Assistants: Jason Cullum, Adam Wienckowski
4th Official: Andrew Chapin
Weather: Clear, 88 degrees
Attendance: 2,089

Harrisburg City Islanders (USL-2) at DC United (MLS)
7:30 p.m. ET- Maryland SoccerPlex, Boyds, MD

Harrisburg City Islanders
Founded: 2004
Location: Harrisburg , Pennsylvania
Head Coach: Bill Becher
Record: 4-6-5 17 pts. 17 GF 22 GA, 5th in USL Second Division
Recent League Form: 3-1-1 in last five games (LWWWT)

Team Stat Leaders
Goals: Jason Hotchkin, 5
Assists: Geoffrey Bloes, Kai Kasiguran, 3
Goalkeeping: Daniel Cepero, 1,080 Min. 1.42 GAA

Open Cup History: Harrisburg has made four appearances in the U.S. Open Cup, and has reached the Quarterfinals three times. In 2007 they upset D.C. United 1-0 in the third round before falling to the New England Revolution 2-1 in the quarters. In 2009 it was New England on end of a 2-1 loss to the City Islanders, who fell to D.C. in the Quarterfinals by the same score. This year’s victim was the New York Red Bulls, who were on the short end of a 1-0 game in extra time.

DC United
Founded: 1995
Location: Washington, DC
Head Coach: Curt Onalfo
Record: 3-11-3 12 pts. 12 GF 28 GA, 8th in MLS Eastern Conference
Recent League Form: 0-3-2 in last five games (LTTLL)

Team Stat Leaders
Goals: Andy Najar, 3
Assists: Rodney Wallace, 2
Goalkeeping: Troy Perkins, 1,170 Min., 1.77 GAA

Open Cup History: DC United are one of the premier clubs in modern Open Cup history, winning the title in 1996 and 2008, finalists in 1997 and 2009, and have only missed playing in the Cup twice.

Preview: Harrisburg has turned Open Cup success into success in USL-2, earning three of their four league wins in their last four games. DC United, however, are clinging onto Cup play as they tumble in MLS, sitting in last place overall.

However, DC takes home-field advantage seriously, having played their last 16 Open Cup matches (including MLS qualifiers) dating back to the Third Round in 2008. Their only loss in that stretch was in the 2009 Final against fellow MLS foe Seattle Sounders FC. This will be the third time the teams have met in the Open Cup, with each team having won once.

Did You Know?
The last time DC United played a road game in Open Cup play was against the City Islanders, losing 1-0 in the 2007 Third Round.

Team Broadcasts:
Harrisburg: www.wmssfm.com (audio, requires Real Player)
DC: dcunited.com (video)

The defending US Open Cup champion Seattle Sounders returned to the semifinals with a 2-0 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy on Wednesday night. In front of a sold-out crowd of 4,512 at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Wash., Nate Jaqua scored a pair of second half goals and Terry Boss kept a clean sheet to preserve the win.

Miguel Montano of the Seattle Sounders battles for the ball against the Los Angeles Galaxy. Montano assisted on both goals in Seattle's 2-0 win. Photo: Seattle Sounders

While the Sounders have officially said that the USL franchise’s history is separate from the MLS team, it’s worth noting that this is the fourth year in a row that a team with the nickname of “Sounders” has reached the final four. Only the Chicago Fire (2003-2006) of Major League Soccer have accomplished that feat, winning the tournament in 2006 and 2003 and falling in the championship game in 2004.

The first goal didn’t arrive until the 50th minute when Seattle’s Miguel Montano fired a shot that hit the crossbar, and Jaqua was at the right place at the right time as he headed the loose ball into the back of the net.

About 12 minutes later, Montano created a second by sending in a cross from the left wing, finding Jaqua whose diving header gave the home team a two-goal cushion.

Boss only had to make two saves as the Sounders defense held the Galaxy to only 10 shots for the entire match.

Seattle will return to the Starfire Complex for the semifinals on September 1 as they will host Chivas USA, who are making their first-ever appearance in the final four. Kickoff is scheduled for 10 p.m. While this will be the first meeting between Seattle and Chivas in the Open Cup as MLS franchises, the USL Sounders eliminated Chivas in 2007 and 2008.

MLSSoccer.com Matchcenter

Scoring Summary:
SEA – Nate Jaqua 2 (Unassisted) 50’
SEA – Nate Jaqua 3 (Miguel Montano 1) 62’

Misconduct Summary:
LA – Alex Cazumba (Yellow Card) 45’
LA – Bryan Jordan (Yellow Card) 70’
SEA – David Estrada (Yellow Card) 89’
LA – Alan Gordon (Yellow Card) 89’

Lineups:
LA Galaxy: Josh Saunders; A.J. DeLaGarza, Leonardo (Sean Franklin 71’), Omar Gonzalez, Eddie Lewis; Chris Klein© (Dema Kovalenko 69’), Bryan Jordan, Jovan Kirovski (Juninho 72’), Alex Cazumba; Clint Mathis, Alan Gordon.

Subs Not Used: Donovan Ricketts, Todd Dunivant, Michael Stephens, Tristan Bowen.

Seattle Sounders FC: Terry Boss; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Patrick Ianni, Tyson Wahl; Sanna Nyassi, Nathan Sturgis, Mike Seamon (James Riley 78’), Miguel Montano (Leo Gonzalez 71’); Roger Levesque, Nate Jaqua© (David Estrada 86’).

Subs Not Used: Kasey Keller, Steve Zakuani, Pat Noonan, Fredy Monteo.

The award is voted on by the staff at TheCup.us and a select panel of members of the North American Soccer Reporters (www.soccerreporters.com).

Melia, who is on loan from Real Salt Lake of MLS, made 8 saves and kept a clean sheet for 120 minutes against the Fire, who were playing in front of their home fans at Toyota Park. After a scoreless draw through extra time, Melia saved Krzysztov Krol’s attempt in the penalty kick shootout while Brian McBride and Wilman Conde missed their attempts and the Battery moved on to the quarterfinals 3-0.

Melia received the vast majority of the votes, while Harrisburg City Islanders goalkeeper Danny Cepero, who shut out the New York Red Bulls in a 1-0 extra time win, finished second.

The Battery will play their second straight road game at the Columbus Crew on July 6 in the quarterfinals.

Photo: Jason Mowry | Columbus Crew

The Crew controlled play through the first half, but needed a hard tackle from Charleston’s Stephen Armstrong in the box to capitalize. Armstrong, who played for the Crew in 2005, fouled Steven Lenhart in minute 37, setting up a Renteria penalty kick. Emilio sent the ball past Tim Melia, snapping the goalkeeper’s 187 minute Open Cup scoreless streak. Columbus kept attacking, but were frustrated by missed opportunities through an hour of play.

Lenhart, the hero of the Crew’s Third Round win over Rochester, once again stepped up and delivered at 70′. Emmanuel Ekpo fed the ball to a waiting Duncan Oughton, as Lenhart took the pass and sent it through to seal the game for Columbus. Ekpo got into the action again at 87′ taking a pass from sub Leandre Griffit and taping it to another sub, Eddie Gaven, to drive the last nail into the Battery’s Open Cup season.

Columbus awaits the winner of July 21st’s Harrisburg City Islanders/DC United match. That semifinal match will either be August 31st at home against Harrisburg, or September 1st at DC.

Scoring Summary:

CLB – Emilio Renteria (penalty kick) 38’
CLB – Steven Lenhart (Duncan Oughton) 70’
CLB – Eddie Gaven (Emmanuel Ekpo) 87’

Misconduct Summary:

CLB – Jed Zayner (caution: reckless tackle) 24’
CHA – Ian Fuller (caution: dissent) 37’
CLB – Steven Lenhart (caution: unsporting behavior) 42’
CHA – O’Brian Woodbine (caution: reckless tackle) 64’

Lineups:

Charleston – Tim Melia; O’Brian Woodbine, Colin Falvey, John Wilson, Nigel Marples; Brandon Massie (John Gruenewald, 70’), Alioune Gueye, Ian Fuller (Kevin Jackson, 82’), Stephen Armstrong (Amaury Nunes 72’); Lamar Neagle, Tom Heinemann.

Columbus – Andy Gruenebaum; Jed Zayner, Chad Marshall, Eric Brunner, Shaun Francis; Duncan Oughton, Danny O’Rourke, Dilly Duka (Eddie Gaven 61’), Emilio Renteria (Leandre Griffit 76’), Emmanuel Ekpo; Steven Lenhart (Jason Garey88’).

Referee: Hilario Grajeda
Referee’s Assistants: John Safar, Pierre Saintil Francillon
4th Official: Rizal Millikan
Weather: 90 and sunny
Attendance: 1,847

Justin Braun of Chivas USA scored early and late, and the Goats defeated the Houston Dynamo 3-1 to reach their Open Cup Semifinals. The win was also their first at Houston’s Robertson Stadium.

However, the Dynamo were left in the dust in the second half as well. Ante Jazic split the Houson defense to give Michael Lahoud an easy finish at 65′ to double the Chivas lead. Houston finally managed to strike late, as Joseph Ngwenya rocketed a shot that got a piece of Dominc Oduro and between the posts. Braun ended any hope the Dynamo had of equalizing four minutes later, splitting through defenders and into the net.

Braun got Chivas going early, heading home a Mariano Trujillo pass in the fifth minute. The Goats pressed their advantage throughout the half, however Houston was able to hold their own defensively and kept the game 1-0 at the half. Photo: Houston Dynamo

Chivas USA will await the winner of the Los Angeles Galaxy/Seattle Sounders FC match on July 7.

Scoring Summary:
CHV — Justin Braun (Mariano Trujillo) 5
CHV — Michael Lahoud (Ante Jazic) 65
HOU — Dominic Oduro (Joseph Ngwenya) 86
CHV — Justin Braun (unassisted) 90

Misconduct Summary:
HOU — Eddie Robinson (caution; Reckless Tackle) 54
CHV — Jesus Padilla (caution; Reckless Foul) 68
HOU — Craig Waibel (caution; Reckless Foul) 93+
HOU — Danny Cruz (caution; Dissent) 93+
CHV — Gerson Mayen (caution; Reckless Foul) 93+

Lineups:
Chivas USA — Zach Thornton, Mariano Trujillo, Michael Umana, Yamith Cuesta, Ante Jazic (Carlos Borja 66), Michael Lahoud, Marcelo Saragosa, Ben Zemanski, Blair Gavin (Dario Delgado 72), Jesus Padilla (Gerson Mayen 77), Justin Braun.

Houston Dynamo — Tally Hall, Craig Waibel, Eddie Robinson, Ryan Cochrane (Mike Chabala 35), Francisco Navas Cobo, Adrian Serioux, Richard Mulrooney (Lovel Palmer 74), Joseph Ngwenya, Sammy Appiah (Danny Cruz 56), Dominic Oduro, Cam Weaver.

Referee: Daniel Fitzgerald
Referee’s Assistants: Courtney Jackson; Arthur Odems
4th official: Ismail Elfath
Attendance: 1,097
Weather: Partly Cloudy and 87 degrees

The Red Bulls controlled play early, however Harrisburg was able to counter, though neither side could find the netting. Play evened out and maintained through the first 90, as neither side could make much out of their opportunities.

New York had their best opportunity to win in the first half of extra time, as Vince Petrasso collected a clearance and rocketed it on goal, but the ball hit the right goalpost. Harrisburg sent in a last attempt at 117′ as Kai Kasiguran hit a shot from the left at goal. New York’s Greg Sutton saved the shot, Geoff Bloes collected the rebound and forced another Dawson save, but the clearance was intercepted by the City Islanders’ Jason Pelletier. He fed the ball back to Bloes, who got the ball to Oppong to slide in on the right side to clinch the game. The goal ties Oppong with Bloes for the Open Cup team lead at 2, also the most by any players still active in the Quarterfinals.

Harrisburg will head to the capital to play DC United in the Quarterfinals. The game will take place on July 21, and will be the last game in the round.

SCORING:
HAR- Oppong (Bloes) 117′

DISCIPLINE:
NY- Chinn 11′ (yellow, Reckless foul)

SUBSTITUTIONS:
HAR- Petrasso for Jafta, 65′
NY- Tchani for Agudelo, 66′
NY- da Luz for Garcia, 76′
HAR- Oppong for Hotchkin, 80′
NY- Ream for Nielsen, 80′
HAR-Kasiguran for Williams, 101′

Houston started quickly, dominating the first ten minutes, however Araujo had Miami on the counterattack quickly. He had two shots in a 5 minute span, however Dynamo keeper Tally Hall kept both shots out of the net. Play evened out, and neither team could capitalize on their chances in the half.

Houston gained more attacking chances in the second half, however Miami keeper Caleb Patterson-Sewell proved up to the task, including blocking a Penalty Kick from the Dynamo’s Richard Mulrooney at 50′. However, 80 minutes into the match, Houston’s Dominic Oduro got a pass into a streaking Palmer, a halftime sub, who slid the ball underneath Patterson-Sewell.

Miami quickly counterattacked, as Abe Cunningham, a former Dynamo player, quickly came back with a shot, but Hall was able to save it. Miami’s comeback was squashed, however, as J.P. Rodrigues was given a second yellow card at 83′. This prompted Miami to go all-or-nothing, as midfielder Steven Cabas replaced defender Christiano Dias. This backfired, as Houston took advantage of the thin defense to control the rest of the game.

Houston will host fellow MLS side Chivas USA in the Quarterfinal Round on July 6. Miami’s Araujo finished his Open Cup campaign with 5 goals, three more than any player still in the tournament.

GOALS:
HOU- Palmer (Oduro) 80′

DISCIPLINE:
MIA- Patterson-Sewell 48′ (yellow, Reckless foul)
MIA- Rodrigues 66′ (yellow, Reckless foul)
MIA- Rodrigues 83′ (second yellow/red, Reckless foul)

SUBSTITUTIONS:
HOU- Chabala for Landin, 43′
HOU- Palmer for Cochrane, 46′
HOU- Cruz for Mulrooney, 76′
MIA- Shriver for Santeliz, 76′
MIA- Cabas for Dias, 84′

The Fire started several players not in the regular starting lineup, and the inexperience showed as Charleston dominated early play, Chicago only having one shot until 34′. Play was more even for the rest of the half, but neither team mounted any serious chances.

Chicago substituted two regulars to begin the second half, but still could not generate a goal, despite gaining an advantage over the Battery in play. The Fire got more chances in extra time, but Melia was equal to the challenge.

Melia would be up to the challenge in the penalty shootout, while things unravled for the Fire. Chicago captain Brian McBride, who subbed in at the beginning of extra time, kicked the first penalty shot well high of the goal, while the Battery’s Lamar Neagle was able to convert against Chicago keeper Sean Johnson. Melia saved Krzysztov Krol’s kick, while Mike Zaher converted, putting the Fire down to the Battery 2-0. With the pressure on Wilman Conde to get the Fire on the board, he couldn’t pull through and hit the crossbar. This gave Charleston’s Ian Fuller the opportunity to give his team their fourth straight trip to the Quarterfinals, and put it in the net to do just that.

Charleston will head north to play Columbus on July 6, attempting to make the Semifinals for the second time in three years.

SCORING:
none

PENALTY KICKS:
CHI (0)- McBride miss (high), Krol miss (save), Conde miss (off crossbar)
CHS (3)- Neagle goal, Zaher goal, Fuller goal

DISCIPLINE:
CHS- Armstrong 16′ (yellow, Reckless tackle)
CHI- Nyarko 48′ (yellow, Unsporting behavior)
CHI- Conde 70′ (yellow, Persistent infringement)
CHI- Watson-Siriboe 73′ (yellow, Reckless foul)
CHI- Pappa 88′ (yellow, Persistent infringement)
CHS- Zaher 90′ (yellow, Tactical foul)

SUBSTITUTIONS:
CHI- Nyarko for Banner, 45′
CHI- Conde for Pause, 52′
CHS- Zaher for Armstrong, 65′
CHI- McBride for Lowry, 90′
CHS- Gruenewald for Bermudez, 90′