The Quarterfinals of the 102nd edition of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup kick off tonight with the two-time champion Los Angeles Galaxy traveling to Utah to face Real Salt Lake. The Round of Eight may be an all-Major League Soccer affair for just the third time in the Modern Era, but the games feature a number of storylines.
First off, the defending MLS Cup champion Galaxy are battling for the Western Conferece title in league play, while RSL are struggling near the bottom of the table. The biggest question on everyone’s mind heading into tonight’s game is whether or not the newly-acquired Steven Gerrard will play for Los Angeles.
Here is the remaining Quarterfinal schedule:
Tuesday, July 21
Philadelphia Union (MLS) at New York Red Bulls (MLS) – 4 p.m. ET
Houston Dynamo (MLS) at Sporting Kansas City (MLS) – 8:30 p.m. ET
Wednesday, July 22
Orlando City SC (MLS) at Chicago Fire (MLS) – 8:30 p.m. ET
Semifinals schedule (Date TBA)
Orlando City/Chicago winner at Philadelphia/New York winner
LA Galaxy/RSL winner at Sporting KC/Houston winner
MORE LINKS:
LIVE UPDATES: LA Galaxy at RSL (with video)
2015 US Open Cup Schedule/Results
2015 Meet the Underdogs series
2015 stat leaders (Goals/Assists/Points)
TheCup.us Player of the Round winners
The First Cup series (1913/14)
TheCup.us 2.0 launches | The origin of TheCup.us
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Los Angeles Galaxy Open Cup records
Overall: 25-12-1 (1-0 PKs) | Away: 8-10-1 (1-0 PKs) | vs. MLS: 11-7-1 (1-0 PKs)
Last entry: 2014 (Lost 1-0 in OT at Carolina RailHawks of NASL in Round 5)
Best finish: 2001, 2005 US Open Cup champions
Real Salt Lake Open Cup records
Overall: 8-6-0 | Home: 8-3-0 | vs. MLS: 2-3-0
Last entry: 2014 (Lost 2-1 at Atlanta Silverbacks of NASL in Round 4)
Best finish: 2013 Runner-up (Lost 1-0 vs. DC United in Final)
WINNER WILL … host San Jose Earthquakes or Los Angeles Galaxy
LIVE VIDEO: LA GALAXY AT REAL SALT LAKE (YouTube.com – 10 p.m. ET)
AUDIO OPTIONS: ENGLISH RADIO | SPANISH RADIO
HOW THEY GOT HERE …
LA Galaxy
Round 4: 6-1 win vs. PSA Elite (USASA)
Round 5: 1-0 win at San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)
Real Salt Lake
Round 4: 2-1 win vs. Seattle Sounders 2 (USL)
Round 5: 2-0 win vs. Portland Timbers (MLS)
Previews by Dennis Pope and Sean Walker
The question remains: Will he or won’t he?
Steven Gerrard played the first 45 minutes in LA Galaxy’s 2-1 over Club America on Saturday night, and will likely make his second appearance for the club in its Lamar Hunt US Open Cup quarterfinal matchup at Real Salt Lake on Tuesday night.
“Physically, it was tough. I haven’t played a competitive match for six or seven weeks so it was very important that I got out there and got 45 minutes,” Gerrard said. “Hopefully I get some more minutes Tuesday …”
Gerrard took two shots against Club America – both were deflected – but played a number of insightful passes through Club America’s defense to prove his poise as an attack-minded midfielder.
Robbie Keane scored a delightful goal near halftime, and Alan Gordon perfectly placed a header in the 79th minute as Galaxy pulled off the upset over the current CONCACAF Champions League champions at the International Champions Cup.
Starters Omar Gonzalez, Gyasi Zardes and Jaime Penedo remain on international duty at the Gold Cup, and are unavailable for Tuesday’s game vs. Real Salt Lake, a long-time MLS Western Conference rival.
“(Gerrard’s) passing and awareness is unbelievable and his being able to shoot from distance,” RSL midfielder Luke Mulholland told James Edwards of Utah’s Deseret News. “I think just putting pressure on him at all times throughout the game, not taking one play off.”
RSL were 2-0 winners over Portland Timbers in the fifth round to earn the home date at Rio Tinto Stadium.
US Open Cup champions in 2001 and 2005, Los Angeles was the only road team to advance out of this year’s Round of 16. Galaxy, 25-12-1 all-time in U.S. Open Cup play, are into the quarterfinals for the first time since 2011.
LA defeated the San Jose Earthquakes, 1-0, in a fifth round game on June 27. The match was another California Clasico, with Galaxy remaining unbeaten (4-0-1, 1-0 PKs) against the Quakes all-time in Open Cup play.
Including the Club America match, the defending champions come into Tuesday’s game having lost just one game in all competitions over the last month. The Galaxy are 8-6-7 in league play and are just one point out of first place in the ultra-competitive Western Conference. Their last league game was a 4-0 thrashing of Toronto FC on the Fourth of July with Robbie Keane leading the way with a hat trick.
On the other side, the host Real Salt Lake remembers well the run of DC United to the US Open Cup title in 2013, most notably because the final was played in Sandy, Utah, and hosted by RSL.
Ever since, RSL has wanted to get back to that stage and finish the job with the Lamar Hunt trophy. Much like DC United in 2013, RSL are hoping to ignore their current league form, which sees them sitting second from the bottom in the Western Conference with a 5-7-8 record, and make a run at winning a trophy in the Open Cup.
To do so in 2015, they will have to contend with Gerrard and the Galaxy who are hungry for their first Open Cup title in a decade.
“He’s an amazing passer of the ball,” RSL coach Jeff Cassar said of Gerrard. “We also need to know where him and Keane are at all times.
“I think we might play a little bit differently — he’s not with Liverpool, anymore — but the Galaxy have a system in play, and I think it’s about fitting him into their system now.”
RSL midfielder Luke Mulholland grew up a Liverpool supporter in nearby Preston, England, so he’s naturally looking forward to the chance to play against one of his childhood heroes.
“I grew up idolizing Gerrard, so it will be very surreal playing against him tomorrow,” Mulholland said after training Monday. “As his career went on, he took more of a defensive midfield role, so this unit here will continue to play like L.a. does, but with his passing and awareness. It’s unbelievable, and he’s able to shoot from distance, too. He’ll be dangerous at all times, not taking one play off, and we can’t either or else he’ll punish us.”
The Galaxy also feature striker Robbie Keane, the reigning MLS MVP — but all eyes will be on the former Liverpool captain Tuesday night.
“He’s a world-class player,” RSL midfielder Javier Morales said. “I think it’s different than guys like Giovinco, Kaka, Villa. They score goals and make that special play. I think Gerrard is different; he’s the balance of the Galaxy with Juninho. I think you need to worry about him, though.”
Gerrard played a mostly attacking role, in front of Juninho, in the first half of the friendly win over Club America, which kicked off barely 72 hours before Tuesday’s Open Cup date. RSL also played at rival Colorado on Saturday in a 3-1 loss Saturday, giving the home side plenty of motivation to get back on the field.
“We’re three wins away from winning the Open Cup,” Cassar said. “We can’t let anything in the past linger. It was five wins and we’ve got two. So we can’t have any letdowns against the Galaxy.”
Despite the club’s back-to-back Open Cup wins at home, Real Salt Lake are struggling in league play. They haven’t won a game since June 21 against Sporting Kansas City, a winless streak of four games (0-2-2).
In addition to league form, the game features two teams with vastly different Open Cup histories. For Real Salt Lake, in addition to their 2013 runner-up performance, this is just the second time in seven entries that the club has won multiple games in a single tournament.
For the Galaxy, their success in the tournament took place before the arrival of David Beckham and the ushering in of the Designated Player era of MLS. From their first eight years of entering the tournament, beginning in 1999, the Galaxy reached the Semifinals six of those years, the championship game four times and lifted the trophy twice.
Since 2007, the Galaxy have failed to even qualify for the Open Cup twice (2008, 2009), haven’t won multiple games in a tournament until this year, including upset losses on the road to the USL’s Richmond Kickers in 2007 and the NASL’s Carolina RailHawks in each of the last three years. The 2015 season has been a different story, as the Galaxy have put their 3-6-0 record over the last eight years behind them and have won back-to-back games for the first time since 2006.
COMMERCIAL: LA GALAXY AT RSL
RSL PREVIEW
LA GALAXY PREVIEW
LA GALAXY INTRODUCE STEVEN GERRARD