2015 US Open Cup Quarterfinals review: Record crowds watch plenty of late drama in all-MLS round

The Quarterfinals of the 2015 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup was played in front of a record number of fans in the stands and for the first time in the Modern Era, every game was decided in the last five minutes of the match or later.

Through all four games of the round, the total announced attendance was 42,644, an average of 10,661, which is a record for the Quarterfinals in the Modern Era (1995-present). This shattered the previous record set in 1999 where they averaged 7,131 (28,524 total).

Here is the Semifinal schedule (the details on the Final will be announced before the Semifinals take place):

Aug. 12
Chicago Fire (MLS) at Philadelphia Union (MLS) – 7:30 p.m. ET
Real Salt Lake (MLS) at Sporting Kansas City (MLS) – 8:30 p.m. ET

Here is a brief recap of each Quarterfinal game with links to the full match report:

All the headlines entering the game was about the possibility of Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard making his competition debut for the Los Angeles Galaxy. However, by the end of the night the headlines were all about Aaron Maund of Real Salt Lake sending the home team to the Semifinals for the second time in three years with a late goal. FULL MATCH REPORT »

For the second game in a row, the Philadelphia Union were shown a first half red card and just like their game against DC United in the last round, they advanced shorthanded, this time against the New York Red Bulls. The Union scored a 55th minute goal by Eric Ayuk and it looked like they were going to win it in regulation but Lloyd Sam equalized deep into stoppage time. The match went to penalty kicks and John McCarthy’s spectactular save on Sam’s PK attempt was the difference as the Union advance to their second straight Semifinal.FULL MATCH REPORT »

Just like the Red Bulls-Union match earlier in the day, the Houston Dynamo received a first half red card and took a 1-0 lead early in the second half. However, Sporting Kansas City scored three straight goals, two of them in the final five minutes to put KC into the Semifinals for the first time since their championship year in 2012.FULL MATCH REPORT »

The Chicago Fire defense came to play as they shut down the Orlando City offense but needed a pair of goals by Kennedy Igboananike in the final four minutes to get them into a record-tying 11th Open Cup Semifinal. The Fire were victorious 3-1 at Toyota Park as they reach the Semifinals for the third year in a row. They are now two wins away from a record-tying fifth Open Cup title.FULL MATCH REPORT »