On Tuesday, the New England Revolution will host an Open Cup game at Gillette Stadium for just the second time when they welcome the Chicago Fire to Foxborough, Mass. Tomorrow night, the Galaxy will host FC Dallas in a rematch of the 2005 Final.
Both games will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and the Watch ESPN app.
Below, you will find links to our coverage on TheCup.us, as well as previews from both Semifinal games. You can get all the latest updates from every game through Twitter, using the hashtag #USOC2016. Use that same hashtag on Instagram to share your US Open Cup-related photos.
#USOC2016 coverage:
* 2016 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup schedule, results
* Complete 2016 US Open Cup bracket (TheCup.us)
* 2016 US Open Cup goalscoring leaders
* Which NPSL teams will qualify for the 2017 US Open Cup?
* Which PDL teams will qualify for the 2017 US Open Cup?
* Lletget wins TheCup.us Player of the Round | 2016 POTR winners
* 2016 Meet the Underdogs series
* Things you should know about the Semifinals of the US Open Cup
* 2016 US Open Cup Quarterfinals review
* USSF’s new US Open Cup qualifying tournament has challenges to address after year one
* Series of forfeits, teams with ineligible players overshadow 2016 US Open Cup
* MLS-owned USL teams no longer eligible for 2016 US Open Cup, confirms USSF
* One is enough: NPSL champion New York Cosmos B withdraws from 2016 US Open Cup
* Support TheCup.us: New Del Rey City jerseys available for purchase
* Appreciate what we do at TheCup.us? Donate here
* TheCup.us is looking for writers/editors, graphics, WordPress gurus & people who can handle digital ad sales (paid position). Email us here
Twitter (#USOC2016) | Facebook | Instagram | Flickr | Reddit
BROADCAST: ESPN2
If Los Angeles wins … they will host New England in the Final
If FC Dallas wins … they will host New England in the Final
FC Dallas Open Cup records
Overall: 29-16-6 (5-1 PKs) | Home: 17-6-3 (2-1 PKs) | Away: 12-10-2 (2-0 PKs) | vs. MLS: 10-11-3 (2-1 PKs)
Last entry: 2015 (Lost 6-2 at Sporting KC of MLS in Round 5)
Best finish: 1997 US Open Cup champions
Los Angeles Galaxy Open Cup records
Overall: 28-13-1 (1-0 PKs) | Home: 19-2-0 | Away: 9-11-1 (1-0 PKs) | vs. MLS: 12-9-1 (1-0 PKs)
Last entry: 2015 (Lost 1-0 at Real Salt Lake of MLS in Quarterfinals)
Best finish: 2001, 2005 US Open Cup champions
By Dennis Pope
Something has got to give.
FC Dallas is unbeaten in its last five games. Los Angeles Galaxy has taken points from each of its last 10.
The long-time MLS Western Conference foes match up Wednesday night at the StubHub Center in Carson (Calif.) in a Lamar Hunt US Open Cup semifinal round game.
Galaxy are still sweating from a 2-2 home draw on Sunday, Aug. 7, against the New York Red Bulls, scoring both goals in the final 10 minutes to earn a point in one of the most physical games of the season for both teams.
Robbie Keane’s nose was bloodied as the result of a violent collision with Red Bulls keeper Luis Robles midway through the first half, but returned straight away and later contributed to the build-up on both of L.A.’s goals.
Mike Magee got the Galaxy on the scoreboard in the 80th minute, finishing an assist from Steven Gerrard, and Ashley Cole scored his first goal for L.A. nine minutes later to equalize.
FC Dallas’ latest result – a 2-1 win over Real Esteli FC (Nicaragua) on Thursday, Aug. 4 – came in a CONCACAF Champions League group stage match.
Coach Oscar Pareja’s team has won four and drawn one since a 5-0 loss to Seattle Sounders on July 13, and has stayed atop MLS’ Western Conference table.
How FC Dallas adjusts to life without midfielder Fabian Castillo will be a major story line going forward. The talented Columbian, now with Trabzaonspor (Turkey), had five goals and five assists before his departure.
Both teams have had difficult paths to the Semifinals. The Galaxy needed extra time (and a controversial goal) to dispatch amateur Cinderella story La Maquina, 4-1. They followed that up with a narrow 1-0 road win over the Portland Timbers, followed by a 4-2 home win over the Seattle Sounders in the Quarterfinals. L.A. rallied to beat Seattle thanks to a pair of late goals from Sebastian Lletget, who earned TheCup.us Player of the Round for his efforts. The win over Seattle put the two-time Open Cup champs into the Semifinals for the first time since 2006.
The only team that has more Semifinal appearances in the Modern Era than FC Dallas are the Chicago Fire. To get to their ninth final four, Dallas needed penalty kicks to eliminate the Oklahoma City Energy (USL), followed by a 2-1 extra time win over the Colorado Rapids. In the Quarterfinals, they had to travel down to Houston and escaped with a 1-0 win thanks to a late goal by the recently departed Castillo.
This will be the third all-time meeting between the clubs in the tournament. The first time they met, the Galaxy defeated the Dallas Burn 4-1 in the 2002 Semifinals at Titan Stadium on the campus of Cal State Fullerton. Carlos Ruiz scored the opener and then set up goals by Mauricio Cienfuegos and Cobi Jones to give L.A. a 3-0 halftime lead. Simon Elliott would add a late penalty kick to put the game away.
The last time they met was in the 2005 Final where a young striker named Herculez Gomez scored the lone goal in the first half as the Galaxy won their second Open Cup trophy, 1-0. The game was played at Home Depot Center (StubHub Center) in front of 10,000 fans, a smaller crowd due to a local ordinance limiting the attendance of midweek home games. With the victory, they became just the 10th Southern California team to win it all.
Wednesday, the two teams will square off for the third time to see who can put themselves in position to end their Open Cup title drought. The Galaxy last won in 2005, while Dallas hasn’t lifted the trophy since 1997.
BROADCAST: ESPN2
If Chicago wins … they will host winner of LA Galaxy / FC Dallas in Final
If New England wins … they will play at winner of LA Galaxy / FC Dallas in Final
New England Revolution Open Cup records
Overall: 16-11-5 (3-2 PKs) | Home: 10-4-3 (2-1 PKs) | Away: 5-7-2 (1-1 PKs) | vs. MLS: 4-7-1 (1-0 PKs)
Last entry: 2015 (Lost 1-0 vs. Charlotte Independence of USL in Round 4)
Best finish: 2007 US Open Cup champions
Chicago Fire Open Cup records
Overall: 39-13-4 (3-1 PKs) | Home: 25-1-2 (1-1 PKs) | Away: 13-12-1 (1-0 PKs) | vs. MLS: 21-8-1 (1-0 PKs)
Last entry: 2015 (Lost 1-0 at Philadelphia Union of MLS in Semifinals)
Best finish: 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006 US Open Cup champions
UPDATE: The New England Revolution defeated the Chicago Fire 3-1 to advance to the club’s third US Open Cup Final. They received goals from Kei Kamara, Je-Vaughn Watson and Teal Bunbury. David Accam scored his fifth goal of the tournament in the losing effort before getting sent off in the final minutes of the match.
Two teams desperate for a positive result will face off on Tuesday night when the New England Revolution host the Chicago Fire at Gillette Stadium in the Semifinals of 2016 US Open Cup.
In terms of league play, the Fire find themselves at the bottom of the Eastern Conference with a record of 4-11-6 and a goal differential of -10. The Revs hold the sixth spot with a 6-9-8 record and a -11 goal differential. Both clubs are coming off multi-goal losses.
But things have been a little different in Open Cup play.
The Revs reached the Semifinals by edging out the Carolina RailHawks 1-0 and the New York Cosmos 3-2 before recording a shootout victory over the Philadelphia Union. While the Cosmos win was powered by known threats like Kei Kamara and Teal Bunbury, the two other victories came courtesy of young Zach Herivaux, jack-of-all-trades Je-Vaughn Watson, and backup goalkeeper Brad Knighton.
Meanwhile, the Fire advanced by collecting a shootout victory over the Indy Eleven, a 2-1 result over Columbus Crew SC, and a 3-0 home win over the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. The man behind all of these games has been David Accam, who has contributed four goals and one assist.
This Tuesday will mark the 74th overall meeting between the Revs and Fire. There’s no love lost between the two clubs, who have quite a storied history.
In the early 2000s, the Revs and Fire have regular meetings in the playoffs. The Fire proved victorious in 2000, 2003, 2008, and 2009, while the Revs owned 2002, 2005, 2006, and 2007.
The two clubs have also met twice in the US Open Cup, with Chicago advancing both times. In 2005, the Men in Red needed extra time to grab a 3-2 result in the Fourth Round thanks to a pair of goals from Andy Herron. One year later, it was Herron to the rescue again as he scored both goals in a 2-1 Quarterfinal win.
That said, the Revs do hold an advantage going into this most recent meeting, as they recently defeated the visiting Fire 1-0 thanks to a late Watson goal. Also worth noting is the fact that the Fire haven’t won a road game in 38 tries.
None of that could matter on Tuesday, however, as the Revs look to win their first Open Cup since 2007, while the Fire try to make history by winning the tournament for a fifth time, which would tie the all-time record (1998, 2000, 2003, and 2006).