Led by back-to-back “cupsets” by a pair of USL Championship sides, it was a stunning and exciting Round of 16 in the 2023 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup on May 23 and 24.
Round of 16 matches on Wednesday, May 24 included a pair of 1-0 home victories for two lower-level squads over MLS competition as the Pittsburgh Riverhounds and Birmingham Legion FC advanced; while in matches pitting MLS sides, the Chicago Fire kept their quest for a record-tying fifth Open Cup title alive while Real Salt Lake continues to impress in cup ties this season.
On Tuesday, May 23, there was a little bit of everything in the first of two nights as there were two home teams and two road teams able to move on to the Quarterfinals. There were a pair of shutouts, a close one-goal game, a penalty kick shootout, and a tense derby in Los Angeles.
In the end, two former champions (LA Galaxy, Houston Dynamo FC) and two teams who have yet to lift the trophy (Inter Miami CF, FC Cincinnati) punched their tickets to the Quarterfinals.
Scroll down for a brief summary of each game, along with a link to a full recap.
TUESDAY, MAY 23
Inter Miami CF (MLS)
2:1
Nashville SC (MLS)
By Josh Hakala
Inter Miami CF is heading to the Quarterfinals for the first time with a 2-1 win over visiting Nashville SC. Inter Miami, fielded a stronger lineup than Nashville, who were missing several key players. All of the scoring took place in the second half beginning with Franco Negri in the 57th minute who received a pass in the penalty area and quickly chipped a shot over the goalkeeper and into the back of the net. About 10 minutes later, the visitors from Nashville would answer with Alex Muyl scoring on a diving header. A cross from Laurence Wyke delivered a cross from the wing and Muyl was there to head it past goalkeeper Drake Callender at close range.
Shortly after, a lightning strike brought the game to a halt for 33 minutes. But once the game resumed, Inter Miami was able to recapture the lead. Nicolas Stefanelli was subbed on after the break and was able to capitalize on another counter attacking chance for Inter Miami. A ball was volleyed over the top from midfield by Corentin Jean. Stefanelli ran onto it and dribbled to the right side of the penalty area. Once he hit the edge of the box he fired a shot that beat the goalkeeper to the near post.
New York Red Bulls (MLS)
1:1
FC Cincinnati (MLS)
FC Cincinnati advances, 5-3 on PKs
By Dave Einhorn
The first half featured plenty of attacking chances from the New York Red Bulls. Many were sent wide of the target, but it was clear momentum was in their favor. That changed just four minutes from halftime when quick one touch passing from the left gave Cincinnati an opportunity. Marco Angulo laid the ball off for forward Yuya Kubo, who slotted it home past Ryan Meara for the first half’s only goal.
The second half featured a lot of possession for Red Bulls, but they were unable to create meaningful opportunities in the Cincinnati half. After several substitutions featuring players that had long occupied the injury list, Red Bulls found an equalizer through Dante Vanzeir. In the second minute of stoppage time he vollied home from close range to send the match to extra time.
Both teams traded excellent shots on target in extra time. Meara had to go full stretch to deny Luciano Acosta while Cristian Casseras just missed a goal from a free kick. Penalties were needed to separate the two teams.
In the first round Dante Vanzeir had his shot saved for the Red Bulls. Cincinnati were a perfect 5-for-5 on penalties and went on to win 5-3. They will play the Pittsburgh Riverhounds at home at TQL Stadium in the quarterfinals.
Houston Dynamo FC (MLS)
4:0
Minnesota United FC (MLS)
By Bridget McDowell
Houston Dynamo and Minnesota United FC spent the first half hour of the game trading counter attacking runs. Possession was fairly even through the first half and both Bongokuhle Hlongwane and Quinońes had some early chances on goal, with Hlongwane nearly beating Tarbell to his line on one occasion. At the other end, Hlongwane was called for a handball in Minnesota’s box in the 33rd minute. Corey Baird cleanly put away the penalty kick to put the hosts up 1-0. It was Baird’s second career USOC goal, his first scored in the Round of 16 against Sporting Kansas City in 2022.
Momentum shifted more heavily in Houston’s favor when Minnesota midfielder Kervin Arriaga earned his second yellow in the 38th minute, followed by a red, leaving the Loons with 10 men for the rest of the match. It was the club’s first first-half ejection since moving to MLS. As the Dynamo began to break down the Loons’ thinly spread backline, Baird chipped Clint Irwin in the 68th and tallied the assist on Ibrahim Aliyu’s goal in the 79th, putting Houston up 3-0 with ten minutes to play.
Baird, who until Tuesday night had two goals for Houston since joining in 2021, added a hat trick to his goal log in the 89th minute, putting Houston up 4-0 with two minutes to spare. Houston (and Baird) outshot and out-possessed Minnesota on the night to move on to the next round of the Open Cup.
[+] FULL MATCH REPORT
Los Angeles Football Club (MLS)
0:2
LA Galaxy (MLS)
By Andrew Mosier
A nearly full-strength LA Galaxy side powered past a mostly reserve LAFC side 2-0 Tuesday night in a muted Open Cup version of El Trafico at BMO Stadium. Tyler Boyd and Riqui Puig scored second-half goals three minutes apart to put the Galaxy through to the quarterfinals.
In the first half it was the LAFC reserves who looked to be the better of the two sides, forcing Galaxy goalkeeper Jonathan Klinsmann into action repeatedly, creating 11 shots with five on target. But it was the Galaxy who threatened first when Chicharito nearly got on the end of a quick counter at the half-hour mark. Moments later the Galaxy’s Gastón Brugman was brought down in the 33rd minute by 18-year-old Erik Dueñas, one of two teenagers playing in the back line of LAFC. Puig’s weak attempt was stopped by LAFC’s 38-year-old reserve goalkeeper, Eldin Jakupovic.
LAFC seemed to pick up in the second half where they left off. After two close chances at the start of the second half at the other end, Boyd, a halftime substitute, put the Galaxy in the lead with a spectacular blast from just inside the penalty area off a feed from Mark Delgado in the 49th minute. Three minutes later, Puig spectacularly doubled the visitor’s advantage off a solo run which began inside the center circle, slaloming through the entire LAFC defense to poke the ball past a charging Jakupovic.
[+] FULL MATCH REPORT
WEDNESDAY, MAY 24
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (USL-C)
1:0
Columbus Crew (MLS)
By Jason Herbert
Columbus traveled to Pittsburgh for a Round of 16 tie in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, pitting them against a USL side for the third consecutive match. Pittsburgh put the pressure on the MLS side from the start as Bob Lilly’s side used the energy from a record home crowd to press the Crew very high up the pitch for much of the first half. Columbus, amidst a tough stretch in their schedule, put out a very young side with many changes as it was their fifth match in two weeks not including their upcoming weekend match against Nashville.
While Columbus coach Wilfried Nancy made many changes to the lineup, Lilly also inserted six changes to his team, however he did include USL leading scorer Albert Dikwa which proved beneficial early on. Dikwa, who leads USL with nine goals in 11 games, found the back of the net in the 22nd minute as the Riverhound attack split Columbus right down the middle and Dikwa calmly slotted his chance past Evan Bush to give the Riverhounds a 1-0 lead at halftime. Despite having 74% possession throughout the first half, Columbus looked disjointed through much of the play as they could only create two first-half chances for Jaycen Russell-Rowe, both being volley attempts in tight spaces.
The second half saw much of the same early on from Pittsburgh as high pressure was a predominant factor to their success, however Dikwa would be forced off in the 54th minute with an apparent muscle injury. Columbus started to find their way into the game in the 65th minute as they forced two quick chances on goal but could not capitalize. In the 73rd minute Showunmi missed a glorious chance to double the lead off a deflected ball inside the Columbus six-yard box but could not keep his effort under the crossbar.
Aidan Morris and Mohamed Farsi came on for Columbus in the 77th minute as Nancy was forced to push numbers forward but Evan Bush still needed to make a great save after the Crew lost the ball at the edge of their own box in the 85th minute. In the end, Pittsburgh were able to make their 1-0 lead stand even though Edward Kizza was sent off with a straight red card in added time. This marks the second MLS side the Riverhounds have knocked out of the competition as they now face FC Cincinnati in the quarterfinals.
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Birmingham Legion FC (USL-C)
1:0
Charlotte FC (MLS)
By Dave Hodges
Charlotte FC brought pressure in the first half, nearly finding the back of the net in the 24th and 26th minutes. Charlotte’s Adilson Malanda found his way into the referees book in the 28th minute with a yellow card, however, neither side would score in the first half.
Momentum swung the way of hosts Birmingham in the 50th minute. Malanda picked up his second yellow, resulting in a red card and reducing the visitors to a 10-man squad. The opening goal came in the 60th minute off the foot of Prosper Kasim.
Birmingham thought they had a second tally in the 78th minute from Juan Agudelo, but it was called offside. A handful of substitutes came on in the 81st minute for Charlotte FC as they looked to get some fresh legs and an equalizer.
It was not to happen, as Birmingham hung on to join fellow USL Championship side Pittsburgh Riverhounds in advancing to the US Open Cup Quarterfinals with the 1-0 victory.
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Austin FC (MLS)
0:2
Chicago Fire FC (MLS)
By Chuck Carlson
There will be no Texas showdown in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Open Cup. Chicago Fire used a workman-like away performance to beat Austin FC 2-0 in the first ever competitive match between these MLS teams.
The Fire and Austin FC benches were loaded with Open Cup champions, as head coaches Frank Klopas and Josh Wolff, as well as Fire assistants C.J. Brown and Zack Thornton, plus Austin assistant Davy Arnaud, had all lifted the Cup during their playing careers. Maybe it was the heat, maybe it was the fact that so many coaches were Cup winners, or maybe it was because these teams had played six games in 18 days, but it was generally a pretty lackluster performance, particularly from the home side.
It looked to be a game for fans of goals as the match opened with a number of dangerous set piece opportunities. Austin went close in the second minute when Emiliano Rigoni’s 22-yard free kick went over the wall but curled just wide of Fire keeper Spencer Richey’s right post. The Fire countered with a couple of teasing dead balls from DP Xherdan Shaqiri which ultimately went begging.
In the 26th minute Shaqiri found a streaking Maren Haile-Selassie on the right wing, and Haile-Selassie’s well struck right-footed drive brought out a good save from Austin keeper Brad Stuver. On the ensuing corner, Brian Gutierrez’s high corner found Rafael Czichos, whose looping header back across goal left Stuver no chance, and the Fire had the opening goal. Though Austin began to pressure offensively after the goal, the Fire were never really in any danger of losing their lead as they went into halftime up 1-0.
The second half started with the Fire looking shaky at the back, as Miguel Navarro, while attempting to play the ball to keeper Richey, sent it directly to Austin forward Gyasi Zardes. Zardes immediately passed to defender Aleksandar Radovanovic, but the Serbian looked uncomfortable in the offensive box, and he was quickly dispossessed before he could take advantage of the Fire’s error.
The game settled into a back and forth with both teams attempting to put pressure on the other’s backline, but nothing threatening really developed. Shaqiri was the most dangerous provider for the Fire, and his 75th minute feed to second half sub Jairo Torres resulted in a Torres shot off the outside of the right post. A couple minutes later, Fire player of the match, Shaqiri, then proved his worth, as he broke in on goal from the left side. His left footed blast from two yards out was saved by Stuver, but the ball caromed directly back to Shaqiri. Showing the calm of the seasoned international he is, Shaqiri settled the ball, looked up and found Kacper Przybylko at the top of the six-yard box and the Polish striker made no mistake in putting the ball into the back of the net.
After going down two goals, the Verde and Black tried to find offensive opportunities, but they could not break down the Fire’s backline. An 84th minute corner resulted in a play indicative of the night for Austin: Ethan Finlay’s driven head-ball came off the head of Fire keeper Richey before falling harmlessly to a Fire defender who cleared the ball out of the box. That was the last real chance for the home side as the Fire held on comfortably to book their first Open Cup Quarterfinal since 2018, where they will meet Houston Dynamo in Chicago.
[+] FULL MATCH REPORT COMING SOON
Colorado Rapids (MLS)
0:1
Real Salt Lake (MLS)
By Sean Walker
Jefferson Savarino made his 2023 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup debut and needed just 30 minutes to make an impact as Real Salt Lake advanced to the Quarterfinals for the first time since 2015 with a 1-0 win over rival Colorado at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado.
Salt Lake was facing the Rapids for the second time in five days, but for the first time with Savarino. It took the Venezuelan international just 30 minutes into his Open Cup debut to make his mark, taking a pass after Anderson Julio recovered a turnover in midfield to drill a golazo inside the far post that gave RSL a 1-0 advantage.
It was the first goal for Savarino across all competitions since April 22, a span of eight matches across all competitions though he did not travel with the team to Open Cup dates in Las Vegas and Portland.
Julio’s high press also earned him an assist, his first point since scoring in a 3-1 win over Charlotte FC on April 8.
Maikel Chang nearly doubled the advantage to open the second half, but the winger’s header smacked off the right post in the 50th minute for what would’ve been his third goal in as many Open Cup matches.
Instead, goalkeeper Gavin Beavers made three saves to earn his first shutout in Open Cup play and send Salt Lake back home for the quarterfinal round against the LA Galaxy June 6 or 7 at 8 p.m. MT at America First Field in Sandy, Utah.