36 days after widespread lightning and near biblical rainfall flooded the Subaru Park pitch, the Philadelphia Union and the New York Red Bulls will attempt, should Jupiter Pluvius allow it, to play their Quarterfinal match in the 2025 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.
The winner will play Nashville SC in the Semifinals on Sept. 16. If Philadelphia wins, they will travel to Nashville, and the Red Bulls will host should they prevail. The other Semifinal will see Austin FC face Minnesota United FC at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minn. on Sept. 17.
As of Wednesday afternoon (12:45 p.m. ET), the forecast for Chester, Pennsylvania from weather.com calls for cloudy skies with the projected temperature at kickoff is at 82 degrees, with scattered thunderstorms. The percent chance of rain continues to drop from there. At 6 p.m., an hour before kickoff, there are heavy thunderstorms in the forecast.
Wednesday’s game will add another chapter in the regional rivalry between teams from Philadelphia and New York / New Jersey. Teams from these two regions have been squaring off for more than a century. (MORE: The greatest Eastern Pennsylvania vs. NY/NJ Quarterfinal games of all-time)
This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the Modern Era of the US Open Cup, which began in 1995. To celebrate, TheCup.us has been hopping in our time machine and looking back at that tournament. Check out our 1995 preview and then choose click on the score of the game you want in our 1995 results page to get the full story.
Follow TheCup.us on Blue Sky @thecup.us and X (Twitter) @USOpenCup for live updates from our reporters who will be at the stadium and the game will be broadcast live on Paramount+ and CBS Sports Golazo, you can find links to those below.
Philadelphia Union (MLS) vs. New York Red Bulls (MLS)
Subaru Park – Chester, PA
Kickoff: 7 pm ET
LIVE VIDEO: Paramount+ & CBS Sports Golazo
Philadelphia and the Red Bulls have five Open Cup Finals appearances between them but have yet to lift the trophy. Each made their last Final appearance right after the other, the Red Bulls in 2017 and the Union in 2018. Philadelphia are 16-2-3 (2-1 PKs) at home in Open Cup play and enter Wednesday’s game riding a 13-game home unbeaten streak. The Union’s last home loss in the Open Cup was a 3-1 extra time loss to the Seattle Sounders in the 2014 Final.
On the opposite end, the Red Bulls have a 13-14-1 (1-0 PKs) record in road Open Cup games, and their last road win against an MLS opponent was in 2022 when they defeated D.C. United 3-0.
PAST OPEN CUP MEETINGS
Of the four Quarterfinal games in this year’s Open Cup only New York and Philadelphia have any Open Cup history with one another. The clubs have met four times, each year from 2015-2018. Philadelphia have advanced in three of the games, two by outright win and another via penalties, while the Red Bulls lone triumph came in 2017 on penalty kicks on their way to the championship game.
2015 Quarterfinals
New York Red Bulls 1:1 (3:4 PK) Philadelphia Union
In the first meeting at Red Bull Arena, despite playing a man down from the 40th minute due to Conor Casey’s red card, Union took the lead in the 56th minute on Eric Ayuk’s goal from Vincent Nogueira cross. Three minutes into second half stoppage time Lloyd Sam scored a dramatic equalizer to send the game to extra time. After 30 minutes of scoreless play, Philadelphia prevailed on penalties 4-3 and would later make their way to their first Final appearance.
2016 Fifth Round
Philadelphia Union 2:1 New York Red Bulls
2016 saw another close contest between the rivals at Philadelphia’s Talen Energy Stadium. Mike Grella opened the scoring for the Red Bulls by hammering home a goal from a free kick sent into the penalty area by Sacha Kljestan. New York held the 1-0 lead until the 55th minute when Chris Pontius struck twice in five minutes off assists from Ilsinho.
2017 Fifth Round
New York Red Bulls 1:1 (5:3 PK) Philadelphia Union
Once again at Red Bull Arena, the Red Bulls struck first just before halftime when Sacha Kljestan scored from a Bradley Wright-Phillips assist. As the clock ticked down Roland Alberg collected a long pass from Jack Elliott and tied the game in the 85th minute. Just as in 2015 extra time was scoreless, but this time around the Red Bulls prevailed in the penalty shootout, converting all five attempts to advance to the Quarterfinals.
2018 Fifth Round
Philadelphia Union 2:1 New York Red Bulls
Talen Energy Stadium was the site of the fourth Open Cup meeting between the teams, and Philadelphia came out on top for a third time. Haris Medunjanin and Cory Burke gave the Union a 2-0 lead in the second half with Alejandro Bedoya assisting on both goals. Bradley Wright-Phillips reduced the lead to 2-1 in the 77th minute, but it wasn’t enough to stop Philadelphia, who would go on to reach their second Open Cup Final.
Once Subaru Park dried out Philadelphia and New York managed to play their MLS game on July 12, days after the weather-postponed their Open Cup game. The Union prevailed 2-0 on goals early in the opening half from Indiana Vassilev and Bruno Damiani. Interestingly, the two clubs are set to meet again in the weekend following this rescheduled Open Cup game, this time at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey.
ROAD TO THE QUARTERFINALS
Both teams entered the competition in the Fourth Round and Philly’s opening game saw them taken to the limit by Indy Eleven, surviving a penalty kick shootout after a 1-1 draw. After taking a 1-0 lead in the 6th minute through Alejandro Bedoya, Indy tied the score right after halftime. Despite 33 shots, Philadelphia could not score the winner after 120 minutes. The Union converted all five spot kicks to win the shootout 5-4.
In the Round of 16, Philly knocked off the lone USL Championship club remaining, defeating the Pittsburgh Riverhounds 4-1, scoring two goals in each half to win the Keystone State derby.
The Red Bulls began their Open Cup run by traveling to a cold and rainy Colorado Springs to face the USL Championship’s Switchbacks, and left 4-1 winners. Mohammed Sofo scored twice in the first half, and Dennis Gjengaar and Sean Nealis added second half goals.
The Red Bulls had a more dramatic finish in their Round of 16 encounter with FC Dallas, tying the game 2-2 on Emil Forsberg’s second half stoppage time goal, then advancing via penalty shootout 4-3.
CURRENT FORM
After spending much of the season near the top of the Eastern Conference, Philadelphia hit a bit of a cold spell, losing their last two matches after going on a 12-game unbeaten run in all competitions. Since the postponement of the Open Cup Quarterfinal, the Union have gone on a 3-0-2 run and reclaimed first place in the East.
Israeli international Tai Baribo leads the team with 15 goals, which is also good enough for a three-way tie for third-best in MLS. Kai Wagner has a team-leading nine assists, with Quinn Sullivan right behind him with eight.
The history of the US Open Cup is full of rivalries between cities. Los Angeles vs. San Francisco, St. Louis vs. Chicago, Philadelphia vs. New York. Put these games in the late stages of the tournament and some “instant classics” are created.
Chuck Nolan Jr. takes a look back at the biggest Eastern Pennsylvania vs. New York/New Jersey Quarterfinal games in US Open Cup history. CLICK HERE FOR MORE
The Red Bulls dropped a bit in the MLS table since July 8, going from eighth to tenth with a 2-3-0 league mark during that time. That leaves the Red Bulls tied with the Chicago Fire with 36 points for the final MLS Cup playoff berth, with Chicago holding the goal difference tiebreaker. The Red Bulls were also eliminated from the Leagues Cup, finishing with a 1-1-1 record.
Eric Choupo-Moting leads the team with 15 goals with Emil Forsberg behind him with nine. Forsberg also has the assist lead with eight, and goalkeeper Carlos Coronel has posted seven clean sheets in his 24 starts.
US OPEN CUP HISTORY
Philadelphia Union
Major League Soccer | Chester, PA
11th US Open Cup appearance
How they qualified: Automatic Bid
Founded: 2010
Manager: Bradley Carnell
Overall: 17-6-8 (4-4 PK)
Home: 16-2-3 (2-1 PK)
vs. MLS: 8-6-6 (2-4 PK)
Best finish: Runner-Up (2014, 2015, 2018)
Philadelphia has one of the better Open Cup resumes without winning a title among MLS clubs, though recent tournaments have put a blemish on that. They’ve been to three Open Cup Finals (2014, 2015, 2018), but their last three appearances in the competition have been “one and done” appearances against D.C. United in 2019, Orlando City in 2022 and Minnesota United in 2023.
Prior to the Modern Era, clubs from Philadelphia have made nine appearances in the Open Cup Final, winning the Open Cup five times. Leading the way are the Ukrainian Nationals, who won the tournament four times (1960, 1962, 1963 and 1966).
New York Red Bulls
Major League Soccer | Harrison, NJ
24th US Open Cup appearance
How they qualified: Automatic Bid
Founded: 1996
Manager: Sandro Schwarz
Overall: 29-21-4 (2-2 PK)
Away: 13-14-1 (1-0 PK)
vs. MLS: 13-13-4 (2-2 PK)
Best finish: Final (2003, 2017)
As the MetroStars, the club reached the Semifinals three times (1997, 1998, 2000) and made one appearance in the Final (2003). After rebranding as the New York Red Bulls, another deep run did not come until a return to the Final in 2017. Then, in 2022, the Red Bulls made another Semifinal run.
In MLS play, the Red Bulls have yet to win a championship, reaching the MLS Cup Final twice (2008, 2024) and winning the Supporters Shield three times (2013, 2015, 2018). The 1923 Final between Scullin Steel and Paterson FC was played at Harrison Field, where a parking garage now stands near Sports Illustrated Stadium.
The Red Bulls hold a 13-6-3 record at home in the Open Cup, but also are just 12-13-4 against MLS opposition, and five of those six home losses have been to fellow MLS clubs.