The lone remaining lower division side Richmond Kickers try to knock off a second consecutive MLS club on the road as they visit Sporting Kansas City.
2011 US Open Cup Quarterfinals: New York Red Bulls at Chicago Fire Preview
Struggling to find success in MLS, the Chicago Fire are looking to find some glory in the US Open Cup and will have to go through one of the leaders of their Eastern Conference as they play host to the New York Red Bulls.
2011 US Open Cup Quarterfinals: Real Salt Lake at FC Dallas Preview
Four days after playing one another in a Major League Soccer regular season contest the two clubs meet once more in Dallas with more on the line than the three points that were at stake in Utah.
2011 US Open Cup: Richmond Kickers are ‘The Last Men Standing’
Heading into the 2011 US Open Cup Quarterfinals the Richmond Kickers are the last men standing as representatives of the lower divisions in the tournament, As the lone underdog in the Elite Eight, the club will need to defeat three top flight Major League Soccer teams in order to become the second lower division team to win the championship since the 1996 launch of MLS. The ‘Last Men Standing’ club is a small group comprised now of seven sides that have been the solitary lower division team remaining in the tournament on nine occasions.
2011 US Open Cup: Semifinal host scenarios unveiled
The United States Soccer Federation announced the pairing and hosting scenarios for the 2011 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Semifinals Thursday, unveiling that Real Salt Lake and Sporting Kansas City would host the winners from the opposite side of their bracket with victories in the Quarterfinals. The USSF also officially revealed a schedule change for the Quarterfinals.
2011 US Open Cup Third Round: Michael Fucito finds spotlight for Sounders, earns TheCup.us Player of the Round honor
For three years Michael Fucito has been buried deep in the Seattle Sounders depth charts behind numerous star strikers, seeing very limited time on the field. In the Third Round Tuesday night he made his US Open Cup debut and scored both Sounders goals in a 2-1 victory, feeling the limelight many of his teammates have experienced the past two years.
2011 US Open Cup Third Round Recap: Richmond Kickers post lone upset on night of close contests
For the first time in the Professional Era the Round of 16 saw no matches go to overtime, but there was plenty of drama as six of the eight contests were decided by one goal. In the end, Major League Soccer teams posted one of their best nights in the tournament versus lower division opposition with seven clubs advancing to the Quarterfinals for only the fifth time in 15 years.
2011 US Open Cup Third Round: Seattle Sounders quest for three-peat opens with 2-1 win over Kitsap Pumas
The defending two-time US Open Cup champion Seattle Sounders grabbed a two-goal lead on a pair of Mike Fucito goals, but were unable to cruise to victory in a Puget Sound showdown against the local PDL Kitsap Pumas, who fought back in a contest that finished in a back-and-forth 2-1 decision.
2011 US Open Cup Third Round: Orlando City’s hearts broken, 3-2, in frenzied finish at FC Dallas
Minus overtime or penalty kicks, it does not get as dramatic a finish as what Open Cup fans witnessed from Frisco’s Pizza Hut Park Tuesday night in the Third Round of the tournament. With the host Major League Soccer side FC Dallas leading the third division Orlando City, the visitors leveled the score in stoppage time only to see the home side answer back moments later nearly at the death for a 3-2 victory.
2011 US Open Cup Third Round: Chicago Fire snare narrow 1-0 road win over Rochester Rhinos
The old adage third time’s a charm proved to come true as the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer earned their first regulation victory in three US Open Cup trips to Rochester, downing the Rhinos 1-0 in the Third Round Tuesday night on a goal from Diego Chaves in the 37th minute.