The Rochester Rhinos may be the only USL team left in the tournament, but they have been here before. The Rhinos will make their third appearance in the Semifinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup after a 2-1 victory over the Wilmington Hammerheads of the USL Second Division. For the Rhinos, it will be their first appearance in the final four since 1999, the year they won the Open Cup.
2009 Quarterfinals
2009 Quarterfinals: Geoff Cameron unanimous choice as Player of the Round
Houston Dynamo defender Geoff Cameron’s two goal performance for his club earned him the TheCup.us Player of the Round for the Quarterfinals. Just four days shy of his 24th birthday, Cameron netted the game-winning header 16 minutes into the match, and rounded out the scoring on another header in the 73rd minute as the Houston Dynamo defeated the Charleston Battery 4-0 to move onto the Semifinals against the Seattle Sounders.
2009 Quarterfinals: DC United gets revenge, survives battle from shorthanded City Islanders
MLS Eastern Conference leaders and US Open Cup holders DC United took a step closer to repeating as champions by defeating USL-2 front runners Harrisburg City Islanders in a closely contested Quarterfinal matchup seen by over 2000 fans at the Maryland Soccerplex.
DC, trying to avoid a repeat of the 2007 match between the two clubs that saw Harrisburg eliminate them 1-0, took an early lead in the game through an 8th minute goal by Boyzzz Khumalo. Devon McTavish served up the cross from the right side and the South Africa native headed it home.
2009 Quarterfinals: Dynamo purge two years of Open Cup frustration; thrash Charleston 4-0
After defeating the Austin Aztex 2-0 at Nelson Field in Austin last week, the Dynamo travelled again to face another USL First Division opponent in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, this time going up against the Charleston Battery. For the second straight week, the Dynamo would win by a shutout. This time, doubling their output from the previous round, beating the Battery 4-0 in a Quarterfinal match at a rain-soaked Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina.
2009 Quarterfinals: A decade later, Rhinos back in Semifinals; beating the Hammerheads 2-1
For the first time in the 2009 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, the Rochester Rhinos advanced to the following round without the need of extra time, defeating the Wilmington Hammerheads 2-1 in regulation at Marina Auto Stadium in Rochester, NY.
A crowd of 3,598 were on hand to watch Rochester continue their run in the U.S. Open Cup, thanks to an impressive header from Tai Atieno and a penalty kick by Andrew Gregor, both in the second half. Wilmington fought back to one goal down with a superb individual effort from Jamie Watson, but it was too little, too late for the Hammerheads.
2009 Quarterfinals: Late penalty helps Sounders overcome Kansas City (again)
It took a penalty kick once again for the Seattle Sounders to eliminate the Kansas City Wizards in the Quarterfinals, but this year, instead of settling the game after extra time like in 2008, it was taken at the end of regulation. Sebastien Le Toux scored on an 89th minute spot kick to give the Sounders a 1-0 win, which booked them a spot in the Semifinals. It marks the third year in a row that a Sounders team has advanced to the final four, the last two years it was the USL First Division version of the Seattle-based club.
2009 Third Round: Randi Patterson’s brace earns him Player of the Round
With a 3-1 victory over Chivas USA of Major League Soccer in the Third Round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, the Charleston Battery became the first USL team to advance to the Quarterfinals three years in a row. The main reason they were able to do that was Randi Patterson, who scored two goals in the match, and for his efforts, he has been voted as TheCup.us Player of the Round.