Crystal Palace Baltimore pulled off the surprise of the Third Round, ousting the New York Red Bulls 2-0 at Lawrence E. Knight Stadium in Annapolis, Md.
Palace netted their first goal of the evening after seventeen minutes. A Bryan Harkin corner kick was headed in by Andrew Marshall past goalkeeper Zach Thornton to give the underdogs a 1-0 lead.
Former City Islander goalkeeper Matt Nelson came back to haunt his old club, saving three of Harrisburg’s four penalty kicks in the shootout tiebreaker to advance Crystal Palace Baltimore to the Third Round of the US Open Cup.
Crystal Palace jumped to an early 1-0 lead on Kevin King’s 10th minute goal, but the lead did not last long.
The New England Revolution returned to the US Open Cup Semifinals for the first time since 2001 with a 2-1 win over the Harrisburg City Islanders.
Andy Dorman and Taylor Twellman each scored early first half goals, but the underdogs from the USL Second Division would make it interesting in the final fifteen minutes.
Steve Fisher will go down in the annals of Harrisburg City Islanders history as the man who gave the club their first victory over a Major League Soccer club. His goal in the 44th minute was the difference in Harrisburg’s 1-0 victory over DC United at Hempfield High School in Landisville, Pa. It was the first time that DC United had fallen to a Second Division side in the Open Cup, and only the third time that they have lost to a USL club at any level.
When the final whistle blew, nearly all of the 1,019 fans in attendance were on their feet, paying tribute to one of the most entertaining games in club history. In the end, the Ocean City Barons fell short, 2-1 to the USL Second Division’s Harrisburg City Islanders in an exciting US Open Cup match featuring end-to-end play and exceptional goalkeeping. David Schofield scored the game-winning goal just after halftime and the City Islander defense survived a frantic second half to secure a home game against DC United of Major League Soccer in the Third Round.
