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.
US Open Cup
2009 Third Round recap: Portland, Seattle renew rivalry, Houston face Battery (again)
The underdogs of the USL ruled on day one of the Third Round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, but the Seattle Sounders and the Houston Dynamo each earned wins on Wednesday to level the tournament with four MLS teams and four USL teams in the Quarterfinals. For the second year in a row, the USL will have at least one team in the Semifinals.
The Houston Dynamo defeated the Austin Aztex 2-0 on Wednesday to set up a date with the Charleston Battery next Tuesday at Blackbaud Stadium. This will be the third year in a row that the Battery and the Dynamo square off in the Open Cup with Charleston eliminating Houston in both years.
2009 US Open Cup Round 3: Rivalry thrives across league lines; record crowd watches Sounders edge Timbers
In the most anticipated US Open Cup non-final game in years, the Seattle Sounders and the Portland Timbers met at PGE Park in front of 16,382 fans, the largest non-doubleheader, non-final game in the Modern Era (1995-present) of Open Cup history.
2009 Third Round: Houston Dynamo earn first win since 2006, beating Aztex 2-0
The Houston Dynamo placed Major League Soccer back on track in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup with a 2-0 victory over the Austin Aztex at Nelson Field in Austin. The win comes a day after MLS suffered four upset losses to USL opponents, with the other two receiving scares from lower division teams.
2009 Third Round: Rhinos need PKs to knock out defending MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew
It took an extra hour to kick off the game due to lightning, but it was worth the wait. The Rochester Rhinos of the USL First Division defeated Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew 5-3 on penalty kicks, after a 1-1 draw in regulation.
In the third all-time meeting (1-1-1) between the clubs in the US Open Cup, Crew goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum was tested early and often as the Rhinos bombarded him with shots in the first half.
2009 Third Round: Wizards need penalty kicks to survive extra time thriller with Minnesota Thunder
The nightcap of the first day of the Third Round turned out to be arguably the most exciting of them all. Six goals, including two in extra time, weren’t enough to settle this battle between the Kansas City Wizards and the Minnesota Thunder, so in penalties, the Wizards emerged triumphant as Boris Pardo made two saves to lead Kansas City to the Quarterfinals.
2009 Third Round: Battery make history with win; Chivas USA’s Open Cup misery continues
The Charleston Battery reach the Quarterfinals by defeating Chivas USA 3-1 at Blackbaud Stadium. For the Battery, they become the first USL team to reach the round of eight three consecutive years. The first of Randi Patterson’s two goals came in the 9th minute, when a failed Jim Curtin clearance landed in front of him. He volleyed it into the net to give Charleston the early 1-0 lead. However, in the 28th minute, a Sasha Victorine’s cross to Jesse Marsch equalized the game for Chivas USA.
2009 Third Round: DC United gets a scare, but gets past PDL’s Ocean City Barons
Defending US Open Cup Champion DC United needed to put in a bit more work than they may have liked, but they eventually stopped the upset bid of the PDL’s Ocean City Barons with a 2-0 win at Boyds, Maryland.
Several key United injuries limited manager Tom Soehn’s lineup options, but he still chose to rest a few of the remaining regulars. However, DC were forced to use three of them as substitutes as the score continued to sit at 0-0 in the second half.
2009 Third Round: City Islanders need extra time to upset shorthanded Revolution
Steve Nicol is probably wishing he could have his three substitutions back. It could’ve been questioned why the Revolution head coach made all three changes at the start of the second half, and it certainly backfired as two injuries left New England down to nine men. They could only stand and watch as the Harrisburg City Islanders took the game over with a 2-1 upset win in extra time.
2009 Third Round: Wilmington Hammerheads become first USL-2 team to upset Chicago Fire
The Wilmington Hammerheads beat an MLS team for the first time since 2003 (Dallas Burn) to advance to the Quarterfinals for the first time since that same year. They defeated the Chicago Fire by a scoreline of 1-0 at Legion Stadium in Wilmington, North Carolina. The loss marked the first time in franchise history that the Fire, a four-time US Open Cup champion, have been eliminated from the tournament by a USL Second Division team.